NunatuKavut
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NunatuKavut ( iu, italic=no, ᓄᓇᑐᑲᕗᑦ) is an unrecognized
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 ...
territory in
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
. The
NunatuKavut people The NunatuKavummiut (also called the ''people of NunatuKavut'', formerly Labrador Metis or Inuit-metis) are a people formally recognized by the federal government as among the Indigenous peoples in Canada. They live in central to southern Labrad ...
(previously called Inuit-Metis or Labrador Metis) are the direct descendants of the Inuit that lived south of the Churchill or Grand River prior to European contact, with recent European admixture primarily from English settlers. According to recent censuses completed by Statistics Canada, the vast majority of individuals living in NunatuKavut communities identify as 'Métis' as opposed to 'Inuit'. ''NunatuKavut'' means "Our ancient land" in the ancestral
Inuttitut Inuttitut, Inuttut, or Nunatsiavummiutitut is a dialect of Inuktitut. It is spoken across northern Labrador by Inuit, whose traditional lands are known as Nunatsiavut. The language has a distinct writing system, created in Greenland in the 1760s ...
dialect of central and southern Labrador Inuit. The region claimed by NunatuKavut generally encompasses Southern Labrador, from the Grand River south to
Lodge Bay Lodge Bay is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the southeast coast of Labrador. Encompassing a population of less than one hundred residents, the community has uniquely ...
and west to the extent of the official border between
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
. However, the land use area is much more extensive.


History


Early European contact

The area was known as ''
Markland Markland () is the name given to one of three lands on North America's Atlantic shore discovered by Leif Eriksson around 1000 AD. It was located south of Helluland and north of Vinland. Although it was never recorded to be settled by Norsemen, ...
'' in
Greenlandic Norse Greenlandic Norse is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in the Norse settlements of Greenland until their demise in the late 15th century. The language is primarily attested by runic inscriptions found in Greenland. The limited ...
and its inhabitants were known as the ''
Skræling ''Skræling'' (Old Norse and Icelandic: ''skrælingi'', plural ''skrælingjar'') is the name the Norse Greenlanders used for the peoples they encountered in North America (Canada and Greenland). In surviving sources, it is first applied to the ...
''. In 1652, an Inuit community was recorded in what is now the
Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...
region of Quebec. In 1659, Jacques Fremin described an Inuit community at
Cape St. Charles Cape St. Charles is a headland on the coast of Labrador in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the ...
.
Louis Fornel Louis Fornel (August 20, 1698 – May 30, 1745) was a Canadian people, Canadian merchant, explorer, and Seigneurial system of New France, seigneur in New France. Involved in maritime trade and both born and married into prominent Quebec families, ...
named the area from Alexis Bay to
Hamilton Inlet __NOTOC__ Hamilton Inlet is a fjord-like inlet of Groswater Bay on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Together with Lake Melville, it forms its province's largest estuary, extending over inland to Happy V ...
the "Coste des Eskimaux" in 1743 and claimed there was Inuit living around St. Michael's Bay ("Baye des Meniques"), Hawke Bay, Martin Bay and Hamilton Inlet.


