Sanikiluaq ( iu, ᓴᓂᑭᓗᐊᖅ ) is a municipality and

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 Territorie ...

community located on the north coast of

Flaherty Island Flaherty Island is the largest island of the Belcher Islands group in Hudson Bay in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. The Inuit community of Sanikiluaq is located on its north coast. Sanikiluaq is the southernmost community in Nunavut. The is ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

, on the Belcher Islands. Despite being geographically much closer to the shores of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

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 thirte ...

, the community and the Belcher Islands lie within the

Qikiqtaaluk Region The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ) or Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name f ...

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

, Canada.

History

The community was developed in the early 1970s to replace "South Camp", located further south in the island group. To the north of the town is Kinngaaluk Territorial Park, a space designed for camping, cultural expression, and seasonal hunting. The park contains archeological remains deposited by the

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

and

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saar ...

cultures. The park is expected to be formally designated as such by the Nunavut legislature in 2019.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Sanikiluaq had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economic development

Sanikiluaq had an eider down factory for 20 years. It closed down in 2005 due to government funding running out and the population of eider ducks decreasing at a rapid rate. The factory reopened in June 2015.

Transportation

It is the southernmost community in the territory, and is served by the

Sanikiluaq Airport Sanikiluaq Airport is located at Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the Government of Nunavut. It is one of the few airports in Nunavut that uses magnetic headings for the runway rather than true headings. Airlines and destinati ...

. Air service is provided by

Air Inuit Air Inuit (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᔪᖏᑦ) is an airline based in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. It operates domestic passenger services and charter and cargo services in Nunavik, Labrador and ...

, Calm and Panorama Aviation.

Education

There are two schools in the community, Nuiyak School, with 11 teaching staff, teaches grades K-6, with 125 students enrolled.

Paatsaali School Paatsaali School is a high school in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nuna ...

has 177 students and teaches grades 7-12. In 2007, former Principal Lisi Kavik was named one of Canada's Outstanding Principals.

Broadband communications

The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by

SSI Micro SSi Canada (formerly known as SSi Micro Ltd.) is a Canadian wireless broadband internet service provider primarily serving remote areas that lack terrestrial service options. SSi was established in 1990 by Jeffrey Philipp and is headquartered in Y ...

. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

Government

The community is in the Hudson Bay Electoral District and Allan Rumbolt is the

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. He replaced Peter Kattuk in the 2008 general election. In the territorial election held October 27, 2008, the candidates were Rumbolt, Bill Fraser and Johnny Manning. Rumbolt won by 31 votes over Fraser, with 45 per cent of the vote. In the 2013 general election Allan Rumbolt was reelected. The local municipality has a Hamlet Council of elected councillors. Former acting mayor Elijassie Sala became mayor after the December 12, 2011, election, earning 87 votes, five more than incumbent Joe Arragutainaq. In the December 9, 2013, hamlet elections, Joe Arragutainaq was once again elected mayor.

Revival of Basket Making

Lyme grass basket made in Sanikiluaq in 2009

In 1996,

Nunavut Arctic College Nunavut Arctic College ( iu, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥᓯᓚᑦᑐᖅᓴᕐᕕᒃ, french: Collège de l’Arctique du Nunavut, Inuinnaqtun: ''Nunavunmi Inirnirit Iliharviat'') is a public community college in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. The colle ...

began a project in Sanikiluaq, to revive the art of sewing baskets, ''qisiq'', from ''ivigag'' or lyme grass ('' Leymus mollis''), which is common along the shorelines of

. Traditional grass baskets made by the Sanikiluaqmiut, residents of Sanikiluaq, are finely crafted, and are unique: they have lids and handles often carved from soapstone, and it "can take weeks to make just one grapefruit-sized basket".Cowan, C., 2004. Recovering the Traditional Art of Sanikiluaq Basket-Making: A Case Study of the Development of a Community-based College Curriculum, with Inuit Women of the Belcher Islands. In ''Proceedings of the Conference of Indigenous Knowledges''. The baskets are of great significance to the community, because of the complexity of the sewing and coiling techniques used, but there were no remaining experienced basket-makers practicing the art. Therefore, community members came together to revive the art of traditional Sanikiluaq basketry, consulting Elders for their advice and knowledge, as well as using photographs and descriptions from the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, and relying on their collective cultural memory and extant skills.

Film

Written and directed by Joel Heath, with support from the community of Sanikiluaq, ''

People of a Feather ''People of a Feather'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Joel Heath and released in 2011."Documentary about ducks in Hudson Bay investigates our role in the cycle of life". ''Prince George Citizen'', March 2, 2012. The film explores th ...

'' is a documentary film about the relationship between climate change, hydroelectric dams, eider ducks and the people of the Belcher Islands."Documentary about ducks in Hudson Bay investigates our role in the cycle of life". '' Prince George Citizen'', March 2, 2012.