The drinking water of people in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, Canada, is taken from the very icebergs that formed thousands of years ago and got stuck here.
Icebergs descending from Davis Strait are normally intercepted north of the Arctic Circle at Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly Broughton) in Nunavut, Canada. This is also where the locals have access to the purest water in the world.
Before moving to Qikiqtarjuaq with her family in 1980, Mary Killiktee had never seen so many icebergs at once. Today, she is the first female mayor in this small town and is still fascinated by its natural beauty. Just over 500 people live in Qikiqtarjuaq, according to Killiktee, everyone knows each other. The town is located on a small island called Qikiqtarjuaq (meaning big island) just above the Arctic Circle . This is the closest Nunavut community to Greenland, located at the entrance to Auyuittuq National Park. The icebergs stop south of Davis Strait, blocked by headlands and shallow waters. They create the landscape and culture here, also preserve the traditions and languages of the indigenous people and provide the purest water in the world.
With schools closed, most families left Qikiqtarjuaq and arrived at the campsite, about 2-3 hours from town by sled. In summer, when the ice burns more and it is not safe to travel, people use boats. Camping is part of the people’s lifestyle. There is a special word for outdoor living activity from spring to summer is “upirngik”. “I used to live like that with my mother and siblings. It helped me understand more about this land,” Daisy Arnaquq shared. Daisy and her husband Billy have a small shack in Kangiqtukulu. It was built by Daisy’s father and the couple often spend time here with their children and grandchildren, hunting and fishing. They also welcome climbers, adventurers or adventurous travelers to visit the national park.
“The Innut lifestyle has changed a lot, we switched from igloo igloos to microwaves in the last 60 years or so,” says Peter Irniq, who grew up in an igloo and lived like that until 11 age, said.
The Inuts are found everywhere from Greenland, Alaska, Canada, to Russia, and thousands still survive extreme weather and polar winters. But how do they live like that? Irniq replied, “I always say in my courses that both Inuit and non-Inuit, our ancestors had much love and compassion to live up to today. We share what we have. That’s how our ancestors lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. That’s why the Inuit culture has always kept people alive.”
In Qikiqtarjuaq, almost everyone speaks Inuktitut , English is not spoken as much as in other large communities in Nunavut. Inuktitut is not a language but consists of 26 different dialects within Nunavut alone. Dialects developed when the Inuit lived in remote, isolated camps 50 years ago. Recently, the language of the Inuit people has just begun to integrate into a dialect so that it can be spread more widely.
The icebergs around Nunavut formed over thousands of years. When the snow falls, it gradually solidifies over time to create crystal clear ice sheets, from which the ice sheets are born. Due to strong currents, many icebergs from other parts of the polar region drift to Nunavut, and this place is called “the land of icebergs”. Water from ice is very transparent, formed thousands of years ago so very few bacteria can grow, according to Derek Mueller, a scientist at Carleton University, Canada. Glacial water lacks some of the minerals that underground water normally has, making it even purer. And the people of Qikiqtarjuaq get their water directly from the iceberg. “It’s our way of life, it’s part of our culture. Families who live around the iceberg can get their water from it. We respect the tradition and continue to live like that. Cut the ice and melt the ice to keep it cool. get water,” Killiktee said.
As modern life develops, many elderly Inuit people worry that their traditional way of life will fade away. However, there are many Inuit who are still trying to preserve their voice. “When we went to school in the 1950s and 1960s, we were not allowed to speak Inuktitut. Teachers, the education system and the Canadian government were all required to learn to speak and write in English. But we still did. keep your voice when communicating in the community,” Irniq said.