HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) or inukshuk (from the iu, ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ, plural ; alternatively in
Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (; natively meaning ''like the real human beings/peoples''), is an indigenous Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe t ...
, in Iñupiaq, in Greenlandic) is a type of stone
landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
or
cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...
built by, and for the use of, Inuit,
Iñupiat The Iñupiat (or Inupiat, Iñupiaq or Inupiaq;) are a group of Alaska Natives, whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current ...
, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
region of North America. These structures are found in northern Canada, Greenland, and
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
(United States). This combined region, north of the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at wh ...
, is dominated by the tundra
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
and has areas with few natural landmarks. The inuksuk may historically have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of
veneration Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...
,
drift fence ''Drift Fence'' (reissued as ''Texas Desperadoes'') is a 1936 American Western film, directed by Otho Lovering and released by Paramount Pictures. The film's sets were designed by art director David S. Garber. Cast * Buster Crabbe as "Sling ...
s used in hunting, or to mark a food cache. The Iñupiat in northern Alaska used inuksuit to assist in the herding of
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 subsp ...
into contained areas for slaughter. Varying in shape and size, the inuksuit have ancient roots in Inuit culture. Historically, the most common types of inuksuit are built with stone placed upon stone. The simplest type is a single stone positioned in an upright manner. There is some debate as to whether the appearance of human- or cross-shaped cairns developed in the Inuit culture before the arrival of European missionaries and explorers. The size of some inuksuit suggests that the construction was often a communal effort. At Inuksuk Point (Enukso Point) on
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
, there are more than 100 inuksuit. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969.


Name

The word means "that which acts in the capacity of a human". The word comes from the morphemes ("person") and ("
ersatz An ersatz good () is a substitute good, especially one that is considered inferior to the good it replaces. It has particular connotations of wartime usage. Etymology ''Ersatz'' is a German word literally meaning ''substitute'' or ''replacement ...
, substitute"). It is pronounced in Nunavik and the southern part of
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
(see Inuit phonology for the linguistic reasons). In many of the central Nunavut dialects, it has the etymologically related name (plural: ). While the predominant English spelling is , both the Government of Nunavut and the Government of Canada through Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada promote the Inuit-preferred spelling . A structure similar to an inuksuk is called an (, "imitation of a person", plural ); it is meant to represent a human figure. has become widely familiar to non-Inuit, and is particularly found in Greenland. However, it is not the most common type of inuksuk. It is distinguished from inuksuit in general.
The Hammer of Thor ''The Hammer of Thor'' is an American young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was published on October 4, 2016 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook, and is the second book in the ''Magnus Chase and the G ...
, located on the Ungava Peninsula, Quebec may be an inuksuk.


Modern usage

Inuksuit continue to serve as an Inuit cultural symbol. An inuksuk is the centrepiece of the flag and coat of arms of the
Canadian territory Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of Nunavut, and the flag of Nunatsiavut. The
Inuksuk High School Inuksuk High School is the high school of Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. History The school opened in late 1971 as the Gordon Robertson Educational Centre with 278 students and 28 teachers.Hume, Steve (October 12, 197 ...
in Iqaluit is named after the landmark. Inuksuitparticularly, but not exclusively, of the varietyare also increasingly serving as a mainstream Canadian national symbol. In 1999, Inukshuk was the name for the International Arctic Art & Music Project of
ARBOS ARBOS is an Italian agricultural machinery company located in Migliarina di Carpi, Modena, Italy. It was founded in 1954 in Piacenza, Italy. ARBOS manufactures tractors, fertilizer equipment, seeding equipment and sprayers. History ARBOS, a ...
in the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Nunavik, and Nunavut; and in Greenland, Austria, Denmark and Norway. On July 13, 2005, Canadian military personnel erected an inuksuk on Hans Island, along with a plaque and a
Canadian flag The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...
, as part of Canada's longstanding dispute with Denmark over the small Arctic island. The markers have been erected throughout the country, often as generic gateways into tourist regions, including a inuksuk that stands in Toronto on the shores of
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border span ...
. Located in Battery Park, it commemorates the World Youth Day 2002 festival that was held in the city in July 2002. An is the basis of the logo of the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May Doan Nancy GreeneWayne Gre ...
designed by Vancouver artist Elena Rivera MacGregor. Its use in this context has been controversial among the Inuit, and the First Nations within British Columbia. Although the design has been questioned, people believe it pays tribute to Alvin Kanak's 1986 inuksuk at English Bay. Friendship and the welcoming of the world are the meanings of both the English Bay structure and the 2010 Winter Olympics emblem. The Vancouver 2010 logo and the construction of inuksuit around the world have led to increasing recognition of them. There are five authentic inuksuit which were donated to other jurisdictions wholly or in partby the government of Canada: they are located in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
, Australia; Monterrey, Mexico; Oslo, Norway;
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, United States; and
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nes ...
, Guatemala. A Canadian-donated inuksuk was built in Monterrey, Mexico, in October 2007 by the
Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...
artist Bill Nasogaluak. The sculpture was presented to the people of the northern state of Nuevo León as a gift from the Monterrey chapter of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico and the Government of Canada, to mark the chamber's 10th anniversary in the city. The sculpture stands over the
Santa Lucía Riverwalk The Santa Lucia riverwalk ( es, link=no, Paseo Santa Lucía) is an artificial river located in the Mexican city of Monterrey, Nuevo León. History Construction of the river began in 1996, but for economic reasons was stopped for nine years. I ...
. Nasogaluak, of
Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk , or ''Tuktuyaaqtuuq'' ( Inuvialuktun: ''it looks like a caribou''), is an Inuvialuit hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.Montgome ...
, personally chose the rocks for the structure from a local quarry near Monterrey. The inuksuk contains two rocks which the artist took to Mexico from Canada, one from the high Arctic and another from his home town of Toronto. Together they form the inuksuk's heart. The inuksuk was also used as the symbol of the
Summit of the Americas The Summit of the Americas (SOA) is an international summit meeting that brings together the leaders of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS). Cuba was expelled from the OAS under pressure from the United States after the Cuban Re ...
, because of its connotations of "guidance and unity ... towards common goals." Officials in various wilderness parks throughout Canada routinely dismantle inuksuit constructed by hikers and campers, for fear that they could misdirect park visitors from the cairns and other markers that indicate hiking trails. The practice of erecting inuksuit in parks has become so widespread that Killarney Provincial Park, on the north shore of Ontario's
Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To i ...
, issued a notice in 2007 urging visitors to "stop the invasion" of inuksuit. A large number of inuksuit have been built in some areas along the Trans-Canada Highway, including
Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
. In 2010, a journalist from
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
's '' Northern Life'' counted 93 inuksuit along Highway 69 between Sudbury and
Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian ...
. The journalist successfully tracked down a person who had built two inuksuit along the route; he attributed his action to having had a "fill the dreams moment where I needed to stop and do it" while driving home from a family funeral. In 2015, a small group of women near Hamilton, Ontario, constructed 1,181 inuksuit on the Chedoke Rail Trail to memorialize the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, while seeking government action. It was one of many types of activism across the county, and the newly elected government committed to conducting a national inquiry that year.Adam Carter, "Aboriginal women remembered with 1,181 inukshuks" (sic- inuksuit)
CBC News, 5 Nov 2015, posted at Remember Our Sisters website
According to '' Guinness World Records'', the tallest inuksuk is in
Schomberg, Ontario Schomberg (2021 population 2,656) is an unincorporated village in northwestern King, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine and south of the Holland River. Schomberg is accessed via Highway 9, which links Orangeville an ...
, Canada. Built in 2007, it is tall. On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the
Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the ...
, to mark Canada's support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and as a symbol for its commitment to reconciliation with Canada's First Nations, Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Wilson-Raybould on 7 March 2018 donated an inuksuk as a gift to the ICC. It was unveiled by her and ICC President Judge
Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi Silvia Alejandra Fernández de Gurmendi (born 24 October 1954) is an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and judge. She has been a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 20 January 2010 and President of the ICC from March 2015 to March 2018. ...
at the ICC premises in The Hague.''Canada Justice Minister and ICC President unveil artwork donation''
/ref>


