Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Park
Encyclopedia
Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Park ("the land around the river of littles fishes," referring to the arctic grayling that frequent the Meliadine River) is a park located 8 kilometre northwest of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
, Canada
. The park is situated in the valley which straddles the Meliadine River. Access is available by foot or vehicle along a gravel road from the community of Rankin Inlet directly to the south side of the park.
The park was previously referred to as Ijiraliq, a reference to both the river's cliff area and, in Inuit
legend, ijirait, or "shadow people" (said to live a parallel existence with modern people, they can shift their shapes and vanish at will). The park's physical features include an esker
covered by lichen
-moss
, glacial deposit, bedrock
outcrop, and unusual plants, including three-awned grass, found nowhere else in Kivalliq Region. There are more than 45 archaeological sites within the park and these include house ruins, tent rings, graves, and other remains of the Thule
. Some of the ruins date back as far as the Pre-Dorset
period from 1000 BC to 500 BC.
The main archaeological feature is Qamaviniqtalik ("place with ancient sod houses"). Qamaviniqtalik was occupied from around 1200 to 1775 CE by the Thule, and later by the Caribou Inuit. It was used seasonally, from late summer through early winter. At Qamaviniqtalik are house depressions in the hillside, evidence of the sod houses or qarmat which once existed there. The houses were dug into the ground, lined with stones, and roofed with skins supported by wooden poles. Such sod houses would have been occupied in fall and early winter, after which residents would move to snowhouses or igluit
on the sea ice by mid-winter. There are also rings of stones which once supported caribou-skin tents, along with several small stone hearths used to support soapstone
cooking pots. A "kayak garage" for winter storage of kayak
s, kayak cradles for drying kayaks after use in the water, stone fox traps, and stone caribou hunting blind
s are also features preserved at Qamaviniqtalik.
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The park is situated in the valley which straddles the Meliadine River. Access is available by foot or vehicle along a gravel road from the community of Rankin Inlet directly to the south side of the park.
The park was previously referred to as Ijiraliq, a reference to both the river's cliff area and, in Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
legend, ijirait, or "shadow people" (said to live a parallel existence with modern people, they can shift their shapes and vanish at will). The park's physical features include an esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
covered by lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
-moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
, glacial deposit, bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
outcrop, and unusual plants, including three-awned grass, found nowhere else in Kivalliq Region. There are more than 45 archaeological sites within the park and these include house ruins, tent rings, graves, and other remains of the Thule
Thule people
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by AD 1000 and expanded eastwards across Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region...
. Some of the ruins date back as far as the Pre-Dorset
Dorset culture
The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...
period from 1000 BC to 500 BC.
The main archaeological feature is Qamaviniqtalik ("place with ancient sod houses"). Qamaviniqtalik was occupied from around 1200 to 1775 CE by the Thule, and later by the Caribou Inuit. It was used seasonally, from late summer through early winter. At Qamaviniqtalik are house depressions in the hillside, evidence of the sod houses or qarmat which once existed there. The houses were dug into the ground, lined with stones, and roofed with skins supported by wooden poles. Such sod houses would have been occupied in fall and early winter, after which residents would move to snowhouses or igluit
Igloo
An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
on the sea ice by mid-winter. There are also rings of stones which once supported caribou-skin tents, along with several small stone hearths used to support soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
cooking pots. A "kayak garage" for winter storage of kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
s, kayak cradles for drying kayaks after use in the water, stone fox traps, and stone caribou hunting blind
Hunting blind
A hunting blind is a cover device for hunters, designed to reduce the chance of detection; ground blinds are an alternative to the traditional Treestand, movements in a well-designed ground blind can virtually be undetectable by the game....
s are also features preserved at Qamaviniqtalik.