Grise Fiord
| Grise Fiord ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ Aujuittuq |
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|---|---|
| — Hamlet — | |
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 Grise Fiord
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| Coordinates: 76°25′03″N 82°53′38″W / 76.4175°N 82.89389°WCoordinates: 76°25′03″N 82°53′38″W / 76.4175°N 82.89389°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Territory |  Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk Region |
| Electoral district | Quttiktuq |
| Settled | 1953 |
| Government[1][2] | |
| - Mayor | Meeka Kigutak |
| - MLA | Ron Elliott |
| Area[3] | |
| - Total | 332.7 km2 (128.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[3] | |
| - Total | 141 |
| - Density | 0.4/km2 (1.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Canadian Postal code | X0A 0J0 |
| Area code(s) | 867 |
| Website | www.grisefiord.ca |
Grise Fiord, (Inuktitut: Aujuittuq, "place that never thaws"; Inuktitut syllabics: ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ) is a small Inuit hamlet in the Qikiqtaaluk Region in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. Despite its low population (141 residents as of the Canada 2006 Census[3]), it is the largest community on Ellesmere Island. It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, with an average yearly temperature of -16.5 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit).
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[edit] Geography
Grise Fiord is the northernmost civilian settlement in Canada, but was eclipsed by Alert eight hundred km north as the North America's northernmost community when Environment Canada and the Canadian Forces began to station permanent personnel there.
Located at the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, Grise Fiord is one of three permanent settlements on the island. Grise Fiord lies 1,160 km (720 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.
Grise Fiord lies in the Arctic Cordillera mountain range which is the only major mountain system east of the Canadian Rockies.
[edit] Living conditions
[edit] Transportation
Grise Fiord is connected to the rest of the world by Grise Fiord Airport.
[edit] Climate
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The climate in Grise Fiord is severely cold. Grise Fiord has an Arctic climate, which means that there is less than 250 mm (10 in) precipitation, and temperature stays below 0 °C (32 °F) for eight months of the year. The record low was −62.2 °C (−80.0 °F). It has an average yearly temperature of −16.5 °C (2.3 °F).
| Climate data for Grise Fiord airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | −3 (27) |
−6 (21) |
−1 (30) |
0 (32) |
5 (41) |
14 (57) |
22 (72) |
17 (63) |
9 (48) |
−1 (30) |
−2 (28) |
−4 (25) |
22 (72) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −30 (−22) |
−31 (−24) |
−28 (−18) |
−19 (−2) |
−8 (18) |
−1 (30) |
4 (39) |
3 (37) |
−1 (30) |
−9 (16) |
−19 (−2) |
−28 (−18) |
−13.9 |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −33 (−27) |
−34 (−29) |
−31 (−24) |
−22 (−8) |
−10 (14) |
−3 (27) |
2 (36) |
1 (34) |
−4 (25) |
−12 (10) |
−22 (−8) |
−30 (−22) |
−16.5 |
| Average low °C (°F) | −36 (−33) |
−37 (−35) |
−34 (−29) |
−25 (−13) |
−12 (10) |
−5 (23) |
0 (32) |
−1 (30) |
−7 (19) |
−15 (5) |
−25 (−13) |
−32 (−26) |
−19.1 |
| Record low °C (°F) | −62.1 (−79.8) |
−59.5 (−75.1) |
−52.4 (−62.3) |
−43.3 (−45.9) |
−30.2 (−22.4) |
−19.1 (−2.4) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−23.6 (−10.5) |
−34.8 (−30.6) |
−47.5 (−53.5) |
−52.2 (−62.0) |
−62 (−80) |
| Source: Environment Canada |
[edit] Crime and safety
A Simon Fraser University study of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) activity in the Baffin Region states that Grise Fiord had the lowest rate of criminal offences of all communities looked at in 1992,[4] and cites a 1994 Statistics Canada survey that gives the highest perception of personal safety.[5]
[edit] History
[edit] Settlement
The settlement (and Resolute) was created by the Canadian government in 1953, partly to assert sovereignty in the High Arctic during the Cold War. Eight Inuit families from Inukjuak, Quebec (on the Ungava Peninsula) were relocated after being promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife.[6] They were told that they would be returned home after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn as it would damage Canada's claims to sovereignty in the area and the Inuit were forced to stay. Eventually, the Inuit learned the local beluga whale migration routes and were able to survive in the area, hunting over a range of 18,000 square kilometres (6,950 sq mi) each year.[7]
In 1993, the Canadian government held hearings to investigate the relocation program. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report entitled The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953-55 Relocation, recommending a settlement.[8] The government paid $10 million CAD to the survivors and their families, and gave a formal apology in 2008.[9]
In 2009, Looty Pijamini was commissioned by the Canadian Government to design a monument in memory of the relocation.[10] Depicting a sad-looking woman with a young boy and a husky, the monument was unveiled by John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, on September 10, 2010.[11][12]
[edit] Telephone network
In 1970, Bell Canada established what was then the world's most northerly telephone exchange (operated since 1992 by Northwestel).
[edit] Naming
Grise Fiord means "pig inlet" in Norwegian and was named by Otto Sverdrup from Norway during an expedition around 1900. He thought the walrus in the area sounded like pigs. Grise Fiord's Inuktitut name is Aujuittuq which means "place that never thaws."
[edit] See also
[edit] Other settlements on Ellesmere Island
[edit] References
- ^ Hamlets elect new councils
- ^ Election Results - 2008 General Election
- ^ a b c Population and dwelling counts
- ^ Curt Taylor Griffiths, Gregory Saville, Darryl S. Wood, and Evelyn Zellerer. POLICING THE BAFFIN REGION, N.W.T.: Findings From the Eastern Arctic Crime and Justice Study, 1995 [1]
- ^ "Aboriginal Peoples Survey", Statistics Canada, 1994, cited on p17 of Curt Taylor Griffiths, Gregory Saville, Darryl S. Wood, and Evelyn Zellerer, POLICING THE BAFFIN REGION, N.W.T.: Findings From the Eastern Arctic Crime and Justice Study [2]
- ^ Grise Fiord: History
- ^ McGrath, Melanie. The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006 (268 pages) Hardcover: ISBN 0007157967 Paperback: ISBN 0007157975
- ^ The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953-55 Relocation by René Dussault and George Erasmus, produced by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, published by Canadian Government Publishing, 1994 (190 pages)[3]
- ^ Royte, Elizabeth (2007-04-08). "Trail of Tears". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/books/review/Royte.t.html?ex=1188964800&en=4b6eb6a89d7e85dd&ei=5070.
- ^ "Carvers chosen for Arctic monuments", Northern News Services. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Minister Duncan Attends Unveiling of Inuit Relocation Monuments", Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ Gabriel Zarate, "For Grise Fiord’s exiles, an apology that came too late", Nunatsiaq Online. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Grise Fiord |
- http://www.arcticco-op.com/acl-baffin-region-grise-fiord.htm
- CBC News documentary about Grise Fiord that aired in 2008
- http://www.nunavuttourism.com/explore/index.aspx?l=0,2,4,10,39
- http://www.arcticcircle.ca/Baffin/Grise/
- http://mailhub.edu.nu.ca/qikiqtani/orientation/GriseFiord.html
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