Portal:Nunavut
Introduction -
Nunavut (/nuːnəˌvuːt/ (
listen); French: [nynavy(t)]; Inuktitut syllabics ᓄᓇᕗᑦ [ˈnunavut]) is the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the boundaries had been contemplatively drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland in 1949.
Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, as well as North America's second-largest (after Greenland). The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay"), on Baffin Island in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay.
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The relocation has been a source of controversy: on one hand being described as a humanitarian gesture to save the lives of starving native people and enable them to continue a subsistence lifestyle; and on the other hand, said to be a forced migration instigated by the federal government to assert its sovereignty in the Far North, in light of both the Cold War and the disputed territorial claims to the Arctic archipelago. Both sides acknowledge that the relocated Inuit were not given sufficient support during their first years after the move to prevent extreme privation.
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Selected biography -
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, OC (born 2 December 1953) is a Canadian Inuit activist. Sheila was born in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Northern Quebec, Canada. Her mother was known as a skillful healer and interpreter throughout Nunavik, and her father was an officer for the RCMP. Sheila has been a political representative for Inuit at the regional, national and international levels, most recently as International Chair for Inuit Circumpolar Council (formerly the Inuit Circumpolar Conference). Watt-Cloutier has worked on a range of social and environmental issues affecting Inuit, and has most recently focused on persistent organic pollutants and global warming.
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Did you know? -
- ...that if Nunavut was an independent country it would be the 13th largest nation on Earth (after the Democratic Republic of Congo)?
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| WikiProject Canadian Territories | ||
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