Inuit High North Relocation – Some Historical Facts
November 8, 2024
The majority of Canadians, approximately 90% of us, live within 200 kilometers of the U.S. border. There are several reasons for this. There is of course significant economic activity between the U.S. and Canada that depends on trade between the two countries. Also, Canadians are very urban with a significant part of our population living in just a few cities (e.g. Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver). Given our geographic expanse and relatively small population urbanization is a necessary evil so that we can economically access infrastructure, goods and services.
Perhaps the most obvious reason that people are discouraged from living in northern Canada is simply because of the adverse climate. Yet in many ways the Canadian identity is dominated by the fact that we are a northern country. While these areas remain sparsely populated, our three territories (Yukon, North West Territories and Nunavut) are important parts of the country and help make Canada unique. However, until relatively recently Canada’s sovereignty over parts of the Arctic have been the subject of some controversy.
In 1870 as part of the formation of Canada the Hudson’s Bay Company transferred land, known as Rupert’s Land, which included all of the present-day Northwest Territories and Nunavut (but not the Arctic Islands) to Canada. Sovereignty has never been questioned with respect to the transferred lands but has remained an issue with respect to the islands and the water channels surrounding them. In July 1880, the British government transferred the rest of its possessions in the Arctic to Canada. This included “all Islands adjacent to any such Territories” whether reached or not. This claim of sovereignty was dubious. The British had discovered some of the islands but not all, so it was questionable how they could lay claim to sovereignty over all of the Arctic Islands. The Colonial Boundaries Act of 1895 attempted to alleviate these doubts; but it still lacked any solid legal foundation under international law.
In the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries Canada established Policing Stations on some of the islands and also established post offices with those stations. It was presumed that under International law the existence of postal services in an area helped legitimize claims of sovereignty. One of the earliest examples of this effort was the establishment, in 1903, of a North West Mounted Police detachment on Hershel Island to enforce Canadian law over whaling activities in the Arctic.
In 1922, RCMP posts were established at Craig Harbour and at the south end of the Ellesmere Island; as well as at Pond Inlet on Baffin. In 1923, another detachment was placed at Pangnirtung, and in 1924 at Dundas Harbour, on Devon Island. In 1926, the Bache Peninsula detachment was established on the east coast of Ellesmere Island. These were part of the effort to establish Canadian sovereignty in the High Arctic.
In the “Cold War” period following the Second World War there were renewed concerns that Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic would be challenged by the U.S. and/or Russia. In order to establish its position, the Canadian government devised a scheme to populate some of the islands with indigenous people. The result was the forced High Arctic Relocation of several Inuit families from more southern parts of the country.
In 1952, the Canadian government hosted a conference in Ottawa attended by government officials, representatives of the Hudson’s Bay Company, delegates from the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, diplomats from the United States embassy and a contingent from the National Film Board. This conference was convened to discuss solutions to the declining fur trade in the north. It was feared, a loss of the fur trade would leave some Inuit in need of government assistance. Shockingly conspicuous by their absence were any representatives of the Inuit themselves! It was concluded that Inuit should be made to return to their traditional lifestyles, ending their reliance on trading posts or government support. Relocating Inuit to places where they could hunt and gather seemed a good solution. Notwithstanding it is likely that the prime motive was - asserting Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic region and in particular over the islands that were adjacent to the land already acknowledged to be part of Canada. However, this initiative born out of this conference was a thinly disguised effort to justify forced relocation.
In 1953 and 1955, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, acting as representatives of the Department of Resources and Development, moved approximately 92 Inuit from Inukjuak, formerly called Port Harrison, in Northern Quebec, and Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), in what is now Nunavut, to settle two locations on the High Arctic islands. The Inuit were promised ample wildlife for hunting and that their families would be kept intact. Neither of these promises were kept. There was not sufficient wildlife to sustain the small population. Moreover, a lack of proper care in executing the relocations lead to the inadvertent separation of families.
The map below indicates the the magnitude of the relocations from Inukjuak to Resolute on Cornwallis Island (left arrow) and Grise Fiord (right arrow) on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Arctic_relocation
Relocated families found it difficult to adjust to the new surroundings. One of the most challenging issues was the continuous darkness of the High Arctic winter. In Inktitut, the word for Resolute Bay, Qausuittuq, means “place of darkness” — a description that was all too real for the relocated families. The conditions in Qausuittuq and Craig Harbour were also unlike those that they had been accustomed to at home in midsummer. These were frozen lands, ones that would not thaw like those in Inukjuak (Port Harrison). In addition, game was scarce and the Inuit people relocated often had to scavenge scraps from the local military bases to survive.
The atrocious treatment of these people remains as yet another blemish on Canada’s reputation. The trauma created has lingered for generations. During the 1980s, the relocated Inuit and their descendants initiated a claim against the Canadian Government, arguing that "there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the central, if not the sole, reasons, for the relocation of Inuit to the High Arctic was the desire by Canada to assert its sovereignty over the Arctic Islands and surrounding area", and in 1987 sought $10 million in compensation from the federal government.
Subsequently, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1994) stated the following with respect to the High Arctic Relocation in their Report:
"[...], in the period when the decision was taken, sovereignty was not in the minds of decision makers…Even if sovereignty is assumed not to be a factor, this relocation was an inappropriate solution to the government's economic and social concerns. Sovereignty was, however, a material consideration, and the influence of sovereignty on the relocation serves only to reinforce the Commission's conclusions about the inappropriateness of the relocation. However, the precise extent to which sovereignty influenced the relocation is difficult to determine."
The federal government refused to apologize, but established a "Reconciliation Agreement" in March 1996, creating a $10 million trust fund for relocated individuals and their families. It was not until later, in 2010, that John Duncan, then federal minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, delivered an official apology and commended the relocated Inuit for establishing a Canadian presence in the High Arctic. That same year, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. — the organization that ensures the promises of the Nunavut Agreement are upheld — unveiled monuments to the relocated families in Grise Fiord and Qausuittuq.
The Far North and High Arctic are an important part of what distinguishes Canada from other nations. It behooves us to learn more about the history of this part of our country, recognizing that some of that history is shameful and difficult to acknowledge but by doing so we contribute to the ultimate healing sought by our collective reconciliation efforts.
FYI. The Canadian Mint has issued a new commemorative $2 circulation coin in celebration of Inuit culture as an important part of Canada. Check it out at: