The Games > Contingents > Nunavut
Nunavut
became a permanent member of the Arctic Winter Games in 2002. Prior
to that Nunavut participated in every Arctic Winter Games as part of
Team NWT. Nunavut hosted the event in its capital, Iqaluit, for the
first time in 2002, sharing the host title with Nuuk, Greenland.
Nunavut is Canada’s newest territory, created from the division of the Northwest Territories in 1999. Nunavut is an area characterized by vast tracts of Canadian Shield and tundra, as well as most of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago. Like Greenland, some of the islands in the archipelago, including Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, have permanent ice caps and coastlines cut by scenic fiords. No trees grow on any of the islands due to the low temperatures that prevail even during the summer months. The first Europeans to visit the territory now known as Nunavut were Vikings from Greenland. Following the Vikings were a group of explorers who began to search for the Northwest Passage in the 16th century. Until that time, Nunavut’s Inuit residents lived largely undisturbed in small groups, using skin boats and dog sleds to travel throughout their fishing and hunting grounds.
The territory of Nunavut, which means “our land” in the Inuktitut language, was created in an effort to address the Inuit majority’s loss of control over its traditional way of life. More than 80 per cent of Nunavut’s residents are Inuit.
Nunavut Facts
| Area | 2,093,190 sq. km |
| Population | 30,133 |
| Capital | Iqaluit |
| More Information | Travel Nunavut |
| Number of participants at the 2006 Arctic Winter Games | 262 |
| Team Website | Team Nunavut |
