Kuujjuaq, Quebec

Kuujjuaq (Inuktitut: Great River) is the largest Inuit village in Nunavik, Québec, Canada with a population of 2,132 as of the 2006 census. This is up roughly 10% from 1,932 as of the 2001 Census. It is the administrative capital of Nunavik and lies on the western shore of the Koksoak River.

Until recently Kuujjuaq was known as "Fort Chimo". Chimo is a mispronunciation of the phrase saimuuq, "Let's shake hands!" Early fur traders were often welcomed with this phrase which they eventually adopted as the name of the trading post. A fictional account of this naming is found in the novel "Ungava" by Robert Michael Ballantyne.

Geography

Kuujjuaq lies about 50 km upstream from Ungava Bay. Life in this community involves a close relationship with the river. Its tides regularly change the local landscape, while their rhythm strongly influences the traditional summer activities.

Although the tree line is very close, the boreal forest is present around Kuujjuaq. Patches of black spruce and larch stand in marshy valleys. Kuujjuaq also witnesses annual migrations of the George River caribou herd. These animals pass through the region throughout August and September.

History

The first Europeans to have contact with local Inuit were Moravians. On August 25, 1811, after a perilous trip along the coasts of Labrador and Ungava Bay, Brother Benjamin Kohlmeister and Brother George Kmoch arrived at an Inuit camp on the east shore of the Koksoak River, a few kilometers downstream from the present-day settlement. Their aim was to convert "the Esquimaux to Christianity." According to the journal kept by Brother Kohlmeister, Inuit of the Koksoak River were very interested in having a Moravian mission in the area.

Around 1830, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) started the fur trade business in Nunavik by establishing their first post on the east shore of the Koksoak River, about 5 km downstream from the present-day settlement. The post closed in 1842, then reopened in 1866. At that time, Inuit as well as Montagnais and Naskapi Indians came to trade at the post.

The construction of a U.S. Air Force base (Crystal 1) in 1942 on the west shore of the Koksoak River, the site of today's settlement, and the occupation of the site by the American army between 1941 and 1945 sped up the development of the community. After the end of World War II, the United States turned the base over to the Canadian government. In 1948, a Catholic mission was established, followed by a nursing station, a school and a weather station. When the HBC moved upstream closer to the airstrips in 1958, it was followed by the remaining families that still lived across the river at Fort Chimo. In 1961, a co-operative was created.

Infrastructure

With two runways at the Kuujjuaq Airport, Kuujjuaq is the transportation hub of the entire region. There have been proposals floated by regional and provincial officials to build a road link from the south, linking to the Trans-Taïga Road and also providing access to Schefferville.

The village boasts a number of hotels, restaurants, stores, arts and crafts shops and a bank.

Notable people

*Joé Juneau, founder of a youth hockey program in Kuujjuaq
*Jeannie Snowball, re-created Ookpik for a trade fair in Philadelphia

References

* [http://www.nunavik-tourism.com/vilkuujjuaq.html Nunavik Tourism Association]

Further reading

* Bissonnette, Alain, and Serge Bouchard. "The Kuujjuaq Population's Point of View on the Social and Economic Repercussions of the Caniapiscau Cut-Off on Their Hunting and Fishing Activities". [S.l.] : Société d'énergie de la baie James, Engineering and Environment Dept., Caniapiscau-Koksoak Joint Study Group, 1984.
* Canada. "Kuujjuaq". Ottawa: Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service, 1985. ISBN 0660525968
* Canada. "Fort Chimo Airport". Hourly data summaries, no. 62. Toronto, Ont: Climatology Division, Meteorological Branch, Dept. of Transport, 1968.
* Chabot, Marcelle. "Socio-economic status and food security of low-income households in Kuujjuaq research report". Kuujjuac, Québec: Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services?] , 2004.
* Cooper, Willie. "Souvenirs d'un Kuujjuamiut = Memories of a Kuujjuamiut". Publication of the Documentation Center on Inuit History, 1. Inukjuak, Nunavik: Avataq Cultural Institute, 1988.
* Mesher, Dorothy, and Ray H. Woollam. "Kuujjuaq Memories and Musings". Duncan, B.C.: Unica Pub. Co, 1995. ISBN 0920649068
* Poirier, Glenn Gerard. "Structure and Metamorphism of the Eastern Boundary of the Labrador Trough Near Kuujjuaq, Quebec, and Its Tectonic Implications". Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1990. ISBN 0315522372
* R M Ballantyne "Ungava: A Tale of the Eskimos' Land (1857)". ISBN 978-1934554234

External links

* [http://www.nvkuujjuaq.ca/en/index.htm Kuujjuaq village]
* [http://www.krg.ca/en/index.htm Kativik Regional Government]
* [http://www.banditdenuit.com Northern light in Kuujjuaq]
* [http://www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/portal/page/portal/Librairie/Publications/en/regions/abitibi/nord_prediagnostic_en.pdf Transportation plan by Quebec provincial government] , includes study of road link.