Killiniq, Nunavut
Encyclopedia
Killiniq (previous spelling: Killinek; local variants: Killipaartalik or Kikkertaujak (peninsula); previously: Bishop Jones' Village; sometimes referred to as: Port Burwell) is a former Inuit
settlement, weather station
, trading post
, missionary post, fishing station, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police
post on Killiniq Island
. Previously within Labrador
, and then the Northwest Territories
, it is now situated within the borders of Nunavut
.
, situated in Ungava Bay
at the extreme northern tip of Labrador. The island contains the only land border between the territory of Nunavut, to the west, and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
, to the east.
The settlement developed around Port Burwell harbour, located at the mouth of Hudson Strait
. It is surrounded by coastal cliffs of an otherwise barren and rocky island, and a sea, frozen almost year-round.
Though there is an abundance of seal, walrus, and Arctic char
that promoted habitation, the settlement area is bereft of trees and wood. Some brushwood is scattered amongst stones. Wildflowers and moss are found nearby, but berries are located miles further afield.
map. It was visited in 1587 by John Davis, and in 1602 by George Weymouth
.
Approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Killiniq, Alpheus Spring Packard
, the American
entomologist and palaeontologist, discovered the remains of an Inuit settlement.
A Dominion
Government Meteorological Station was established at Port Burwell in 1884.
From 1898 through 1904, Job Brothers & Co., Limited
, a Newfoundland-based mercantile and trading company operated a fishing station.
The Anglican
missionary, Rev. Sam M. Stewart of the Colonial and Continental Church Society
arrived in 1899 to establish a mission. Having been appointed by Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland
to the post, Stewart called the settlement "Bishop Jones' Village". in 1899.
In 1904, the Moravian missionaries, the Brethren's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen, bought the Job Brothers station. At the northwest corner of the Fort Burwell harbour, they established their own mission and trading post, including a bakery, smithy, and carpentry shop. Church services included a harmonium
. The next year, the Moravians announced in their periodical account that the local name "Kikkertaujak" would be changed to "Killinek". Some of the missionaries included Rev. P. Hettasch, Rev. Walter W. Perrett, and Rev. S. Waldmann. During the period of August-October 1906, Dresden
ornithologist Bernhard Hantzsch
stayed at the Killiniq mission studying the Inuit culture, and creating bird and mammal inventories of the surrounding lakes and mountains. The Moravians closed their mission in 1924.
In 1916, the Hudson's Bay Company moved their George River trading post to the northeast part of the Fort Burwell harbour. The Moravians sold their post to the HBC in 1923, and the HBC closed the consolidated trading post in 1939.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police posted a detachment in 1920, and expanded it in 1926. It was moved in 1936 to Port Harrison, Quebec
.
In 1942, the Hudson's Bay Company moved a dozen residents from Port Burwell to Southampton Island
. Though Killenk lacked a permanent landing strip because of its terrain, the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard wanted to use the location as a stop over while constructing Arctic airfields in Baffin Island
, Northern Quebec, and Greenland
during the Second World War.
The Kikitayok Co-op was established in 1952 with animal materials, sculptures, biscuits, sardines, and ammunition. It was the second Co-op in the eastern Arctic. In 1964, a classroom was built and there was a full-time teacher in Killinq. The airport code for the landing strip was XBW.
Although the Inuit
of Killiniq were recognized as a signatory to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
in November 1975, this did not prevent a gradual deterioration in government services and programs at Killiniq. This decline created an insecure environment and gave rise to a slow outmigration of families in search of settlements with assured access to essential services, especially medical and air transport. Between November 1975 and February 1978, a total of 50 Inuit left Killiniq in search of a more secure environment.
On 8 February 1978, the 47 people that remained were notified by radio that the government of the Northwest Territories was sending planes to move them from the community and that the settlement would be closed. The majority were moved to Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec
on the southern end of Ungava Bay
. All of the former residents were scattered in the host communities of Nunavik
, the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec
. They arrived without housing, without income, and without many of their personal effects. Family groups were broken up and the Inuit were separated from their seasonal hunting territory. The host communities were neither advised nor prepared for this influx of people and there were no follow up programs or special funds to help with the resettlement.
In subsequent years, there were sporadic visits by Inuit to Killiniq, including a fisheries project from 1983 through 1985 sponsored by the Makivik Corporation. Feasibility studies were conducted in the mid-1980s to relocate the displaced Killiniq Inuit to Taqpangajuk, Quebec
on the mainland, 40 km (24.9 mi) to the south of Killiniq. In the winter of 1987, several displaced Killiniq families established a new community at Taqpangajuk without government assistance.
Killiniq served as a summertime Canadian Coast Guard
weather station (VAW) until the early 1990s.
Sixteen years after the 1978 evacuation, an environmental survey was conducted in Killiniq to assess the remaining buildings, facilities and materials. The town was demolished during the 1980s or 1990s. The power lines and poles were cut down and some of the abandoned residences were bulldozed or burned; however, several are still standing today. A broken down bulldozer still exists at the site however the fuel supplies that had been left have been reported to have been depleted by visitors to the site.
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...
settlement, weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
, trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
, missionary post, fishing station, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
post on Killiniq Island
Killiniq Island
Killiniq Island is a small, remote island in northeastern Canada. Located at the extreme northern tip of Labrador between Ungava Bay and the Labrador Sea, it is notable in that it contains the only land border between Nunavut territory and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...
. Previously within Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
, and then the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, it is now situated within the borders of Nunavut
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...
.
Geography
Killiniq, the settlement, is located on Killiniq IslandKilliniq Island
Killiniq Island is a small, remote island in northeastern Canada. Located at the extreme northern tip of Labrador between Ungava Bay and the Labrador Sea, it is notable in that it contains the only land border between Nunavut territory and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...
, situated in Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...
at the extreme northern tip of Labrador. The island contains the only land border between the territory of Nunavut, to the west, and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, to the east.
The settlement developed around Port Burwell harbour, located at the mouth of Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait links the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay in Canada. It lies between Baffin Island and the northern coast of Quebec, its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley and Resolution Island. It is long...
. It is surrounded by coastal cliffs of an otherwise barren and rocky island, and a sea, frozen almost year-round.
Though there is an abundance of seal, walrus, and Arctic char
Arctic char
Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
that promoted habitation, the settlement area is bereft of trees and wood. Some brushwood is scattered amongst stones. Wildflowers and moss are found nearby, but berries are located miles further afield.
History
The Killiniq locality appears as early as 1569 on a MercatorGerardus Mercator
thumb|right|200px|Gerardus MercatorGerardus Mercator was a cartographer, born in Rupelmonde in the Hapsburg County of Flanders, part of the Holy Roman Empire. He is remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which is named after him...
map. It was visited in 1587 by John Davis, and in 1602 by George Weymouth
George Weymouth
George Weymouth was an English explorer of the area now occupied by the state of Maine. Ferdinando Gorges, who wanted to settle colonists in the area, sponsored an expedition under Weymouth, who sailed from England on March 5, 1605 on the ship Archangel and landed near Monhegan on May 17, 1605...
.
Approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Killiniq, Alpheus Spring Packard
Alpheus Spring Packard
Alpheus Spring Packard, LL.D. was an American entomologist and palaeontologist. He was the son of Alpheus Spring Packard, Sr. and the brother of William Alfred Packard. He was born in Brunswick, Maine and was Professor of Zoology and Geology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island from...
, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entomologist and palaeontologist, discovered the remains of an Inuit settlement.
A Dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
Government Meteorological Station was established at Port Burwell in 1884.
From 1898 through 1904, Job Brothers & Co., Limited
Job Brothers & Co., Limited
Job Brothers & Co., Limited was a Colony of Newfoundland-based mercantile empire that spanned three centuries. The main business of the company centered around production and development of fisheries rather than trading...
, a Newfoundland-based mercantile and trading company operated a fishing station.
The Anglican
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
missionary, Rev. Sam M. Stewart of the Colonial and Continental Church Society
Newfoundland School Society
The Newfoundland School Society was established on June 30, 1823 by a merchant named Samuel Codner. Codner first came to Newfoundland in 1788 and periodically traveled back to England were he was influenced by the Evangelical Revival occurring there during this time. He was inspired to help...
arrived in 1899 to establish a mission. Having been appointed by Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland
Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland
Llewellyn Jones, Fourth Bishop of Newfoundland, was born in Liverpool, England, 1840 October 11.Llewellyn Jones was consecrated Bishop of Newfoundland 1878 May 1 by Archbishop Tait, of Canterbury, with Bishops Jackson and Atlay assisting. His predecessor, Bishop Kelly had resigned in 1877 due an...
to the post, Stewart called the settlement "Bishop Jones' Village". in 1899.
