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76-655: The history of Nunavut covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Eskimo thousands of years ago to present day. Prior to the colonization of the continent by Europeans, the lands encompassing present-day Nunavut were inhabited by several historical cultural groups, including the Pre-Dorset , the Dorsets , the Thule and their descendants, the Inuit . From the 18th century, the territory

152-646: A Saqqaq culture area. The scientists reported that the man, dubbed "Inuk" (the Inuktitut word for "person"), had A+ blood type and genes suggesting he was adapted to cold weather, had brown eyes, brownish skin, and dark hair, and would have likely balded later in life. This marked the first sequencing of an ancient human's genome and the first sequencing of an ancient human's mitochondrial genome. A 2017 study identifies Paleo-Eskimo ancestry in Athabaskan and in other Na-Dene-speaking populations. The authors note that

228-727: A Senior Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History , wrote that there is insufficient published evidence to support Sutherland's claims, and that the Dorset were using spun cordage by the 6th century. In 1992, Elizabeth Wayland Barber wrote that a piece of three-ply yarn that dates to the Paleolithic era, that ended about 10,000 BP, was found at the Lascaux caves in France. This yarn consisted of three s-twist strands that were z-plied, much like

304-516: A consensus within the Alaskan context is difficult. In particular, Native Alaskans do not use the word Inuit to describe themselves, and as such, terms used in Canada like "Paleo Inuit" and "Ancestral Inuit" would not be optimal; they use the term "Early Arctic Pottery tradition" while noting a lack of consensus in the field. According to Pavel Flegontov: Paleo-Eskimo archeological cultures are grouped under

380-493: A large snow bank where they dig a den in which to spend the winter and later give birth. The polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct demes of the circumpolar region . Red foxes can be found predominantly in the southernmost areas of Baffin Island, away from the harshest of winter weather, though some individuals may forage and explore elsewhere. The Arctic foxes can usually be found where polar bears venture on

456-633: A temporary mining community there. Baffin Island is home to the Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary . The Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary, named for J. Dewey Soper , is located on the western side of Baffin Island from Bowman Bay to the Koukdjuak River . It is an 8,159 km (3,150 sq mi) area that was classified a wetland of international importance via

532-615: A whole. This lower percentage of Indigenous peoples on Baffin Island results from Iqaluit being 59.29 per cent Indigenous and 40.65 per cent non-Indigenous. Of the total population 72.17 per cent are Inuit , 0.92 per cent are First Nations , and 0.73 per cent are Métis . Except for a few First Nations people in Arctic Bay all non-Inuit Indigenous peoples live in Iqaluit. The hamlets of Kinngait (population: 1,396 ) and Qikiqtarjuaq (population: 593 ) do not lie on Baffin Island proper. Kinngait

608-672: Is at a similar latitude. Sea ice surrounds the island for most of the year and only disappears completely from the north coast for short, unpredictable periods from mid- to late June until the end of September. Most of Baffin Island lies north of the Arctic Circle —all communities from Pangnirtung northwards have polar night in winter and midnight sun in summer. The eastern community of Clyde River has twilight instead of night from April 26 until May 13, continuous sunlight for 2 1 ⁄ 2 months from May 14 to July 28, then twilight instead of night from July 29 until August 16. This gives

684-583: Is one of the major nesting destinations from the Eastern and Mid-West flyways for many species of migrating birds . Waterfowl include eiders , Canada goose , snow goose , cackling goose , and brant goose (brent goose). Shore birds include the phalarope , various waders (commonly called sandpipers ), murres including Brünnich's guillemot , and plovers . Gull species also nest on Baffin Island and they include Sabine's gull , glaucous gull , herring gull and ivory gull . Long-range travellers include

760-418: Is said to have the greatest purely vertical drop (a sheer cliff face) of any mountain on Earth, at 1,250 m (4,100 ft). The two largest lakes on the island lie in the south-central part of the island: Nettilling Lake (5,542 km ; 2,140 sq mi) and Amadjuak Lake (3,115 km ; 1,203 sq mi) further south. Baffin Island has been inhabited for over 3,000 years, first by

