Article

Igloolik

Published Online August 7, 2012

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Igloolik, Nunavut, incorporated as a hamlet in 1976, population 1454 (2011c), 1538 (2006c). The Hamlet of Igloolik is located on an island of the same name at the eastern entrance to FURY AND HECLA STRAIT, off the coast of the MELVILLE PENINSULA.

Igloolik, Nunavut, incorporated as a hamlet in 1976, population 1454 (2011c), 1538 (2006c). The Hamlet of Igloolik is located on an island of the same name at the eastern entrance to FURY AND HECLA STRAIT, off the coast of the MELVILLE PENINSULA. The area provides a unique record of unbroken INUIT habitation, with the oldest site established about 2000 BC. The modern community dates from 1959.

Roman Catholic Mass in Igloolik, Nunavut.
Mass among the Inuit retains elements of Inuit society and tradition. Image: Corel Professional Photos.

Sir William PARRY with his 2 ships Fury and Hecla were the first Europeans to visit Igloolik. Parry and his crews wintered there in 1822-23. Umik, an Inuk from Pond Inlet, set up a mission at the site in the early 1920s where he preached his own brand of Christianity. A Roman Catholic mission was established in 1931 and a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1939. The school was opened in 1960. Most of the community's residents rely on their traditional lifestyle of hunting, fishing and sealing.