Post-1763: Creation of Labrador and European contact

In 1763
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
was ceded to the Colony of Newfoundland. It included coastal area between the
St. John's River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...
and
Cape Chidley Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada, at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Cape Chidley was named by English explorer John Davis on August 1, 1587, after his friend and fellow explorer ...
and was meant as extra fishing grounds for Newfoundland fishermen. Labrador has been created using territory from the French colony of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
and the British colony of
Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...
. The inland boundary of Labrador was undefined until 1927 so
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
claimed the interior of Labrador as part of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
while Newfoundland claimed that Labrador extended far inland. Labrador was ceded back to New France (now
Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
) and Rupert's Land in 1791 but then in 1809 it rejoined Newfoundland. In 1825
Blanc-Sablon Blanc-Sablon is the easternmost community in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative région of Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 1,122 inhabitants in 2021, it is the most p ...
and territory to the west was ceded to Lower Canada however this region (
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent is a regional county municipality in the Côte-Nord region of far-eastern Quebec, Canada. It includes all communities along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence between the Natashquan River and the Newfoundland and Labrador borde ...
) remains culturally close to NunatuKavut. In 1764,
Jens Haven Jens Haven (June 23, 1724 – April 16, 1796) was a Danish-Canadian Moravian missionary and the prime mover behind the founding of the Moravian missions in Labrador. Biography Jens Haven was born at Sønderhaven in Vust parish, Jammerbugt, ...
arrived at Quirpon, Newfoundland and to Chateau Bay. He was a missionary from the
Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
. Haven learned the Inuit language and explained to them that the Colony of Newfoundland wished to enter a peaceful relationship with them. Haven had previously worked in
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
which is where he learnt the
Greenlandic language Greenlandic ( kl, kalaallisut, link=no ; da, grønlandsk ) is an Eskimo–Aleut language with about 56,000 speakers, mostly Greenlandic Inuit in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada such as Inuktitut. It is the mos ...
(which is a similar language to the
Inuttitut Inuttitut, Inuttut, or Nunatsiavummiutitut is a dialect of Inuktitut. It is spoken across northern Labrador by Inuit, whose traditional lands are known as Nunatsiavut. The language has a distinct writing system, created in Greenland in the 1760s ...
language spoken by Labradorian Inuit). In 1765, Governor
Sir Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 during the Seven ...
signed the "Labrador Treaty" with Inuit leaders at Chateau Bay. The British would protect Labrador from French and American influence while the Inuit would have the right to self-government, harvest of wildlife and natural resources. The Inuit had sided with the British during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
and fought a battle against the French and
Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
at
Battle Harbour Battle Harbour (Inuttitut: ''Putlavak'') is a summer fishing station, formerly a permanent settlement, located on the Labrador coast in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Battle Harbour was for two centuries the economic and soci ...
. The Inuit had previously had a poor relationship with the French. In 1741, the Inuit revolted against the French at Cape St. Charles. The Inuit were also known to attack Basque fishermen around the
Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
. The 1765 treaty ensured a peaceful relationship between the Inuit and the fishermen from
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and Newfoundland. The Moravian Church set up missionary posts in northern Labrador since the British hoped to colonize the south. They restricted access by Europeans to territory between Cape Chidley and Cape Harrison which created a cultural divide between the Inuit of the north and the Inuit of the south.


1800s: Intermarriage between the Inuit and Europeans

In 1810, an Englishman named William Phippard married an Inuk woman named "Sarah" and they had a son. Some other English fishermen started marrying Inuit woman as well during this time. They were later joined by large numbers of fishermen from
Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it on ...
and Trinity Bay (who were mostly of English and Irish descent). Most Inuit in southern Labrador received European surnames through intermarriage with Europeans. However, some Inuit surnames were anglicised such as "Paulo", "Kippenhuck", "Shuglo", "Tuccolk", "Elishoc", "Alliswack", "Penneyhook", and "Maggo" ("Kippenhuck" and "Toomashie" are the only remaining Inuit surnames (excluding names of people that have moved to NunatuKavut from other places). In 1824, it was recorded that the population around
Lake Melville Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the l ...
consisted of 160 Inuit, 90 European settlers and 60 "half-breeds" (people of European and Inuit descent). Of marriages recorded between 1773 and 1891 in southern and central Labrador, it was shown that 152 married people were Inuit, 27 were European, 14 were mixed and 1 was
Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
while the ethnic origin of 26 people could not be identified. The racial composition of southern Labrador during the 1800s was a mix of the Inuit and English settlers while the north remained Inuit dominant. The culture of southern Labrador was (and remains) a unique blend of Newfoundland's Celtic-influenced culture and the native Inuit culture. Newfoundland exerted significantly more control over Labrador than Canada did over its northern regions. The Newfoundland Ranger Force enforced colonial laws in Labrador like it also did in rural Newfoundland.