836-538: Is situated on Dorset Island , which is located a few kilometres from the south eastern tip of the Foxe Peninsula . Similarly, Qikiqtarjuaq is situated on Broughton Island , which is located near the northern coast of the Cumberland Peninsula . The Mary River Mine , an iron ore mine with an estimated 21-year life, at Mary River , may include building a railway and a port to transport the ore. This may create

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912-830: Is thought to have been a trading post. The Saga of Erik the Red , 1880 translation into English by J. Sephton from the original Icelandic Eiríks saga rauða : They sailed away from land; then to the Vestribygd and to Bjarneyjar (the Bear Islands). Thence they sailed away from Bjarneyjar with northerly winds. They were out at sea two half-days. Then they came to land, and rowed along it in boats, and explored it, and found there flat stones, many and so great that two men might well lie on them stretched on their backs with heel to heel. Polar-foxes were there in abundance. This land they gave name to, and called it Helluland (stone-land). In September 2008,

988-579: The Nunatsiaq News , a weekly newspaper, reported that Patricia Sutherland , who worked at the Canadian Museum of Civilization , had found archaeological remains of yarn and cordage [string] , rat droppings, tally sticks , a carved wooden Dorset culture face mask depicting Caucasian features, and possible architectural remains, which indicated that European traders and possibly settlers had been on Baffin Island not later than 1000 CE. What

1064-658: The 2021 Canadian census was 13,039 giving a population density of 0.03/km (0.07/sq mi). The population accounts for 67.37 per cent of the 19,355 people in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, 56.51 per cent of the population of the Arctic Archipelago , and 35.38 per cent of the population of Nunavut. As of the 2016 Canadian census the majority, 74.06 per cent, were Indigenous peoples and 25.83 per cent were non-Indigenous. This compares to 88.85 per cent and 14.12 per cent Indigenous and non-Indigenous people for Nunavut as

1140-805: The Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt), and include the Denbigh , Choris, Norton , and Ipiutak cultures in Alaska, and the Saqqaq, Independence, Pre-Dorset, and Dorset cultures in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. The ASTt source has been argued to lie in the Syalakh -Bel’kachi- Ymyakhtakh culture sequence of East Siberia, dated to 6,500 – 2,800 calBP . The relatively rapid spread of Paleo-Eskimos from Alaska as far as Greenland and Labrador may have been helped by their use of

1216-459: The Arctic tern , which migrates from Antarctica every spring. The varieties of water birds that nest here include coots , loons , mallards , and many other duck species. In the water (and under the ice), the main year-round species is the ringed seal subspecies, the Arctic ringed seal . It lives offshore within 8 km (5.0 mi) of land. In winter, it makes a number of breathing holes in

1292-555: The Baffin Island wolf , a grey wolf subspecies, are also year-round residents of Baffin Island. Unlike the grey wolf in southern climes, Arctic wolves often have smaller social networks, due to the barren landscape and minimal resources, thus resulting in unique hierarchies when compared with wolves found further south. For example, Arctic wolves often do not hunt in packs, although a male-female pair may hunt together. Nesting birds are summer land visitors to Baffin Island. Baffin Island

1368-592: The Canadian territory of Nunavut , is the largest island in Canada , the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland ), and the fifth-largest island in the world . Its area is 507,451 km (195,928 sq mi) with a population density of 0.03/km ; the population was 13,039 according to the 2021 Canadian census ; and it is located at 68°N 70°W  /  68°N 70°W  / 68; -70  ( Baffin Island ) . It also contains

1444-603: The Groswater of Labrador , Nunavik , and Newfoundland and the Dorset culture (500 BCE – 1400 CE), which spread across Arctic North America. The Dorset was the last major "Paleo-Eskimo" culture in the Arctic before the migration east from present-day Alaska of the Thule , the ancestors of the modern Inuit. The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has proposed that scientists use Inuit and Paleo-Inuit instead of Eskimo or Paleo-Eskimo . The archaeologist Max Friesen has argued for

