Introduction

History

Introduction
Igloolik (also spelled Iglulik), meaning place of houses, is a small town located in the Melville Peninsula just south of northwestern Baffin Island in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The population of Igloolik is approximately 1300 people, 95% of which are Inuit. The language predominantly spoken in Igloolik is Inuktitut.

History
Information about the area’s earliest inhabitants comes mainly from numerous archeological sites on the island, some dating back more than 4000 years. Many Igloolik people are descended from members of Qidlarssuaq migration to Greenland in 1800’s. First contact with Europeans came when the British Navy ships Fury and Hecla, under the command of Captain William Edward Parry, wintered in Igloolik in 1822.
The island was briefly visited in 1867 and 1868 by an American explorer, Charles Frances Hall, in his futile search for survivors of the lost Franklin Expedition.
In 1913, Alfred Tremblay, a French-Canadian prospector with Captain Joseph Bernier’s expedition to Pond Inlet, extended his mineral exploration overland to Igloolik, and in 1921, a member of Knud Rasmussen’s Fifth Thule Expedition visited the island. The first permanent presence of outsiders in Igloolik came after the establishment of a Roman Catholic Mission in the 1930’s. By the end of the decade, the Hudson’s Bay Company also set up a post on the island.
The present community of Igloolik dates back to the late 1950’s with the federal government’s increasing administrative interest in the Arctic. By the mid-1960’s, a school, nursing station, and RCMP detachment were permanently established, as well as the Anglican Mission (1959) and the Igloolik Co-operative Ltd. (1963). As with other settlements in the eastern Arctic, Igloolik grew rapidly as Inuit families from surrounding camps moved into the community to avail themselves to services offered by government agencies. Igloolik is now home to two video production organizations: Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc., an independent company specializing in Inuit cultural programming and a local office of the Nunavut-wide Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. The film, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner was filmed in Igloolik.

The View

View of the Community

Weather

Wildlife

Weather
The temperatures in August to October range from 8°C to –15°C. The ice starts to freeze over in November. In January temperatures can go as low as –60°C. It can get very windy at times, too.
The dark season is from the middle of November to the middle of January. 24 hour daylight starts in the middle of May and runs until the middle of August. Spring camping is enjoyable. The snow does not completely melt until the middle of July.

Wildlife
The island’s flat accessible terrain, in many parts blanketed with flowering tundra plants, makes bird watching, hiking and camping especially rewarding. Numerous migratory birds visit the area in late spring and summer, many of them nesting locally, including loons, geese, eider ducks, terns, jaegers, plovers, snow bunting and snowy owl.
Break up of ice around Igloolik Island usually occurs in late July or early August. During subsequent open-water season, which lasts until mid-October, boating excursions into Fury and Hecla Strait are frequently rewarded with the unforgettable sight of bowhead whales on their summer migration in northern Foxe Basin.

Igloolik from the water

"On the Nuna"

Transportation

Housing

Transportation
First Air flies scheduled flights in and out of Igloolik several times a week. To get to Igloolik, you must travel from either Ottawa or Montreal to Iqaluit, and then on to Igloolik from there. You will either have to overnight in Ottawa or Iqaluit. The average cost of a ticket from Igloolik to Ottawa is around $2000. Airfares are extremely expensive; try to use Aeroplan points if possible. If you plan on using Aeroplan points, you must book well in advance.
Locally, people travel around the community by ATV in the spring, summer, and early fall. In the winter, snowmobile is the most practical method of transportation.

Housing
One, two and three bedroom apartments are available. You may choose furnished or not. When you are assigned an apartment, be sure to ask if it is a furnished or unfurnished unit.
Furniture in furnished units includes complete bedroom and living room furniture, fridge and stove, as well as washer and dryer. Microwave ovens, televisions, stereos, and curtains are not included. Rent ranges from approximately $900. to $1200. monthly and is deducted from your pay.
Utilities such as water delivery, sewage pump out, power, telephone, and cable/satellite services are not included in your rent. Both water and sewage services are provided by trucks, and are usually delivered every other day. When you arrive in your town, visit the hamlet office to have your service initiated. Be aware that some of the units are older than others. If you are placed in an older apartment, you may have to do some cleaning. They are in relatively good shape, but require some extra cleaning.

