An introduction to Nunavut: its history, its Nations and treaties, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
Indigenous history of Nunavut
Nunavut became Canada’s newest territory on April 1, 1999, created out of the eastern Northwest Territories under the Nunavut Agreement, the land claims agreement ratified in 1993. Inuit form the large majority of residents, and Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French are official languages. Mining, traditional harvesting, commercial fisheries, arts and crafts, tourism and government make up the economy, and Inuit art from places like Kinngait is known around the world. The Dorset culture hunted sea mammals here about 2,500 years ago, and Inuit oral tradition remembers them as the Tuniit. In the 1950s Ottawa moved Inuit families from Inukjuak, in northern Quebec, to Grise Fiord and Resolute. A boundary vote passed in 1992, and 84.7 per cent of voters approved the land claim.
Treaty and territory
Nunavut was created in 1999 under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the largest land claim settlement in Canadian history. Most Nunavummiut are Inuit.
Nearby: Iqaluit · Rankin Inlet · Cambridge Bay · Arviat · Baker Lake · Kinngait
Regions of Nunavut
Each of Nunavut's three regions has its own Regional Inuit Association, a Designated Inuit Organization under the Nunavut Agreement. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, headquartered in Iqaluit, speaks for 13 communities. They are Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Grise Fiord, Igloolik, Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Kinngait, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute Bay, Sanikiluaq and Sanirajak. The association represents 51 per cent of Inuit in the territory. It manages about 356,000 square kilometres, close to half of all Inuit Owned Lands. The Kivalliq Inuit Association, based in Rankin Inlet, serves seven communities on the west coast of Hudson Bay and inland. They are Arviat, Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Lake, Coral Harbour and Naujaat. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association serves five communities in the central Arctic: Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Gjoa Haven, Kugaaruk and Taloyoak. It had more than 6,500 registered members as of 2020. It works in Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut as well as English and French. Under the land claim, Inuit hold surface title to 318,084 square kilometres. They also own both surface and subsurface rights to another 37,883 square kilometres.
Indigenous Nunavut today
Nunavut had 36,858 residents at the 2021 census, and 30,865 of them were Inuit. Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtun is the mother tongue of 65.1 per cent of Nunavummiut. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated makes sure the promises of the Nunavut Agreement are kept. It oversees land, water and wildlife matters and holds both governments to their obligations. Three Regional Inuit Associations work alongside it as Designated Inuit Organizations. Nunavut Arctic College runs Community Learning Centres in all 25 communities, where adult educators offer assessments and career guidance. Its main campuses are Nunatta in Iqaluit, Kivalliq in Rankin Inlet and Kitikmeot in Cambridge Bay. The Piqqusilirivvik Inuit Cultural Learning Centre in Clyde River teaches Inuit culture. Rankin Inlet celebrated the first graduates of the college's Practical Nurse Program in 2023-2024. Arts carry Nunavut's name around the world. The Canadian Encyclopedia counts about 3,100 people working in arts and crafts. Printmaker Kenojuak Ashevak and throat singer Tanya Tagaq, who won the 2014 Polaris Music Prize, are among its best-known artists. Each year Iqaluit hosts the Alianait Arts Festival, which brings live music and performance from across Inuit Nunangat.
Communities in Nunavut