1520-581: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) set up operations in the region during this period and eventually acted as an intermediary of the government. Rudimentary governance and social services were administered via trading posts owned by the HBC or religious organizations led by Christian missionaries. The fur trade ultimately led to many Inuit voluntarily or forcefully relocating to other locales along with abandoning traditional hunting and subsistence in favor of fur trapping . Despite

1596-475: The International Union for Conservation of Nature . Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife. On land, examples of year-round wildlife are barren-ground caribou , polar bear , Arctic fox , red fox , Arctic hare , lemming , and Baffin Island wolf . Barren-ground caribou herds migrate in a limited range from northern Baffin Island down to the southern part in winter, even to

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1672-543: The Northwest Passage , thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island . While the ore turned out worthless, Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit . Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson , William Baffin and Robert Bylot . Despite these explorations, these events ultimately had no significant impact on

1748-915: The Northwest Territories government theoretically exercising control of the region, Nunavut was generally left alone until the aftermath of World War II . Cornwallis and Ellesmere Islands feature in the history of the Cold War in the 1950s. Efforts to assert sovereignty in the High Arctic during the Cold War, i.e. the area's strategic geopolitical position, were part of the reason the federal government decided to forcibly relocate Inuit from northern Quebec to Resolute and Grise Fiord . The first group of people were relocated in 1953 from Inukjuak , Quebec (then known as Port Harrison) and from Pond Inlet , Nunavut. They were promised homes and game to hunt, but

1824-588: The Northwest Territories , such as some smaller islands: Qikiqtaaluk in Baffin Bay and Qikiqtaaluk in Foxe Basin . Norse explorers referred to it as Helluland ("stone land"). In 1576, English seaman Martin Frobisher made landfall on the island, naming it "Queen Elizabeth's Foreland" and Frobisher Bay is named after him. The island is named after English explorer William Baffin , who, in 1616, came across

1900-570: The Ramsar Convention on May 24, 1982. It is home of the world's largest goose colony and supports a large number of barren-ground caribou . The Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is also located on the western side of Baffin Island near Bowman Bay in the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak . It is 1,079 km (417 sq mi) and is classified as Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) under

1976-466: The bowhead whale . Found throughout the Arctic range, one group of bowhead whales is known to migrate to the Foxe Basin, a bay on the western side of Baffin Island. Baffin Island lies in the path of a generally northerly airflow all year round, so, like much of northeastern Canada, it has an extremely cold climate. This brings very long, cold winters and foggy, cloudy summers, which have helped to add to

2052-437: The fast ice close to land in their search for seals. Arctic foxes are scavengers and often follow polar bears to get their leavings. They also are known to take ground-nesting birds and their eggs and chicks, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, seagulls, shorebirds and even snowy owls, on occasion. On Baffin Island, Arctic foxes are sometimes trapped by Inuit , but there is no longer a robust fur industry . The Arctic wolf and

2128-524: The pre-Dorset , followed by the Dorset , and then by the Thule people , ancestors of the Inuit , who have lived on the island for the last thousand years. The Thule people genetically and culturally completely replaced the Dorset people some time after 1300 CE. In about 986, Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red , formed three settlements near the southwestern tip of Greenland. In late 985 or 986, Bjarni Herjólfsson , sailing from Iceland to Greenland,

2204-608: The 11th century. By 1300, the geographic extent of Thule settlement included most of modern Nunavut. A number of hypotheses have been developed to explain the Thule migration. The historically dominant model posited by Robert McGhee holds that changes in bowhead whale populations brought about by the Medieval Warm Period drew Thule hunters westward. Other hypotheses connect the migration to population pressure , warfare, over-hunting, and Greenlandic iron deposits. The migration of

2280-476: The 1953–55 Relocation . The government paid $ 10 million CAD to the survivors and their families, but did not apologize until August 18, 2010. The whole story is told in Melanie McGrath's The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic . Leading up to the 1970s, there was some discussion of splitting the Northwest Territories into two separate jurisdictions in order to better reflect

2356-522: The Canadian government. Present-day Nunavut was initially administered as a part of the Northwest Territories , although by the end of 1912, the territory only administered the lands north of the 60th parallel north and east of Yukon . During the late-20th century, the government of Canada entered into land claim negotiations with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami . The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

