Inuit territory
As mentioned in the article Indigenous peoples and communities of Canada published here, Canada recognizes 3 groups of indigenous people :
- Indians (First Nations);
- Inuit;
- Metis.
Where are the Inuit?
To go further regarding the Inuit, these people are circumpolar indigeanous people – that is to say who inhabit the Arctic – form Bering Strait (or Chukchi Penninsula in Russia according to one source) to Greenland passing through Alaska and Canada.
On the Canadian side, the Inuit territory is called Inuit Nunangat. This expression means “the place where the Inuit live”. Canada has several treaties/agreements regarding this particular territory. Moreover, the Canadian Constitution protects this region. Land claims agreements are living documents created in the spirit of reconciliation and partnership and take precedence over any conflicting federal, provincial or territorial laws. Canada therefore recognizes Inuit Nunangat as a geographic, politica and cultural region including its distinct language.
L’Inuit Nunangat is devided into 4 regions :
- Inuvialuit (Nordwesst Territories and Yukon);
- Nunavik (Northern Quebec);
- Nunatsiavut (Labrador);
- Nunavut.
L’Inuit Nunangat :
- Has 53 communities;
- Covers approximately 35 % of Canada’s land area;
- Covers approximately 50 % of the Canadian coastline.
In fact, half ot the Arctic belongs to or falls under the jurisdiction of the Inuit. In addition, these people are the largest holders of indigenous lands in the world. Additionally, the majority of Inuit in Canada live in Inuit Nunangat. But a quarter of Canada’s Inuit currently live outside these border.
The first Inuit
The Inuit come from northeast Alaska. There, they lived on the coast and in the tundra. They hunted seals, walruses, whales and caribou. They were, with their ancestors, the first expert hunter of large marine mammals.
Their hous was built with driftwood and grass.
The Inuit are moving east
About a millenium ago, the Alaskan Inuit began to disperse eastwast. Thus, they spread into the Canadian Arctic. However, the Canadian Arctic was already occupied by the Tunit. They disappeared and were replaced by the Inuit.
The Inuit migration probably took place in small groups of 20 to 30 people in search of better life. It appears they were targeting whaling-rich areas around Baffin and the Somerset Island. There, they quickly established large whaling villages and recreated the prosperous Alaskan way of life.
Other groups have settled in coastal areas where whale resources are poor. The Inuit relied instead on seals, caribou and fish.
The Inuit who moved east carried winter houses made of thick sod. They also took their elaborate hunting techniques with them.
The Inuit and the Vikings
The first Inuit set foot in Greenland via Smith Strait which is located at the northern end of this island.
There, they encountered Norse hunters. Indeed, Eric the Red had founded Norse (Vikings) colonies in the southwest of Greenland. These disappeared possibly around the 1400s due to climate deterioration and a few other theories including the following : the Inuit were much better adapted to arctic life the the Norse.
When Eutopeans began their great explorations in the 16th century, the Inuit owned the entire North American Arctic and Greenland.
Inuit on the Middle North Shore of Quebec
Around 1600, the Inuit occupied the coastal strip of the Labrador peninsula. They even went south to the village of Ekuanitshit (Mingan). Moreover, the village of Havre-Saint-Pierre was formely called “Pointe-aux-Esquimaux” because of the presence of Inuit in this region a long time ago (before the founding of the village). For their part, the Innu of Minganie identify this entity as “Kaiahtshimeu Niau” wich means “Eskimo point”. It should be noted that the sources are not very talkative about the disappearance of the Inuit from the Middle North Shore of Quebec.
Sources :
https://atlasdespeuplesautochtonesducanada.ca/article/inuit-nunangat-2/
https://www.inuulitsivik.ca/activites-et-culture/le-peuple-inuit/
https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=21397
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/fra/1100100014187/1534785248701
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/fra/1100100013785/1529102490303
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/fra/1467641790303/1536238795753#chp4c
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/fra/1307460755710/1536862806124
