Kangiqsujuaq, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Kangiqsujuaq is an Inuit
community in Nunavik
, Nord-du-Québec
, Quebec
, Canada
. It had a population of 552 in 2006. The community has also been known as Wakeham Bay. The name "Kangiqsujuaq" means "the large bay
" in Inuktitut
.
It is located on the Ungava Peninsula
, on the Cap du Prince-de-Galles on the Hudson Strait
. Municipally, it is a Nordic village with an attached Inuit reserved territory, and is part of the Kativik Regional Administration
.
During winter, when the tides are extremely low, local Inuit sometimes climb beneath the shifting sea ice to gather mussel
s. They break holes in the ice and then can walk for a short time on the exposed sea bed and collect this food. This risky way of gathering the mussels goes back for generations.
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...
community 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...
, Nord-du-Québec
Nord-du-Québec
Nord-du-Québec is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With , of which are lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area 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...
. It had a population of 552 in 2006. The community has also been known as Wakeham Bay. The name "Kangiqsujuaq" means "the large bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
" in Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
.
It is located on the Ungava Peninsula
Ungava Peninsula
The Ungava Peninsula of Nunavik, Quebec, Canada, is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait to the north, and Ungava Bay to the east. The Ungava Peninsula is part of the Labrador Peninsula and covers about 252,000 km²...
, on the Cap du Prince-de-Galles on the Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait links the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay in Canada. It lies between Baffin Island and the northern coast of Quebec, its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley and Resolution Island. It is long...
. Municipally, it is a Nordic village with an attached Inuit reserved territory, and is part of the Kativik Regional Administration
Kativik Regional Government
Kativik redirects here. For the statistical area, see Kativik .The Kativik Regional Government encompasses most of the Nunavik region of Quebec. Nunavik is the northern half of the Nord-du-Québec administrative region and includes all the territory north of the 55th parallel...
.
During winter, when the tides are extremely low, local Inuit sometimes climb beneath the shifting sea ice to gather mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s. They break holes in the ice and then can walk for a short time on the exposed sea bed and collect this food. This risky way of gathering the mussels goes back for generations.