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2432-561: The Frobisher Bay peninsula, next to Resolution Island , then migrating back north in the summer. In 2012, a survey of caribou herds found that the local population was only about 5,000, a decrease of as much as 95% from the 1990s. Arctic hares are found throughout Baffin Island. Their fur is pure white in winter and moults to a scruffy dark grey in summer. Arctic hares and lemmings are an important food source for Arctic and red foxes and Arctic wolves. Lemmings are also found throughout

2508-735: The ICC's terminology to be adopted, and to capitalize the "P" in Paleo, to adhere to archaeological conventions in naming major traditions. In 2016, Lisa Hodgetts and Arctic editor Patricia Wells wrote: "In the Canadian context, continued use of any term that incorporates 'Eskimo' is potentially harmful to the relationships between archaeologists and the Inuit and Inuvialuit communities who are our hosts and increasingly our research partners"; they suggested using more specific terms when possible (e.g., Dorset and Groswater ); they also noted replacement for "Palaeoeskimo"

2584-605: The Isortoq River. Although in the 1970s parts of Baffin Island failed to have the usual ice-free period in the summer. Climate tables from south to north The Hall Peninsula of southern Baffin Island includes the Chidliak Kimberlite Province , which had been found to include kimberlite pipes of diamond -bearing kimberlite . The Mary River iron ore mine began operating in 2015, and shipped 4.2 million tonnes of iron ore in 2023. The White Dawn

2660-483: The Nunavut and its peoples. Beginning around the 1820s, white whalers visited the region and started hunting thousands of whales. Whaling operations were soon established in nearby Cumberland Sound and Herschel Island . The whalers and the native Inuit began trading goods and supplies. Some Inuit began working with the whalers to hunt whales in exchange for various good such as tea, tobacco, equipment and guns. Meanwhile,

2736-651: The Old Bering Sea archaeological culture became the ancestor of the Yupik and Inuit , the speakers of Eskimo–Aleut languages. A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of a large number of Paleo-Eskimos and Thule people . Paleo-Eskimos were determined to have largely belonged to the maternal haplogroup D , while Thule people largely belonged to the maternal haplogroups A . The evidence suggested that

2812-625: The Paleo-Eskimo peoples lived alongside Na-Dene ancestors for millennia. The authors believe that this represents new evidence of a genetic connection between Siberian and Na-Dene populations mediated by Paleo-Eskimos. According to these scholars, in general, the Paleo-Eskimos had large proportions of Beringian (which includes Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Eskimo-Aleut ), Siberian, and Southeast Asian ancestry. Furthermore, some geneticists and archaeologists, such as David Reich , have hypothesized that

2888-618: The Paleo-Eskimos spread the Na-Dene languages into the American continent, which would make the Paleo-Eskimos cultural and linguistic relatives (if not ancestors) of Na-Dene peoples. In 2019, scholars concluded that the Palaeo-Eskimo people were the ancestors not only of modern Na-Dene-speaking peoples but also of the Eskimo-Aleut speakers. But this contribution did not come directly; rather, there

2964-519: The Pre-Dorset culture were seasonally mobile, moving between settlements to take advantage of resources. The Pre-Dorset culture was succeeded by the Dorset culture about 2800 years ago. Differences between the Pre-Dorset and Dorset cultures include those in lithic technology , art, and styles of building. The Dorset culture additionally lacked the bow and arrow which was utilized by the pre-Dorset. The Dorset culture has been assumed to have developed from

3040-468: The Pre-Dorset, however the relationship between the two remains unclear. Helluland , a location Norse explorers describe visiting in the Sagas of Icelanders has been connected to Nunavut's Baffin Island . Claims of contact between the Dorset and Norse, however, remain controversial. The Thule people , ancestors of the modern Inuit , began migrating into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut from Alaska in

3116-413: The Thule people coincides with the decline of the Dorset, who died out between 800 and 1500. While Thule settlers may have adopted Dorset harpoon and hunting technology, there is virtually no evidence confirming contact between the two populations. The written historical accounts of Nunavut begin in 1576, with an account by English explorer, Martin Frobisher . Frobisher, while leading an expedition to find

