Repulse Bay, Nunavut
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Repulse Bay (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓇᐅᔮᑦ; Inuktitut: Naujaat) is an Inuit hamlet located on the shore of Hudson Bay, Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut, Canada.
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[edit] Location and wildlife
Naujaat (Repulse Bay) is located exactly on the Arctic Circle, on the north shore of Repulse Bay and on the south shore of the Rae Isthmus. Transport to the community is provided primarily by air and by an annual sealift. Naujaat is home to a wide variety of animals including polar bears, caribou, seals, whales, and walrus. There are also approximately one hundred species of birds in the area, including gyrfalcons and peregrine falcons.
[edit] History
Naujaat is translated into English variously as “seagull fledgling,” “seagull resting place” or “seagulls' nesting place,” named after a cliff five kilometers to the north, where seagulls, migrating from the south each June, make their nests. Naujaat was first visited by Europeans in the 1740s, and by the late 1800s it became a popular whaling ground for American and Scottish whalers. Many Naujat Inuit residents worked on board these whaling vessels from the south. Although there are various theories as to the origin of the English name “Repulse Bay,” many attribute the name to Christopher Middleton, who when searching for the Northwest Passage in 1742 discovered that the bay was not a route out of Hudson Bay, but rather a cul-de-sac. He is claimed to have called it "bay of Repulse, the bay where I was pushed away". Others believe that the name comes from an eighteenth-century English vessel named “Repulse” which visited the area. The Hudson's Bay Company opened a post in Repulse Bay about 1916 and in 1923 a rival fur trading company, Revillon Freres, opened a post. A Roman Catholic Mission was built in 1932. Naujat was formerly part of the District of Keewatin and the Keewatin Region; in 1999 the area became part of the Kivalliq Region.
[edit] Naujat (Repulse Bay) today
As of the 2006 census, the population was 748 an increase of 22.2% from the 2001 census.[1] The Naujat community continues to rely on traditional sealing, fishing, hunting, trapping, and carving for their livelihood, together with tourism. Naujat is known for its Inuit artisans, especially carvings (typically small realistic animal sculptures in ivory, soapstone, marble, and antler), as well as jewelry and crafts. Its people are the 'Aivilingmiut'.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- inuitarteskimoart.com [1]
- thecanadianencyclopedia.com [2]
- planetware.com [3]
- atlas.nrcan.gc.ca [4]
- arcticco-op.com [5]
- repulsebayhotel.com [6]
- gov.nu.ca/Nunavut [7]
- arcticomi.ca [8]
- bbs.keyhole.com [9]
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