In popular culture

The Canadian rock band Rush featured an inuksuk on the cover of their 1996 album ''
Test for Echo ''Test for Echo'' is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on 10 September 1996 on Anthem Records. It is the final Rush work before the death of Neil Peart's daughter and wife that put the band on hiatus until the r ...
''.


Gallery

File:Inuksuit marking Canada's building site at Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India.jpg, Inukshuk marking Canada's building site at
Auroville Auroville (; City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with some parts in the Union Territory of Pondicherry in India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "the M ...
, Tamil Nadu, India File:Inukshuk Sunset Kuujjuaraapik January.jpg, Inuksuk in the vicinity of Kuujjuarapik, Quebec File:Inuksuk_Gardens_Peggys_Cove.jpg, Inuksuk gardens at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada File:Inuksuk in Quebec City.jpg, An inuksuk on the grounds of the National Assembly, Quebec City File:Inuksuit in Auyuittuq, Nunavut.jpg, Inuksuit in
Auyuittuq National Park Auyuittuq National Park ( iu, ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ, , "the land that never melts") is a national park located on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, the largest political subdivision of Canada. The park was ...
,
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
, Nunavut, Canada File:Inuksuit in Auyuittuq, Baffin Is.jpg, Inuksuit in Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada File:InuksukOsoyoos1.jpg, Inuksuk on shore of Sẁiẁs Provincial Park,
Osoyoos Lake Osoyoos Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington state of the United States. Osoyoos is derived from the word ''sẁiẁs'' meaning "narrowing of the waters" in the local Okanagan language (Syilx'tsn). Located on the la ...
, British Columbia File:InuksukOsoyoos2.jpg, Inuksuk on shore of Sẁiẁs Provincial Park, Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia File:Inukshuk, Canadian Embassy, Washington.jpg, Inuksuk sculpture by David Ruben Piqtoukun in the lobby, Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C. File:Small Inukshuk.jpg, Very small Inuksuk in
Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Valley, has a ...
, Alberta File:KandaharInuksuk.jpg, Kandahar Inuksuk, June 2018 File:KandaharPlaque1.jpg, Plaque at Kandahar Inuksuk, June 2018 File:KandaharPlaque2.jpg, Memorial plaques at Kandahar Inuksuk June 2018


See also

*
Badlands Guardian The Badlands Guardian is a geomorphological feature located near Medicine Hat in the southeast corner of Alberta, Canada. The feature was discovered in 2005 by Lynn Hickox through use of Google Earth. Description Viewed from the air, the feat ...
*
Cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...
* Dolmen * Herma *
Monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...
* Missing and murdered Indigenous women *
Petroform Petroforms, also known as boulder outlines or boulder mosaics, are human-made shapes and patterns made by lining up large rocks on the open ground, often on quite level areas. Petroforms in North America were originally made by various Native A ...
*
Rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...
* Serge (religious) * Totem pole


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inuksuk Stone sculptures Indigenous sculpture of the Americas Types of monuments and memorials Inuit culture Canadian culture Outdoor sculptures in Canada Territorial symbols of Nunavut Sacred rocks