INUIT ART - ESKIMO ART FROM CANADA'S CENTRAL ARCTIC REGION
There
are numerous definitions for the Arctic. The boundary is
generally considered to be north of the Arctic Circle
(66° 33’N). The Arctic is mostly a vast, ice-covered
ocean, surrounded by tree-less, frozen ground, that teems
with life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and
marine mammals, birds, land animals and human societies.
The Arctic region is by its nature a unique area. The
cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples
have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. From the
perspective of the physical, chemical and biological
balance in the world, the Arctic region is in a key
position. It reacts sensitively particularly to changes in
the climate, which reflect extensively back on the global
state of the environment. From the perspective of research
into climatic change, the Arctic region is considered a
so-called-early warning system.
The Arctic is also known as the Land of the Midnight Sun.
CANADIAN
ARCTIC and THE INUIT
Canadian Inuit live in Nunavut (a territory), in Nunavik
(northern part of Quebec), in Nunatsiavut (Labrador), and
in the Northwest Territories.
Nunavut
has a population of approximately 29,300, 85% of whom are
native peoples, primarily Inuit. It is the least populated
yet the largest (2,093,190 sq. km) of the provinces and
territories of Canada -7.5% of the area is water. If
Nunavut were a sovereign nation, it would be the least
densely populated nation in the world: nearby Greenland
for example is almost the same size yet has twice the
population. Nunavut has supported a continuous population
for approximately 4000 years. Most historians also
identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland
described in Norse saga.
Nunavut
is comprised of three regions;
· Kitikmeot
· Qikiqtaaluk or Baffin Region
· Kivalliq (formerly "Keewatin region")
The
Kitikmeot Region (Central Arctic) is 457,209 sq.km and
includes the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island
with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the
Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and
the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island. Approx.
4,800 live in the Kitikmeot region in seven hamlets:
Bathurst Inlet, Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Gjoa
Haven, Kugaaruk (Pelly Bay), Kugluktuk (Coppermine),
Taloyoak and Omingmaktok (Bay Chimo).
Gallery
Canada specializes in Inuit art carvings and
Eskimo art sculptures from the Kitikmeot region.
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