Qikiqtarjuaq

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Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, incorporated as a hamlet in 1979, population 520 (2011c), 473 (2006c). The Hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq was formerly known as Broughton Island, the same name as the island on which it is located. The island is located off the east coast of BAFFIN ISLAND in DAVIS STRAIT. In 1998 the hamlet took its traditional Inuit name, which is pronounced "ki-kik-TAAK-jo-ahk" and means "big island." Situated on a rocky spur several kilometres from the ocean, the Inuit had contact with European whalers throughout the early part of the 17th century. Up until 1956-57, the settlement site was located at Kivitoo, 64 km north of the present community. It was here that the Inuit traded with the whalers (see WHALING). The Inuit eventually moved to Broughton Island following construction of the DISTANT EARLY WARNING (DEW) line station and a federal administrative office in the 1950s.

Present Day

Today the community relies heavily on marine mammal harvesting and the making and selling of carvings and handicrafts. The DEW line station was converted to the North Warning System in the late 1980s. Qikiqtarjuaq is also an important staging centre for tourist-adventure travel through AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK, located nearby.
Qikiqtarjuaq
Qikiqtarjuaq

Author EDWARD STRUZIK


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