• The Tuniit or Dorset Culture peoples arrive in Alaska from Siberia, and then proceed to spread across the western Arctic and down the coasts of Greenland and Labrador.
• The Tuniit bring with them the bow-and-arrow and finely tailored skin clothing similar to that used by the Inuit and northern Siberian peoples today.

• The Inuit peoples appear in the southern Bering Sea or Northern Pacific

• Some of these Inuit peoples moved eastward across Arctic Canada.
• The Inuit displace the Tuniit and establish the first Inuit settlements in Nunavut.
• They bring with them Kayaks, throwing harpoons, large umiat (skin covered transport boats), strong sinew-backed bows for hunting, and well insulated houses made from boulders and turf.

The first European contact was the Norse who had established farming communities in southwest Greenland. Between the 17th and 19th centuries European contact increased with the search of the Northwest Passage and the rise of the whaling industry. European explorers and whalers introduced guns, cloth, metal tools and utensils, musical instruments, and dances to the native population. They also brought alcohol, tobacco, and disease, and wiped out many animal herds which the Inuit depended upon for food and clothing. In 1670, Britain claimed the area of Nunavut and became part of Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory. Two hundred years later, Canada purchased the land from Britain and renamed it the North-West Territories.

The 20th Century

The Inuit way of life in Nunavut underwent massive economic, social, and cultural changes during the 20th century.

1. Economic Changes
• The whaling industry collapsed and was replaced by the fur trade
• The Inuit hunted seals and caribou and trapped fur-bearing animals, trading pelts for European goods



2. Social Changes
• Inuit began to move away from traditional lifestyles on the land
• During World War II and the Cold War, newly constructed military installations attracted many Inuit with the promise of wage employment and the services associated with these sites
• In the 1950s, the Canadian government began sponsoring the movement of the Inuit people into settlements
• In 1953, the government moved 17 families from Pond Inlet and the northern Quebec community of Inukjuak to Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord in the High Arctic
• In response to starvation amongst the Inuit of the Keewatin lands, the government relocated many to the newly created community of Rankin Inlet
  
  
3. Cultural Changes
   • Catholic and Protestant missionaries converted most Inuit to Christianity
   • The Canadian government helped this assimilation by assigning Inuit education to the churches and their residential school systems. These were boarding schools where Inuit children were separated from their families and traditional cultures
     
     

The Creation of Nunavut

• 1960s - A call arose for redress of Inuit grievances
• 1971 - The Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC) was formed to pursue land claims in the Northwest Territories. These claims gained legitimacy with several court decisions and constitutional developments
• 1973 - The Calder case stated the Supreme Court of British Columbia acknowledged the existence of aboriginal rights and title in Canada
• 1982 - The Constitution Act of 1982 constitutionally enshrined aboriginal rights
• 1982 - The Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) is formed to pursue land claim and self-government negotiations on behalf of the Inuit of Nunavut
• 1992 - September - A final agreement is reached between TFN and the federal and territorial governments. This agreement called for the creation of a new territory, a land claims agreement, and the extinguishing of Inuit aboriginal title
• 1992 - A transition period was agreed upon to allow the Inuit to prepare for the new government of Nunavut and for the training of an indigenous public service
• 1992 - May - A plebiscite was held in the Northwest Territories in which a majority of the residents approved the proposed boundaries of the new territory of Nunavut
• 1992 - November - The Inuit ratified the land claims agreement with the support of 85 percent
• 1993 - The Parliament passed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, ratifying the agreement with the Inuit, and the Nunavut Act, creating the territory of Nunavut out of the Northwest Territories
• 1999 - Nunavut becomes a territory

Next »
Land Claims Agreement