In 1904, the Moravian missionaries, the Brethren's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen, bought the Job Brothers station. At the northwest corner of the Fort Burwell harbour, they established their own mission and trading post, including a bakery, smithy, and carpentry shop. Church services included a harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. The next year, the Moravians announced in their periodical account that the local name "Kikkertaujak" would be changed to "Killinek". Some of the missionaries included Rev. P. Hettasch, Rev. Walter W. Perrett, and Rev. S. Waldmann. During the period of August-October 1906, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
ornithologist Bernhard Hantzsch
Bernhard Hantzsch
Bernhard Adolph Hantzsch was a German ornithologist, Arctic researcher, and writer, notable for his discovery of two Icelandic bird subspecies...
stayed at the Killiniq mission studying the Inuit culture, and creating bird and mammal inventories of the surrounding lakes and mountains. The Moravians closed their mission in 1924.
In 1916, the Hudson's Bay Company moved their George River trading post to the northeast part of the Fort Burwell harbour. The Moravians sold their post to the HBC in 1923, and the HBC closed the consolidated trading post in 1939.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police posted a detachment in 1920, and expanded it in 1926. It was moved in 1936 to Port Harrison, Quebec
Inukjuak, Quebec
Inukjuak , alternatively spelled Inoucdjouac, former name and current postal name Port Harrison, is an Inuit settlement located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, Canada. Its population is 1,294...
.
In 1942, the Hudson's Bay Company moved a dozen residents from Port Burwell to Southampton Island
Southampton Island
Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...
. Though Killenk lacked a permanent landing strip because of its terrain, the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard wanted to use the location as a stop over while constructing Arctic airfields in Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
, Northern Quebec, and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
during the Second World War.
The Kikitayok Co-op was established in 1952 with animal materials, sculptures, biscuits, sardines, and ammunition. It was the second Co-op in the eastern Arctic. In 1964, a classroom was built and there was a full-time teacher in Killinq. The airport code for the landing strip was XBW.
Although the 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...
of Killiniq were recognized as a signatory to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
The James Bay And Northern Quebec Agreement was an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by the Northeastern Quebec Agreement, through which Quebec's Naskapi First Nations joined the treaty...
in November 1975, this did not prevent a gradual deterioration in government services and programs at Killiniq. This decline created an insecure environment and gave rise to a slow outmigration of families in search of settlements with assured access to essential services, especially medical and air transport. Between November 1975 and February 1978, a total of 50 Inuit left Killiniq in search of a more secure environment.
On 8 February 1978, the 47 people that remained were notified by radio that the government of the Northwest Territories was sending planes to move them from the community and that the settlement would be closed. The majority were moved to Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec
Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec
Kangiqsualujjuaq is an Inuit village with a population of approximately 620, located on the east coast of Ungava Bay at the mouth of the George River, in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada....
on the southern end of Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...
. All of the former residents were scattered in the host communities of Nunavik
Nunavik
Nunavik comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km² north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec...
, the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. They arrived without housing, without income, and without many of their personal effects. Family groups were broken up and the Inuit were separated from their seasonal hunting territory. The host communities were neither advised nor prepared for this influx of people and there were no follow up programs or special funds to help with the resettlement.
In subsequent years, there were sporadic visits by Inuit to Killiniq, including a fisheries project from 1983 through 1985 sponsored by the Makivik Corporation. Feasibility studies were conducted in the mid-1980s to relocate the displaced Killiniq Inuit to Taqpangajuk, Quebec
Taqpangajuk, Quebec
Taqpangajuk was an attempted Inuit resettlement located at Singer Inlet, 40 km southwest of Killinq in Quebec, northeastern Canada. The settlement was created in the 1980s as part of a relocation programme from Killinq. Its forecast population in 2010 was 432 people...
on the mainland, 40 km (24.9 mi) to the south of Killiniq. In the winter of 1987, several displaced Killiniq families established a new community at Taqpangajuk without government assistance.
Killiniq served as a summertime Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
weather station (VAW) until the early 1990s.
Sixteen years after the 1978 evacuation, an environmental survey was conducted in Killiniq to assess the remaining buildings, facilities and materials. The town was demolished during the 1980s or 1990s. The power lines and poles were cut down and some of the abandoned residences were bulldozed or burned; however, several are still standing today. A broken down bulldozer still exists at the site however the fuel supplies that had been left have been reported to have been depleted by visitors to the site.