Haneragmiut were a geographically defined

Copper Inuit Copper Inuit, also known as Kitlinermiut and Inuinnait, are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in what is now the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Ter ...

subgroup in the Canadian territory of

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

. They were the most westerly band of those that hunted in southern

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

. They were generally located on the north shore of

Dolphin and Union Strait Dolphin and Union Strait lies in both the Northwest Territories (Inuvik Region) and Nunavut (Kitikmeot Region), Canada, between the mainland and Victoria Island. It is part of the Northwest Passage. It links Amundsen Gulf, lying to the northwest, ...

, north of Cape Bexley, and south of

Prince Albert Sound Prince Albert Sound (Inuit: ''Kangiryuak'') is a Northern Canadian body of water located in the Inuvik Region of southwestern Victoria Island, Northwest Territories. It is an inlet of Amundsen Gulf. The sound separates the Wollaston Peninsula fro ...

, on Victoria Island. Though they migrated seasonally both north and south for hunting, fishing, and trade, they were unaware that Victoria Island was an island.

Ethnology

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...

discovered the Hanergmiut on May 17, 1910. At the time, the Haneragmiut numbered approximately 40 people. Seasonally, a few Haneragmiut hunted and traded to the south on the mainland with another Cape Bexley subgroup, the

Akuliakattagmiut Akuliakattagmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were located near Cape Bexley on the south shore, mainland side of Dolphin and Union Strait, and in the vicinity of the Melville Hil ...

, while other Haneragmiut migrated as far north as Tahiryuak Lake to hunt

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

with the Kanianermiut. The

Ekalluktogmiut The Ekalluktogmiut (also spelt Iqaluktuurmiutat and Ikaluktuurmiut) were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in Canada's Nunavut territory. They were located along the Ekalluk River near the center of Victoria Island, Albert Edward Bay ...

were situated to the east of the Haneragmiut. After his return to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1912, Stefansson made the Haneragmiut, Kanhirgmiut and Nuwukpagmiut famous, referring to them as "

Blond Eskimos Blonde Eskimos or Blond Eskimos is a term first applied in accounts of sightings of, and encounters with, light-haired Inuit (then known as "Eskimo") peoples of Northern Canada from the early 20th century, particularly around the Coronation Gulf ...

". Later studies by

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Diamond Jenness Diamond Jenness, (February 10, 1886, Wellington, New Zealand – November 29, 1969, Chelsea, Quebec, Canada) was one of Canada's greatest early scientists and a pioneer of Canadian anthropology. Early life (1886–1910) Family and childhoo ...

showed that the subgroups of

, Haneragmiut,

Kogluktogmiut Kogluktogmiut (alternate: Kogloktogmiut) were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were located by Bloody Falls (Inuktitut: ''Kogluktok''; meaning: "it flows rapidly" or "spurts like a cut artery" ...

Pallirmiut Pallirmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit group in the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut. They were located by the mouth of the Rae River (''Pallirk'') during the spring. Some stayed there during summers, while others joined the Kogl ...

, Puiplirmiut, and Uallirgmiut were mixed through intermarriage and by family shifting.

References

Copper Inuit {{Nunavut-stub