Pangnirtung, Nunavut

Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ) is an Inuit hamlet, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut (formerly in the Northwest Territories). It is located at coord|66|08|N|65|45|W|region:CA on Baffin Island. As of the 2006 census the population was 1,325 an increase of 3.8% from the 2001 census. [ [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204009&Geo2=PR&Code2=62&Data=Count&SearchText=Pangnirtung&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=6204009 2006 census] ] Pangnirtung is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of Pangnirtung Fjord, a fjord which eventually merges with Cumberland Sound. The area of the town is 7.54 square kilometres. The mayor is Ezekiah Ushutaapik.

There is some confusion with the city name. Residents of Pangnirtung will say that the real name of the town is Panniqtuuq, which means "the place of many bull caribou". [ [http://www.qia.ca/i18n/english/communities/pang.shtm Qikiqtani Inuit Association - Pangnirtung Profile] ] However, residents early in 2005 declined a proposal to officially change the name, opting to continue with the meaningless Pangnirtung due to world marketing of the name for traditional arts; the community is well known for weaving and printmaking.

Pangnirtung is nicknamed the "Switzerland of the Arctic".

History

In 1921, the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post in Pangnirtung, and two years later the Royal Canadian Mounted Police erected a permanent office. The first government appointed teacher arrived in 1956, which in 1962 was followed by the first administrative office.

Environs

The community operates a turbot fishery. In 2008, the federal government budgeted provisions for the construction of a harbour. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Nunavut Ministers Lobby for Federal Fishery Support |url=http://thesourdough.com/index.php?articleID=15427&sectionID=87 |work=Dollars and Sense: Northern Business and Economy |publisher=thesourdough.com |date=2008-06-03 |accessdate=2008-08-21]

Parks Canada operates a visitor centre, which is located near the park office. Auyuittuq Lodge is the hamlet’s only hotel, which comprises 25 rooms, shared facilities, a dining room, and a lounge. Visitors to Pangnirtung can also stay at the Pisuktina Tungavik Territorial Campground for free.

Pangnirtung is the nearest town (1 hour by boat) to Auyuittuq National Park. Iglunga, now uninhabited, is an Inuit hamlet to the west.

Notable people

* Paul Okalik, Nunavut's premier

ee also

*Pangnirtung Airport

References

Further reading

* Arnaktauyok, Germaine. "Stories from Pangnirtung". Edmonton: Hurtig, 1976. ISBN 088830109X
* Cross, L. D. 2003. "Woven, Not Carved: The Pangnirtung Tapestries Are Northern Art with Global Appeal". "Arctic". 56: 310-314.
* Dale, Janis Elaine. "The Relationship between the Physical Environment and Benthic Faunal Communities in Pangnirtung Fiord, Baffin Island, N.W.T". Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1993. ISBN 0315764457
* Ebisuda, Ken-ichi, Takashi Kunito, Reiji Kubota, and Shinsuke Tanabe. 2002. "Arsenic Concentrations and Speciation in the Tissues of Ringed Seals (Phoca Hispida) from Pangnirtung, Canada". "Applied Organometallic Chemistry". 16, no. 8: 451.
* Hankins, Gerald W. "Sunrise Over Pangnirtung The Story of Otto Schaefer, M.D". Komatik series, no. 6. Calgary: Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary, 2000. ISBN 0919034977
* Langmark, Otto C. A., and C. O. Langmark. "The Top of Baffin Island 140 Mountain Peaks (and Other Topographic Features) Around the South End of Pangnirtung Fjord, Baffin Island, N.W.T". [Thornhill, Ont.?] : Otto Langmark & Associates, 1990. ISBN 0921779925
* Neuman, Cheryl Lynn McKenna. "Aeolian Processes and Landforms in South Pangnirtung Pass, Southeast Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada". Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1988. ISBN 0315404477
* O'Hara, Charles. "Tourism and the Social Construction of Place A Case-Study of Tourists' Spatial Practices in Pangnirtung, Nunavut". Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. ISBN 0612576787
* Tarnocai, C., and Hugo Veldhuis. "Soils and Trafficability of Pangnirtung Pass, Auyuittuq National Park Reserve". Ottawa: Research Branch (ECORC, BRC), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1998.

External links

* [http://www.uqqurmiut.com Uqqurmiut Inuit Artist Association]