Post-confederation

In 1946, the
Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...
conducted an election to choose delegates for the
Newfoundland National Convention The Newfoundland National Convention of 1946 to 1948 was a forum established to decide the constitutional future of Newfoundland. Nominations On 11 December 1945 the British Government announced that there would be an election to a national c ...
. This was the first time that an election was held in Labrador and Lester Burry of
Bonavista Bay Bonavista Bay (BB) is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is demarcated by Cape Freels to the nor ...
was elected to represent Labrador. Burry wanted the
Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...
to become a province of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and in 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's 10th province. Before confederation, most Inuit lived in small settlements of a few families in isolated harbours and on islands off the coast of Labrador. During the 1950s and 1960s many communities across the province were resettled to larger population centres as part of a provincial government-sponsored program. The
collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery In 1992, Northern Cod populations fell to 1% of historical levels, due in large part to decades of overfishing. The Canadian Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John Crosbie, declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery, which f ...
also had a huge impact on NunatuKavut like it had on the province as a whole and many people left the province to find work elsewhere. In 1996, the then-Labrador Metis Association vigorously protested the KGY Group's proposed Eagle River fishing camp. The issue came up as a result of a decision by the provincial government in 1996 to call for proposals for the development of a quality sports fishing camp on the Eagle River in Labrador. Corner Brook based KGY Group (a non-aboriginal application) was selected over a Labrador company. The Labrador Metis Association claimed Eagle River as a traditional salmon fishing area of NunatuKavut. For about nine days in 1996, hundreds of residents from Cartwright and nearby communities in the Sandwich Bay area kept a supply vessel and helicopter from delivering materials to the construction site. A joint RCMP and Coast Guard operation arrested at least 47 residents involved in the protests and charged most of them with mischief. In June 1999 the Crown entered a stay of proceedings on all charges laid against members of the Labrador Metis Nation during the Eagle River protests. In 2002, a gravel road opened between Red Bay and
Cartwright Cartwright may refer to: * Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons * Cartwright (surname), including the list of people Places ; Australia * Cartwright, New South Wales ; Canada * Cartwr ...
. This road was later extended to reach
Happy Valley-Goose Bay Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
. If NunatuKavut was recognized as one of Canada's Inuit regions by the
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, (Inuktitut syllabics: , meaning "Inuit are united in Canada") previously known as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (Eskimo Brotherhood of Canada), is a nonprofit organization in Canada that represents over 65,000 Inuit acro ...
, then it would be the only one with a highway network reaching most of its communities (the towns of
Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service cen ...
and
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.Montgomery, ...
are connected by road to the rest of Canada via the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
, and are the only recognized Inuit communities that are accessible by road). In the mid-2010s, Labrador Inuit-Metis began calling themselves the Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut. NunatuKavut claims to represent 6,000 Inuit covering a third of Labrador's landmass. It is more densely populated than
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebe ...
or any other Inuit region. Many residents of anglophone communities in northeastern
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
(between the
Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence ...
and the
Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
, sometimes called the "forgotten Labrador") claim a similar Inuit and European heritage as the people of NunatuKavut.


Lower Churchill Project

The NunatuKavut have been vocal in their opposition to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.


Flag

In 2016, the NunatuKavut Community Council unveiled a proposal for its flag. The flag was designed by Barry Pardy of
Cartwright Cartwright may refer to: * Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons * Cartwright (surname), including the list of people Places ; Australia * Cartwright, New South Wales ; Canada * Cartwr ...
.


Communities

* Black Tickle-Domino *
Cartwright Cartwright may refer to: * Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons * Cartwright (surname), including the list of people Places ; Australia * Cartwright, New South Wales ; Canada * Cartwr ...
*
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
*
Lodge Bay Lodge Bay is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the southeast coast of Labrador. Encompassing a population of less than one hundred residents, the community has uniquely ...
*
Mary's Harbour Mary's Harbour is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 312 in the Canada 2021 Census, down from 341 in the Canada 2016 Census. It is serviced by Mary's Harbour Airport. Mary's Harbour surrou ...
*
Norman's Bay Norman's Bay is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is an isolated community at the head of Norman Bay, an extension of Martin Bay. The population of the community was 15 in th ...
*
Paradise River ''For the Canadian community, see Paradise River, Newfoundland and Labrador'' The Paradise River is a small, short but swift river in Pierce County, Washington. It is the first major tributary of the Nisqually River. Located entirely within the ...
* Pinsent's Arm *
Port Hope Simpson Port Hope Simpson is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, from the Quebec/Southern Labrador border in Canada. It was founded in 1934 as a company town. With the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway that crosses the region, th ...
* St. Lewis *
William's Harbour William's Harbour is a former local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community was entirely resettled in 2017. The settlement was part of the NunatuKavut territory. History A fi ...


Land claim

In the mid 1980s, the Labrador Metis Association was created by the inhabitants of Labrador's southern coast to gain recognition as a distinct ethnocultural group, as at the time the "Inuit-Metis" were considered to be merely the descendants of Inuit who had joined Western society. Little was known about the history of the "Inuit-Metis" of the time. In 2006, the Labrador Metis Association initiated a project with
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
to better understand their past through the Community-University Research Association (CURA). Following research by CURA, the "Labrador Metis" were understood to be a continuation of the Inuit of southern Labrador. In 2010, the Labrador Metis Association changed its name to reflect their newly discovered heritage, and became the NunatuKavut Community Council. In an effort to enforce the treaty of 1765, NunatuKavut launched a land claim with the federal government that is currently being negotiated. As a part of this land claim, the NunatuKavut Community Council asserts that the Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill hydroelectric project fall on their territory. The Lower Churchill hydroelectric project injunction was rejected in 2019 by the Newfoundland supreme court.


See also

*
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebe ...
*
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...
*
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'' ...


Further reading


Canadian Government: NunatuKavut Land Claim DocumentNunatuKavut Community Council Inc. Canadian Encyclopedia; Inuit presence in southern Labrador Royal Commission White Paper on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada


References


External links


Proposed flag of NunatuKavut
{{Authority control Inuit groups Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador Inuit territories Labrador Métis in Canada Indigenous peoples in Newfoundland and Labrador