Welcome back readers of the Iron Warrior Engineering Newspaper. I hope you are all having a happy Hell Week and a jolly good time studying for those midterm examinations. I know I am not. So what better way to procrastinate than by reading (and writing) about some of the smallest villages in Canada and learn something new about all the different places in this country? You never know when this information about obscure villages in Canada can come in handy. This week we will head to northeastern Quebec to the small village of Ivujivik.
Ivujivik is a small Inuit community in the Nunavik region in northern Quebec, Canada. It is the northernmost settlement in Quebec and the northern most settlement in any Canadian province; only settlements in the Canadian territories are more northern. Inujivik in Inuktitut means “Place where ice accumulates because of strong currents” or “sea-ice crash area” and the place is aptly named. This village is surrounded by imposing cliffs and the tormented waters of Digges Sounds. This place is where the strong currents of Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait clash; where during particularly strong tides, hapless animals are crushed under the violent movements of the sea ice. But due to the strong currents of the sea, it prevents the water from completely freezing over thus allowing hunting to happen year round.
This small Inuit community has a population of 370 people as of 2011, and in 2001 96% of the people there were considered aboriginal. In 2006, this village had 42.9% of the population under the age of 15 and the median age was 19.1. This is common in many Inuit communities, where there is a large youth contingent. In 1962, Ivujivik established a cooperative to help support the local economy by developing new activities such as sculpture, crafts, and tourism focusing on hunting and fishing. Atlantic salmon and arctic char fishing is available as well as caribou hunting opportunities.
There are not many ways to get to Ivujivik. Ivujivik is located 2000 kilometres north of Montreal. There are no roads that link Ivujivik to the North American road system and there are no roads that link all the other communities in the Nunavik region together. The only way in and out of Ivujivik is through the Ivujivik Airport. This airport is served by Air Inuit which has flights out to Akulivik, Inukjuak, Kuujjuarapik, Puvirnituq, Salluit, Sanikiluaq, Umiujaq, and Montreal.
In February 2006, Lydia Angiyou, a resident of Ivujivik, saved her seven year old son and two of his friends from a polar bear attack outside the local youth centre. A local hunter heard the commotion and saved Lydia by shooting the bear down. It is believed that she was able to fight off the bear with her bare hands and save her child because of the phenomenon called “hysterical strength.” Polar bears are not common in the populated area and Lydia Angiyou was awarded the Medal of Bravery by the Governor General for her actions.
Canada is filled with small towns and villages with a rich and vibrant histories, with stories to tell from generations ago. Canada has now changed, it can be seen just by Ivujivik; the Inuit people, who were formerly nomadic, now establish settlements all over northern Canada. The next small town and village that we will be exploring will be Mayo, Yukon, 400 km north of Whitehorse, situated within the traditional territory of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun.
Leave a Reply