Chesterfield Inlet

Info 

Inuktitut name: Igluligaarjuk (Place with a few Thule Houses)
Population: 332 (2011)
Time zone: CST
Climate Data
Sunrise Data

Overview

The community of Chesterfield Inlet is the oldest in Nunavut.  The current community was established in 1911, but the area has long been important to Inuit.  Contact with Europeans in the Chesterfield Inlet area started in the 1700’s and it continued to serve as an important trading location between Inuit and European whalers and explorers. 

Until relatively recently, Chesterfield Inlet was the largest community in Nunavut.  Chesterfield Inlet boasted a major Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and warehouse, Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters, a Catholic Mission, Hospital and regional residential school operated by the Catholic Church. 

Some of the early buildings erected by the Catholic Church still stand and provide a vivid reminder of the rich history of the community.

Today, Chesterfield Inlet is a small community known for an abundance of wildlife and for being a stronghold of Inuit culture and traditions.  The community is very dependent on wildlife and hunting. 

In the Chesterfield Inlet area, there is an abundance of Polar Bears, Beluga Whales, Seals, Caribou, and migratory birds.  

Full Community Profile: www.nunavuteda.com/community/chesterfield-inlet