Flying in Igloolik

Housing in Igloolik

Schools

Schools
There are two schools in Igloolik, Ataguttaaluk Elementary School is a K to 7. Kindergarten to Grade 3 are taught in Inuktitut with one period of ESL a day. Grades 3 to 7 are taught in English with one period of Inuktitut per day. There are approximately 25 staff members and 345 students. There is a full sized gym, computer room, kitchen, woodshop, library, and science lab.
The elementary school has plenty of resources. There are no text books right now, but lots of teacher resources. There are lots of student resources ranging form paints to pencils and eraser and construction paper.

Ataguttaaluk High School goes from grade 7 to 12. There are approximately 15 people on staff and 210 students. There is a full sized gym, computer room, restricted lab facilities, and a small library. There are 6 teaching periods in a day. School starts at 8:45pm to 4:00pm with a 1 hour and 20 minute lunch period.
The high school has a shortage of science and social studies resources for junior high.

Ataguttaaluk School

Food

Communications

Postal Service

Power

Medical

Police

Churches

Recreation

Food
Another option for groceries is to mail order through a grocery store in Montreal called Metro Grenier. To do this, you must place a faxed order on Monday morning to receive food on Friday’s plane. The prices are the same as those down south but you pay 20% up charge and the cost of stamps. This offers an opportunity to get grocery items, which are not available in the community.
For non-perishable and frozen foods, people often place sealift orders- large orders that are delivered by large barges during the summer. Orders are usually made in May or June and are delivered between July and September. Orders can be made through several companies, including Marche Turenne (514-637-3231), or Marche Daoust (450-373-7347). This is recommended for items such as toilet paper, dog food, laundry detergent, soft drinks, canned food, flour, and sugar.

Communications
For phone service, call Northwestel at 1-800-661-0493. A residential line costs $35. per month. Along distance calling plan is available for $25. per month. You will need ID for a phone, a security deposit of at least $100. (a one time connection fee of $42.50). Please allow several days for your telephone line to be ready.

CBC radio broadcasts on an FM station, which is interrupted at intervals during the day with local programming.

Call the Co-op at 934-8938 to have your cable installed. Many people have Bell ExpressVu satellites because they offer more channels. Order the largest size dish if you choose to buy a satellite.

Internet service is available at the school or the library free of charge. It is possible to get Internet service at your home, but you must pay for the long distance connection to the nearest server, which can be costly because the connection is extremely slow.

There is a Canada Post office and it is open from 9 to 12 and 1 to 5 from Mondays to Fridays. Allow two to three weeks for letter or parcel delivery in Canada. ExpressPost is available.

Power
The Nunavut Power Corporation supplies the town with diesel driven electricity. Power service is well subsidized and fees vary depending on your residence, consumption, and household. A typical power bill can cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per month. To set up your electricity account, call Nunavut Power Corporation at 1-800-491-8127.

Medical
The Health Centre is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm, staffed by registered nurses who treat routine health problems. Nurses are also on call for emergencies. Doctors, dentists, and other specialists visits town on a regular basis. Contact the health center if you need to minor medical attention. Serious medical conditions, procedures, or emergencies are flown to Iqaluit or Ottawa.

Police
The RCMP have a detachment in Igloolik manned by 3 police officers. There are also community by-law officers, employed by the hamlet, who regularly patrol the community.

Churches
There is an Anglican and Roman Catholic church in town.

Recreation
There are many opportunities for people to go on land trips. Many teachers either purchase a skidoo or bring one with them to go out exploring on the land. The springtime in Igloolik is very beautiful. This is the best time of the year to get out and experience the land surrounding the town.

There are other social opportunities in Igloolik. Many people use the library, which is opened one evening a week and offers a wide selection of material. There are also community activities such as feasts and games. There is a skating rink that offers recreational skating and hockey. Both school’s gyms are also opened at selected times for community sports.

"The Arena" in Igloolik

Igloolik's community Health Centre

The Community Hall in Igloolik

Isuma Productions

Northern Store in Igloolik

The Coop

RCMP in Igloolik

Additional Information