The creation of the
Territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999 changed the map of Canada.
Nunavut, will covers the vast eastern and central Arctic regions
across Canada's North. Nunavut was carved out of the present day
Northwest Territories. Nunavut covers 1,900,000 square kilometres
- roughly one-fifth of Canada's land mass.
Approximate Inuit population of
Nunavut - 17,500 (approximately 80 percent of the total)
Approximate total population of Nunavut - 22,000. Nunavut is made
up of three regions; Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq and Kitikmeot which
were formerly known as Baffin, Keewatin and Kitikmeot.
Igloo
also spelled Iglu, also called APUTIAK, temporary winter home or
hunting-ground dwelling of Canadian and Greenland Inuit
(Eskimos).
The term igloo, or iglu, from Eskimo igdlu ("house"), is related
to Iglulik, a town, and Iglulirmiut, an Inuit people, both on an
island of the same name. The igloo, usually made from blocks of
snow and dome-shaped, is used only in the area between the
Mackenzie River delta and Labrador where, in the summer, Inuit
live in sealskin or, more recently, cloth tents.
To build the igloo, the builder
takes a deep snowdrift of fine-grained, compact snow and cuts it
into blocks with a snow knife, a swordlike instrument originally
made of bone but now usually of metal. Each block is a rectangle
measuring about 2 feet by 4 feet (60 cm by 120 cm) and 8 inches
(20 cm) thick. After a first row of these blocks has been laid out
in a circle on a flat stretch of snow, the top surfaces of the
blocks are shaved off in a sloping angle to form the first rung of
a spiral. Additional blocks are added to the spiral to draw it
inward until the dome is completed except for a hole left at the
top for ventilation. Joints and crevices are filled with loose
snow. A clear piece of ice or seal intestine is inserted for a
window. A narrow, semicylindrical passageway about 10 feet (3 m)
long, with vaults for storing supplies, leads into the igloo.
Drafts are kept from the main room by a sealskin flap hung over
the exterior entrance to the passageway and by a low, semicircular
retaining wall that is sometimes built out a few feet from the end
of the tube. The major furnishings are a shallow saucer to burn
seal blubber for heat and light and a low sleeping platform of
snow covered with willow twigs topped by caribou furs.
The dimensions of igloos vary, but
they generally accommodate only one family. An experienced Inuit
can build a snow igloo in between one and two hours. Sod, stone,
and wood have also been used to construct igloos.
