Gjoa Haven

Gjoa Haven ( Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq; syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ, " site with quantities of bacon ") is a place in the region in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, Canada with about 1,100 inhabitants (of which 94 % Inuit ). It is located on the southeast coast of King William Island at Rasmussen Basin. The community is one of the fastest growing settlements of Nunavut. 1961, there were only about 100 people.

Name

It was named after the wooden ship Gjoa with which the Norwegian Roald Amundsen conquered the Northwest Passage 1903-1906.

The Inuktitut name is Uqsuqtuuq ( syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ ) and means "place with quantities of bacon ", as previously stayed whole flocks of seals here. The Inuit of the neighborhood therefore call themselves Natsilik - Inuit or Natsilingmiut (from Inuktitut " Natsiq ", Seal ).

History

1848 was the third expedition John Franklin ( the so-called " Franklin Expedition" ) to search for a Northwest Passage on King William Island her tragic end. It was not until eleven years later, in 1859, Francis Leopold McClintock reached on the search for the Franklin expedition corps the island as the next Europeans.

More than four decades later, Roald Amundsen arrived here when he and six -man crew with the " Gjoa " crossed the Northwest Passage. Amundsen had twice the winter and used the stay, to familiarize yourself with the traditional lifestyle of the Inuit Natsilik. While the crew remained on the ship, he established himself among the Inuit. In the one and a half years, there was also closer contacts between the sailors and female Native American, which is why today familial connections to the Norwegians consist in not a few settlement residents.

Later Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came, and in 1927 established the Hudson 's Bay Company trading post.

Gjoa Haven has produced a number of talented Inuit artists; the most famous was Judas Ullulaq ( 1937-1999 ).

Traffic

The Gjoa Haven Airport is 2.8 kilometers southwest of Gjoa Haven.