Igloolik Island

Igloolik Island is a small island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Foxe Basin, very close to the Melville Peninsula (and to a lesser degree, Baffin Island), and it is often thought to be a part of the peninsula. It forms part of the Arctic Archipelago.

Igloolik Island
Remnants of older Inuit sod houses in Igloolik Point
Igloolik Island
Location in Nunavut
Geography
LocationFoxe Basin
Coordinates69°23′N 81°40′W
ArchipelagoArctic Archipelago
Administration
Canada
NunavutNunavut
RegionQikiqtaaluk
Largest settlementIgloolik
Demographics
Population1,538
Ethnic groupsInuit

The word Igloolik (Inuktitut: "there is an igloo here") comes from iglu (meaning: "house"/"building") and refers to the sod houses (qarmaq)[1] that were originally in the area.[2][3] Inuit and their ancestors have inhabited the island since 2000 BC. The archaeological sites on the island, which show a sequence up to 1000 AD, were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1978.[4][5][6]

There is only one community on the island, also named Igloolik.

Qikiqtaarjuk

On the north of Igloolik Island at 69°24′45″N 081°30′07″W is a peninsula called Qikiqtaarjuk (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᕐᔪᒃ,[7] English: little island).[8][9] About 400 – 500 years ago Qikiqtaarjuk was a separate island but due to isostatic rebound it became part of the main island.[8] Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge) says that prior to that there was an even smaller island called Puqtuniq from which the waters receded forming Qikiqtaarjuk.[10] Qikiqtaarjuk is associated with several Inuit legends and stories and was the place from where Atanarjuat starts his run.[8][9][10]

See also

References
  1. Joe Kremmidjuar Testimony
  2. Igloolik, Nunavut
  3. Igloolik at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Igloolik Island Archaeological Sites National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  5. National Historic Sites Of Canada System Plan Archived 2007-03-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. National Historic Sites Of Canada System Plan map Archived 2006-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Qikiqtaarjuk
  8. Encounters on the Passage: Inuit Meet the Explorers by Dorothy Harley Eber
  9. New Ways of Mapping: Using GPS Mapping Software to Plot Place Names and Trails in Igloolik (Nunavut) by Claudio Aporta
  10. Interviewing Inuit Elders by Alexina Kublu Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
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