-Nunavut became Canada's third territory on April1 ,1999 .
-It is the largest territory and has one-fifth of the land in Canada.
-Nunavut is made up of a mainland and many islands in the Arctic Ocean.
-Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island are two large islands.
-The Northwest Territories is west of Nunavut.
-There are about 26 settlements.
-Nunavut's capital is Iqaluit.
-flower - purple saxifrage
-motto - Nunavut, our strength
-"Nunavut" means "our land" in the Inuit language of Inuktitut.

PEOPLE

-Nunavut is the home to about25 , 000people.
-The Inuit are the aboriginal people who make up 85 percent of the population.
-Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit.
-Some people have come from other parts of Canada.
-English, French and Inuktitut are the languages spoken in Nunavut.
-The towns are very small and far away from each other.
-Airplanes bring supplies if towns can't be reached by road.
-On Baffin Island the Inuit still hunt and fish for survival.

PLACES

IQALUIT (ee-kha-lu-eet)
-largest community in Nunavut; population4300
-Canada's most northern capital
-became capital of Nunavut on April1 , 1999
-"Iqaluit" means "the place of many fish"
-located on the southern tip of Baffin Island
-winter activities : dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice-fishing
-was an airbase in the1940 s

HISTORY

-The first people to live in Nunavut were the Inuit.
-They used to live in small hunting and fishing camps.
-Fur trading posts were set up in the 1700s.
-In 1870 the territories belonged to Canada
-Inuit way of life changed. They forgot their native traditions.
-The Canadian government urged the Inuit to settle in communities.
-The Inuit requested their own territory.

LAND AND WATER

-The land and water are frozen most of the year.
-The Arctic waters are covered with ice floes.
-Icebergs break off from the glaciers and fall into the sea.
-The land is covered with sheets of ice, water pools and rivers.
-In winter you can't tell where the land ends and the sea begins.
-There are also mountains and tundra.
-Moss, tough grasses and small willow shrubs grow on the tundra.
-The soil is frozen. (Fruits and vegetables are flown in.)
-Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve is Canada's most northern park.
-It is a polar desert with very little snowfall.

INDUSTRY

-tourism: People come to fish, hike, camp, hunt, to see the wildlife.
-mining: copper, lead, silver, zinc, iron, gold and diamonds, oil and gas
-fishing : whitefish and Arctic char
-factories : packaging the raw fish and meat
-sale of Inuit arts and crafts (soapstone sculptures)

WILDLIFE

-The Inuit believe in taking care of the land and the wildlife.
-wildlife : muskoxen, caribou, polar bears, arctic foxes, whales and seals.
-They eat the meat of muskoxen, caribou, whales and seals. They also fish.
-Clothing is made from the furs of the muskoxen, polar bears, arctic foxes and seals.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Michael Kusugak writes about the Inuit way of life.
Susan Aglukark is a singer-songwriter and the first Inuit recording artist.
In April the people of Iqualuit celebrate the coming of Spring. They have dogteam and snowmobile races and contests (hunting, fishing, igloo-building, harpoon-throwing).
INUKSUIT stone towers were used as markers. They were made by the Inuit long ago to show the way for travellers.