Kivitoo is an abandoned
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
community and a former
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industr ...
station
on the northeast shore of
Baffin Island in
Nunavut, Canada. Kivitoo's Inuit families moved to
Qikiqtarjuaq
Qikiqtarjuaq (; formerly known as Broughton Island until November 1998 ,) is a community located on Broughton Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The island is known for Arctic wildlife (ring seals, polar bears, bowhead whales, ...
, approximately to the south, in 1963.
History
In the early 20th century, the Sabellum Trading Company established a post at Kivitoo to service the whalers who would anchor there to flense carcasses. The post was abandoned in 1926.
Kivitoo (qivittu) (
FOX-D) is also a former
Distant Early Warning Line and is currently a
North Warning System site. Because of a nearby small coastal plain, a short airstrip was built during early operation of FOX-D.
The residents of Kivitoo were evacuated to Qikiqtarjuaq in the 1963, purportedly for their safety, after three residents of the community were killed in a collapse of the ice under their
igloos.
["Over 50 years ago, tragedy struck this Nunavut community. Zacharias Kunuk's new film wants answers"]
CBC Arts
CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...
, October 19, 2018. However, the town was never resettled afterward, as the remaining structures in the community had been demolished by authorities by the time residents tried to return.
[
The evacuation and destruction of Kivitoo is the subject of ]Zacharias Kunuk
Zacharias Kunuk ( iu, ᓴᖅᑲᓕᐊᓯ ᑯᓄᒃ, born November 27, 1957) is a Canadian Inuk producer and director most notable for his film '' Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner'', the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced entirely in Inu ...
's 2018 documentary film '' Kivitoo: What They Thought of Us''.[
]
References
External links
Photo, 2008
Whaling stations in Canada
Whaling in Canada
Former populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region
{{QikiqtaalukNU-geo-stub