Ivujivik

Ivujivik (Inuktitut: ᐃᕗᔨᕕᒃ Inuktitut pronunciation: [ivujivik], meaning "Place where ice accumulates because of strong currents", or "Sea-ice crash Area") is a northern village (Inuit community) in Nunavik, Quebec, and the northernmost settlement in any Canadian province, although there are settlements further north in the territories. Its population in the Canada 2016 Census was 414. Unlike most other northern villages in Nunavik, it has no Inuit reserved land of the same name associated with it.

Ivujivik

ᐃᕗᔨᕕᒃ
Northern village municipality
Ivujivik
Coordinates: 62°25′00″N 77°54′30″W[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionNord-du-Québec
TEKativik
Settled1938 (mission)
ConstitutedJune 27, 1981
Government
 • MayorCharlie Paningajak
 • Federal ridingAbitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou
 • Prov. ridingUngava
Area
 • Total37.50 km2 (14.48 sq mi)
 • Land35.21 km2 (13.59 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[4]
 • Total414
 • Density11.8/km2 (31/sq mi)
 • Change (2006–11)
11.9%
 • Dwellings
116
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0M 1H0
Area code(s)819
Websitewww.nvivujivik.ca

Policing for Ivujivik is provided by the Kativik Regional Police Force.[5]

Geography

Ivujivik is located in the Nunavik region of the province, some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) north of Montreal. It is only 28 kilometres (17 mi) south-west from Cape Wolstenholme, the northernmost tip of the Ungava Peninsula, which is in turn the northernmost part of the Labrador Peninsula. It is near Digges Sound, where Hudson Strait meets Hudson Bay. The municipal boundaries include an area of 35.21 square kilometers.

The area is ice-free for 20 working days a year in the summer. There are no road links to the North American road system, nor is this (or any other) Nunavik community linked by road to any of the other villages in the region. The village is served by Ivujivik Airport.

The village itself is located on a small sandy cove between imposing cliffs that drop steeply into Digges Sound. Here the strong currents from Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait clash, sometimes even crushing trapped animals between the ice floes. Directly north across the sound are West and East Digges Islands. Farther north in the Hudson Strait are Nottingham and Salisbury Islands.[6]

Demographics

As of the Canada 2016 Census, the population was 414; it was 370 in 2011, 349 in 2006 and 298 in 2001. There was a total of 91 dwellings. The population density was 10.5 persons per square kilometre.[3] In 2001, 285 of the 298 (about 96%) persons were considered aboriginal. (The data was not available for 2006.) As with many Inuit villages, there is a large youth contingent. In 2006, 42.9% of the population was below the age of fifteen. The median age was 19.1.[7]

As of 2001, unemployment was at 18.2 percent. The median income for the same census was $14,624 (in Canadian dollars.) 72 percent of the workforce walked or biked to work. (This information for 2006 is not yet available.)

Population trend:[8]

  • Population in 2016: 414 (2011 to 2016 population change: 11.9%)
  • Population in 2011: 370
  • Population in 2006: 349
  • Population in 2001: 298
  • Population in 1996: 274
  • Population in 1991: 263

History

Archaeological dating estimates nearly 3000 years since the arrival in the area of Thule People, ancestors of today's Inuit, from Baffin Island. This place would have been the starting point of Inuit migration into Quebec, explaining the presence of the Inuit along the coast of Hudson Bay.[1] On nearby Digges Island was the spot of the first encounter between Europeans and the Inuit of Nunavik. This occurred in 1610 on Henry Hudson's last mission.[6]

The Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post on Erik Cove near Cape Wolstenholme in 1909. A Catholic mission was established on the village's current site in 1938. But both locations only remained seasonal camps. In 1947, the HBC post at Erik Cove closed and a new outpost was set up in Ivujivik. This marked the beginning of the modern village as nomadic Inuit finally began to settle permanently.[1] Not until the 1960s did the Government of Canada begin to deliver health and social services.[6] In 1962, the Inuit established a cooperative that has allowed the community to better structure its local economy and develop new activities such as sculpture, crafts, and tourism focusing on hunting and fishing.[1]

Ivujivik was one of two Inuit villages that refused to sign the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. In protest, they formed the Inuuqatigiit Tunngavingat Nunamini (ITN) movement. Nonetheless, it was gradually represented by the Kativik Regional Government,[6] and eventually officially joined the agreement in 2015.[9]

2006 bear attack

In February 2006, Ivujivik resident Lydia Angiyou saved her seven-year-old son and two of his friends from a polar bear attack outside the local youth centre by placing herself between the bear and the children. A local hunter named Sirqualuk Ainalik heard the noise and ran over, saving her by shooting the bear as it attacked. It is thought that she may have benefited from a phenomenon known as hysterical strength in fighting with the bear. The presence of a polar bear in a populated area is an unusual occurrence. Angiyou was awarded the Medal of Bravery by the Governor General for her actions.[10]

Education

The Kativik School Board operates the Nuvviti School.[11]

References
  1. "Ivujivik (Municipalité de village nordique)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  2. "Ivujivik". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministre des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire. Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  3. "Ivujivik census profile". Canada 2011 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  4. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=2499140&Geo2=CD&Code2=2499&Data=Count&SearchText=Ivujivik&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1
  5. KRPF. "General Information". Home. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  6. "Ivujivik". Nunavik Tourism Association. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  7. "Ivujivik community profile". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  8. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  9. "Nunavik community joins James Bay treaty, 40 years later". Nunatsiaq. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  10. Jane George (2006-02-17). "Polar bear no match for fearsome mother in Ivujivik". Nunatsiaq News / Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit). Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  11. "Our Schools." Kativik School Board. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.