Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Kangiqsualujjuaq is an Inuit
village with a population of approximately 620, located on the east coast of Ungava Bay
at the mouth of the George River, in Nunavik
, Quebec
, Canada
.
The community has also been known as Fort Severight, Fort George River, and Port du Nouveau-Québec. The name "Kangiqsualujjuaq" means "the very large bay" in Inuktitut
.
Industries in Kangiqsualujjuaq include hunting
of caribou
, seal and beluga whale, arctic char
fishing
, and the production of Inuit art
.
The town is also the main terminus of the George River canoeing
expeditions (e.g. one of Chewonki Foundation
's canoe trips
).
.jpg)
Kangiqsualujjuaq is located 1688 km (1,049 mi) to the northeast of Montreal
. Access to the township is by plane, although Kangiqsualujjuamiut occasionally travel to Kuujjuaq
in winter by snowmobile
and in summer by boat, a journey of approximately 160 km (99.4 mi) to the southwest. Journeys across the Torngat Mountains
by snowmobile to the Labrador
settlements Nain
and Nachvak
are rarely embarked upon these days, but were commonplace when dog teams were used. Cargo ships from Montreal deliver cumbersome supplies and equipment to the community every summer.
Enveloped by mountains, the township is framed by picturesque surroundings and its elevated position affords unobstructed views of the George River. The town itself is laid out on a grid pattern over levelled-ground, with two unsealed roads leading a few kilometres beyond the mountain ridges at either end of the village.
Amidst rocky outcrops and stone way-finding markers (Inukshuk
), the village landscape is dotted with stands of stunted trees and prostrate groundcovers that cling perilously to the rugged granite
terrain. In low-lying areas, the ground is covered by thick carpets of moss
and lichen
.
The Hudson's Bay Company
operated a post south of today's village (at 58:31:43.03 N 65:53:34.58 W, marked as Illutaliviniq on topographic maps) during the periods of 1838-42, 1876-1915 and 1923-32. But the Inuit of the area never settled around the post, preferring to live along the coast in summer and setting their camps about 50 km (31.1 mi) km inland in winter. In 1959, local Inuit established, on their own initiative, the first co-operative in Northern Quebec
for the purpose of marketing Arctic char
. Construction of the village began in 1962 and from then on Inuit began to settle permanently there. In 1963 a school, a co-operative store, and government
buildings were built. In 1980, Kangiqsualujjuaq was legally established as a municipality
.
The community
was stricken by an avalanche
in the early morning of January 1, 1999, which destroyed the Satuumavik School gymnasium during New Year
celebrations, killing nine. Another 25 people were injured, 12 of them seriously enough to have to be airlifted 1,500 km to Montreal for treatment. Some speculated that it may have been triggered by lively dancing at the party. The school was rebuilt on the new, safer location and renamed to Ulluriaq School.
Explorers and Missionaries
Non-Inuit residents
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
village with a population of approximately 620, located on the east coast of Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...
at the mouth of the George River, in Nunavik
Nunavik
Nunavik comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km² north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The community has also been known as Fort Severight, Fort George River, and Port du Nouveau-Québec. The name "Kangiqsualujjuaq" means "the very large bay" in Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
.
Industries in Kangiqsualujjuaq include hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
of caribou
Migratory Woodland Caribou
The migratory woodland caribou , also known as the forest caribou or woodland caribou , is a subspecies of the caribou...
, seal and beluga whale, arctic char
Arctic char
Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and the production of Inuit art
Inuit art
Inuit art refers to artwork produced by Inuit people, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive outside Alaska...
.
The town is also the main terminus of the George River canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
expeditions (e.g. one of Chewonki Foundation
Chewonki Foundation
The Chewonki Foundation is a non-profit institution in Wiscasset, Maine, that runs educational programs with an environmental focus.Founded in 1915 as a summer camp for boys, the Foundation now runs a four month high school program, Chewonki Semester School , boys and girls summer camp programs,...
's canoe trips
Canoe camping
Canoe camping is a combination of canoeing and camping. It is similar to backpacking, but canoe campers travel by canoes or kayaks...
).