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3192-625: The ancestors of the Paleo-Eskimos migrated from Siberia to North America in a distinct migration c. 4000 BCE, after which they remained genetically largely isolated. By 1300 CE, the Paleo-Eskimos had been completely replaced by the Thule people (the ancestors of the Inuit), who were descended from people of the Birnirk culture of Siberia. Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land ), in

3268-684: The ancient Arctic people, the Dorset and Thule, needed to be taught how to spin yarn: "It's a pretty intuitive thing to do." ...the date received on Sample 4440b from Nanook clearly indicates that sinew was being spun and plied at least as early, if not earlier, than yarn at this site. We feel that the most parsimonious explanation of this data is that the practice of spinning hair and wool into plied yarn most likely developed naturally within this context of complex, indigenous, Arctic fiber technologies, and not through contact with European textile producers. [...] Our investigations indicate that Paleoeskimo (Dorset) communities on Baffin Island spun threads from

3344-426: 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 km (6,900 sq mi) each year. 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

3420-558: The bow and arrows. They are credited with introducing this technology to populations in Eastern Canada by 2000 BCE. First Face is a paleo-Eskimo carving in the shape of an abstract human face made from walrus ivory that is between 3,900 and 3,600 years old. The artifact was located on Devon Island and is the oldest known depiction of a human face created in North America. In February 2010, scientists reported they had performed

3496-424: The city of Iqaluit (with a population of around 7,000), which is the capital of Nunavut. The Inuktitut name for the island is Qikiqtaaluk , which means "very big island" ( qikiqtaq "island" + -aluk "very big") and in Inuktitut syllabics is written as ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ . This name is used for the administrative region the island is part of ( Qikiqtaaluk Region ), as well as in multiple places in Nunavut and

3572-518: The community just over 3 1 ⁄ 2 months without true night. In the winter, the sun sets on November 22 and does not rise again until January 19 of the next year. Pond Inlet has civil twilight from December 16 to December 26. However, there is twilight for at least 4 hours per day, unlike places such as Eureka . Like most of Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic , Baffin Island has a tundra climate ( Köppen climate classification ET ), although

3648-529: The demographic character of the territory. In 1966, a public commission of inquiry on Northwest Territories government reported, recommending against division of the Northwest Territories at the time. In 1976, as part of the land claims negotiations between the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada ) and the federal government , the division of the Northwest Territories

3724-531: The feeding grounds in the Davis Strait between Greenland and Baffin Island, or into the Hudson Strait or any of the bays and estuaries in between. Usually travelling in pods of two or more, they can often be found very close to shore (100 m [330 ft] or less). They come up to breathe every 30 seconds or so as they make their way along the coastline eating crustaceans. Narwhals , which are known for

3800-523: The first genome sequencing of an ancient human. Using fragments of hair 4,000 years old, the National Museum of Denmark , the Beijing Genomics Institute , and additional collaborating scientific institutions sequenced nearly 80% of a Paleo-Eskimo man's genome. The man was found in Greenland and believed to be from the prehistoric Saqqaq culture . Based on the genome, scientists believe there

3876-660: The hair and also from the sinews of native terrestrial grazing animals, most likely musk ox and arctic hare , throughout the Middle Dorset period and for at least a millennium before there is any reasonable evidence of European activity in the islands of the North Atlantic or in the North American Arctic. A long-running debate disputes whether the Vikings taught indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic how to spin yarn when

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3952-466: The highest ice caps have an ice cap climate ( EF ). The sea is frozen for most of the year, and only a few months are above freezing. There can be seasonal lag in spring. The Barnes Ice Cap , in the middle of the island, has been retreating since at least the early 1960s, when the Geographical Branch of the then Department of Mines and Technical Surveys sent a three-man survey team to the area to measure isostatic rebound and cross-valley features of

4028-415: The ice hardens further and further out to sea. As winter progresses, they will always remain where there is open water free of ice. When the ice melts, they move in to land and can be found basking on rocks close to shore. One of the largest walrus herds can be found in the Foxe Basin on the western side of Baffin Island. Beluga or white whales migrate along the coast of Baffin Island; some head north to

