Umingmaktok, Nunavut
Encyclopedia
Bathurst Inlet
Bathurst Inlet is a deep inlet located along the northern coast of the Canadian mainland, into which the Burnside and Western Rivers empty. The name, or its native equivalent Kingoak , is also used to identify the community of Bathurst Inlet located on the shore.-Plans for a deep-water port:A...
in the Kitikmeot Region
Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut
Kitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island...
of 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...
's Nunavut Territory. The community was previously known as Bay Chimo and the Inuit
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...
refer to the community as Umingmaktuuq ("like a musk ox").
The traditional language of the area was Inuinnaqtun and is written using the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
rather than the syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics is a writing system used by the Inuit in Nunavut and in Nunavik, Quebec...
of the Inuktitut writing system. Like Cambridge Bay
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut
Cambridge Bay, named for Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, is a hamlet located in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada...
, Bathurst Inlet
Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut
Bathhurst Inlet, , is a small Inuit community located in Bathurst Inlet in the Kitikmeot Region of Canada's Nunavut Territory...
and Kugluktuk
Kugluktuk, Nunavut
Kugluktuk is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island...
syllabics are rarely seen and used mainly by the Government of Nunavut.
Situated at the site of a deserted Hudson's Bay Company
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...
post, the community was formed as an outpost camp by Inuit families that wanted to live a more traditional lifestyle. The area around Umingmaktuuq is said to be rich in wildlife such as the Arctic fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
, fur seal
Fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...
s, barren-ground caribou
Barren-ground Caribou
Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...
, 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...
and musk ox.
As of the 1996 Census
Canada 1996 Census
The Canada 1996 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 14, 1996. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 28,846,761...
, there were 51 people living in Umingmaktuuq, all but one of whom were Inuit. As of the 2006 census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
the population was 0 as opposed to 5 people in the 2001 census
Canada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
. At present, there are two families residing permanently in the community.
With less than two dozen residents, Umingmaktuuq is one of the smallest permanent non-military communities in Nunavut. At one time the community had a school that provided education up to Grade 6. Today, any students are flown to Cambridge Bay and return to the community only for the summer and Christmas.
The community has no electricity other than that provided by portable generators, and communication with the outside world is by satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
. The only access to the community is by chartered aircraft, and the landing strip divides Umingmaktuuq in half. On one side is the old Hudson's Bay Company buildings and the Co-op store. On the other side is the main residential area.
See also
- Bathurst Inlet, NunavutBathurst Inlet, NunavutBathhurst Inlet, , is a small Inuit community located in Bathurst Inlet in the Kitikmeot Region of Canada's Nunavut Territory...
- List of communities in Nunavut
External links
- E-mail in Bay Chimo
- West Kitikmeot Slave Study (map)
- Canadian Arctic Profiles (outdated)
- http://www.nunavuttourism.com/explore/index.aspx?l=0,2,4,6,28