Description of the township
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Access to the township is by plane, although Kangiqsualujjuamiut occasionally travel to Kuujjuaq
Kuujjuaq, Quebec
Kuujjuaq is the largest Inuit village in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada with a population of 2,132 as of the 2006 census. This is up roughly 10% from 1,932 as of the 2001 Census. It is the administrative capital of Nunavik and lies on the western shore of the Koksoak River.Kuujjuaq previously was known...
in winter by snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
and in summer by boat, a journey of approximately 160 km (99.4 mi) to the southwest. Journeys across the Torngat Mountains
Torngat Mountains
The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera. This is the peninsula that separates Ungava Bay from the Atlantic Ocean....
by snowmobile to the Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
settlements Nain
Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador
Nain or Naina is the northernmost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located about 370 kilometres by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven and other missionaries...
and Nachvak
Nachvak, Newfoundland and Labrador
Nachvak is a deep fiord in northern Labrador nearly 2 km wide and 20 km long. The fiord is divided in two arms on the western end called Tallek and Tasiuyak...
are rarely embarked upon these days, but were commonplace when dog teams were used. Cargo ships from Montreal deliver cumbersome supplies and equipment to the community every summer.
Enveloped by mountains, the township is framed by picturesque surroundings and its elevated position affords unobstructed views of the George River. The town itself is laid out on a grid pattern over levelled-ground, with two unsealed roads leading a few kilometres beyond the mountain ridges at either end of the village.
Amidst rocky outcrops and stone way-finding markers (Inukshuk
Inukshuk
An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
), the village landscape is dotted with stands of stunted trees and prostrate groundcovers that cling perilously to the rugged granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
terrain. In low-lying areas, the ground is covered by thick carpets of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
.
History
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
operated a post south of today's village (at 58:31:43.03 N 65:53:34.58 W, marked as Illutaliviniq on topographic maps) during the periods of 1838-42, 1876-1915 and 1923-32. But the Inuit of the area never settled around the post, preferring to live along the coast in summer and setting their camps about 50 km (31.1 mi) km inland in winter. In 1959, local Inuit established, on their own initiative, the first co-operative in Northern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
for the purpose of marketing Arctic char
Arctic char
Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
. Construction of the village began in 1962 and from then on Inuit began to settle permanently there. In 1963 a school, a co-operative store, and government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
buildings were built. In 1980, Kangiqsualujjuaq was legally established as a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
.
The community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
was stricken by an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
in the early morning of January 1, 1999, which destroyed the Satuumavik School gymnasium during New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
celebrations, killing nine. Another 25 people were injured, 12 of them seriously enough to have to be airlifted 1,500 km to Montreal for treatment. Some speculated that it may have been triggered by lively dancing at the party. The school was rebuilt on the new, safer location and renamed to Ulluriaq School.
Notable and historical people
Inuit Elders- Noah Angnatuk
- George Annanack
- Johnny Sam Annanack
- Maggie Annanack (Elsie Imaq)
- Sarah Annanack
- Willie Emudluk
- Benjamin Jararuse
- Tivi EtokTivi EtokTivi Etok is a Canadian Inuit artist, illustrator, and printmaker. In 1975, he was the first Inuk printmaker to have a collection of his own prints released. He is now an Inuk Elder.-Early years:...
- Willie Etok
Explorers and Missionaries
- Benjamin Gottlieb Kohlmeister
- George Kmoch
- Albert Peter LowAlbert Peter LowAlbert Peter Low was a Canadian geologist, explorer and athlete. His explorations of 1893–1895 were important in declaring Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, and eventually defining the border between Quebec and Labrador....
- John McLean
- Leonidas HubbardLeonidas HubbardLeonidas Hubbard was a journalist and adventurer.He was born in Michigan and studied at the University of Michigan , choosing journalism as a career. In 1901 he married Mina Adelaine Benson, a woman two years senior and at the time an assistant superintendent of a Staten Island hospital. They met...
Non-Inuit residents
- Donat SavoieDonat SavoieDonat Savoie , an anthropologist, was the interim Executive Director of Canada's Inuit Relations Secretariat and chief federal negotiator for Nunavik self-government before his retirement in 2006.-Early years:...
External links
- Kativik Regional Government
- Nunavik tourism - Kangiqsualujjuaq website
- Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec Statistics Canada
- Ulluriaq School, Kangiqsualujjuaq
- Inuit Knowledge and Perceptions of the Land-Water Interface, a comprehensive study of the Kangiqsualujjuaq people and their knowledge and perceptions of their homelands by Scott Heyes (2007)
- Schooling the North