4104-440: The ice, up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick. It visits each one often to keep the hole open and free from ice. In March, when a female is ready to whelp, she will enlarge one of the breathing holes that has snow over it, creating a small " igloo " where she whelps one or two pups. Within three weeks the pups are in the water and swimming. In summer, some ringed seals keep to a narrow territory about 3 km (1.9 mi) along

4180-433: The invaders arrived in the region around 1,000 years ago. The team found that some of the spun yarn dates back at least 2,000 years, long before the Vikings arrived in the area. This shows that the indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic developed yarn-spinning technologies without any help from the Vikings, the scientists said. William W. Fitzhugh , Director of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian Institution , and

4256-596: The island and are a major food source for foxes, wolves and the snowy owl . In the winter, lemmings dig complicated tunnel systems through the snow drifts to get to their food supply of dry grasses and lichens . Polar bears can be found all along the coast of Baffin Island but are most prevalent where the sea ice takes the form of pack ice , where their major food sources— ringed seals (jar seal) and bearded seals —live. Polar bears mate approximately every year, bearing one to three cubs around March. Female polar bears may travel 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) inland to find

4332-487: The island while trying to discover the Northwest Passage . It was also formerly known as James Island . Iqaluit , the capital of Nunavut, is located on the southeastern coast. Until 1987, the town was called Frobisher Bay, after the English name for Frobisher Bay on which it is located, named for Martin Frobisher . That year the community voted to restore the Inuktitut name. To the south lies Hudson Strait , separating Baffin Island from mainland Quebec . South of

4408-399: The males' long, spiralling single tusk, can also be found along the coast of Baffin Island in the summer. Much like their beluga cousins, they may be found in pairs or even in a large pod of ten or more males, females and newborns. They also can be often found close to the shoreline, gracefully pointing their tusks skyward as they come up for air. The largest summer visitor to Baffin Island is

4484-425: The northeastern coast of the island and are a part of the Arctic Cordillera . The highest peak is Mount Odin , with an elevation of at least 2,143 m (7,031 ft), although some sources say 2,147 m (7,044 ft). Another peak of note is Mount Asgard , located in Auyuittuq National Park , with an elevation of 2,011 m (6,598 ft). Mount Thor , with an elevation of 1,675 m (5,495 ft),

4560-439: The possibility that as "remote as it may seem," these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland. Sutherland's research eventually led to a 2012 announcement that whetstones had been found with remnants of alloys indicative of Viking presence. In 2018, Michele Hayeur Smith of Brown University , who specialises in the study of ancient textiles , wrote that she does not think

4636-407: The relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife. They also had to endure weeks of 24-hour darkness during the winter, and 24-hour sunlight during the summer, something that does not occur in northern Quebec. 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

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4712-517: The remoteness of the island. Spring thaw arrives much later than normal for a position straddling the Arctic Circle : around early June at Iqaluit in the south-east but around early- to mid-July on the north coast where glaciers run right down to sea level. Snow, even heavy snow, can occur at any time of the year, although it is least likely in July and early August. Average annual temperatures at Iqaluit are around −9.5 °C (14.9 °F), compared with around 5 °C (41 °F) in Reykjavík , which

4788-443: The same time, then dive and swim up to 1–2 km (0.62–1.24 mi) before surfacing again. They migrate in large pods consisting of a hundred or more seals to within 1–8 km (0.62–4.97 mi) of the shoreline, which they then follow, feeding on crustaceans and fish. Walruses , which do not migrate far off land in the winter. They merely follow the fast ice , or ice that is solidly attached to land, and stay ahead of it as

4864-447: The shoreline but may move out into the open water. In the spring they spend more time on the surface of the ice. Water species that visit Baffin Island in the summer are: Harp seals (or saddle-backed seals), which migrate from major breeding grounds off the coast of Labrador and the southeast coast of Greenland to Baffin Island for the summer. Migrating at speeds of 15–20 km/h (9.3–12.4 mph), they all come up to breathe at

4940-434: The source of this Old World contact may have been is unclear and controversial; the newspaper article states: Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So, as Sutherland said, if you believe that spinning was not an indigenous technique that was used in Arctic North America, then you have to consider

5016-407: The way a three-ply yarn is made now, the Baffin Island yarn was a simple two-ply yarn. The eight sod buildings and artifacts found in the 1960s at L'Anse aux Meadows , located on the northern tip of Newfoundland Island , remains the only confirmed Norse site in North America outside of those found in Greenland. Baffin Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region . The population of Baffin Island at

5092-400: The western end of the island is the Fury and Hecla Strait , which separates the island from the Melville Peninsula on the mainland. To the east are Davis Strait and Baffin Bay , with Greenland beyond. The Foxe Basin , the Gulf of Boothia and Lancaster Sound separate Baffin Island from the rest of the Arctic Archipelago to the west and north. The Baffin Mountains run along

5168-399: The whalers sought furs and labor. By the late 19th century, whalers were a common presence in the region. However, this process also brought negative issues for the natives, including the introduction of addictive substances like alcohol and diseases which killed many. Trading in fur became the main economic activity in Nunavut during the early 20th century after whaling declined. Meanwhile,

5244-429: Was a 'Neo-Eskimo' intermediary. According to Flegontov et al., the later Old Bering Sea archaeological culture came as a result of back-and-forth migrations across the Bering Strait by the tribes associated with the Arctic Small Tool tradition, or their descendants (Old Whaling, Choris, Norton culture, from 3,100 to 2,500 cal. yr BP). These people were mixing with the Chukotko-Kamchatkan speakers of Siberia. Eventually,

5320-423: Was a distinct, separate migration of peoples from Siberia to North America some 5,500 years ago. They noted that this was independent of earlier migrations, whose descendants comprised the historic cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas , as well as of the later migration by the Inuit. By 4,500 years ago, descendants of this migration had reached Greenland. The remains used for analysis were found in

5396-434: Was blown off course and sighted land southwest of Greenland. Bjarni appears to be the first European to see Baffin Island, and the first European to see North America beyond Greenland. It was about 15 years later that the Norse Greenlanders , led by Leif Erikson , a son of Erik the Red, started exploring new areas around the year 1000. Baffin Island is thought to be Helluland , and the archaeological site at Tanfield Valley

5472-829: Was claimed by the British, with portions of Nunavut administered as a part the Rupert's Land , the North-Western Territory , or the British Arctic Territories . After the Deed of Surrender was signed in 1870, ownership of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory was transferred from the Hudson's Bay Company to the government of Canada . In 1880, the British Arctic Territories were also transferred to

5548-534: Was discussed. On April 14, 1982, a plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories with a majority of the residents voting in favour and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later. The land claims agreement was decided in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut in a referendum . On May 25, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

5624-721: Was signed and on June 10, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed by the Canadian Parliament , with the transition completed on April 1, 1999. Paleo-Eskimo Paleo-Eskimo groups included the Pre-Dorset ; the Saqqaq culture of Greenland (2500–800 BCE); the Independence I and Independence II cultures of northeastern Canada and Greenland (c. 2400–1800 BCE and c. 800–1 BCE);

5700-524: Was signed on May 25, 1993, with a six year transitional period for the establishment of a new territory. Nunavut was formally established as a Canadian territory on April 1, 1999. Mainland Nunavut was first populated approximately 4500 years ago by the Pre-Dorset , a diverse Paleo-Eskimo culture that migrated westward from the Bering Strait region, when the region was a geographical connection between Asia and America, called Beringia . Evidence suggests

5776-468: Was still an open question and discussed "Paleo-Inuit", " Arctic Small Tool Tradition ", and "pre-Inuit", as well as Inuktitut loanwords like " Tuniit " and " Sivullirmiut " as possibilities. One 2020 paper in Journal of Anthropological Archaeology , written by Katelyn Braymer-Hayes and colleagues, notes that there is a "clear need" to replace the term "Paleo-Eskimo", citing the ICC resolution, but note finding

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