Inuit Nunangat (; ), part of the larger Inuit Nunaat (), is the homeland of the Inuit in Canada. This Arctic homeland consists of four northern Canadian regions called the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (, home of the Inuvialuit and the northern portion of the Northwest Territories and Yukon), the territory Nunavut (), Nunavik () in northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Etymology The name Inuit Nunangat is composed of two elements: Inuit and Nunangat, both coming from Inuktitut. The first means "people", inherited from Proto-Inuit's *iŋuɣ meaning "human being". The second combines the word nuna "land" with the third person possessive ending -ngat, together meaning "their land".

Inuit of Canada originally used the Greenlandic Inuit term Nunaat which excludes the waters and ice. In 2009 the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami formally switched to the Inuktitut Nunangat in 2009 to reflect the integral nature "land, water, and ice" have to Inuit culture.

History Inuit arrival Inuit are the most recent Indigenous arrivals on the continent aside from Métis. Inuit ancestors known as the Thule settled the Arctic, replacing the previous dominant Dorset culture (Tuniit) over the course of around 200 years. Displacement of the Tuniit (Inuktitut syllabics; ), or the Dorset people, and the arrival of the Inuit (whose ancestors are often called Thule) occurred in the 1100–1300s CE. Coming from Siberia where they split from the Aleut and other related peoples about 4,000 years ago, Inuit had reached Inughuit Nunaat in western Greenland by about 1300 CE, bringing with them transport dogs and various new technologies.

Trade relations were and remain strong with bordering countries and nations, such as with the Gwichʼin and Dënesųłı̨né (Chipewyan) of Denendeh (now in the Northwest Territories) and Innu of Nitassinan (), though occasional conflicts arose. Martin Frobisher's 1576 expedition to find the Northwest Passage landed on Baffin Island, in today's Qikiqtaaluk Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ), where three Inuit, a man called Calichough (Kalicho), an unrelated woman called Egnock (Arnaq), and her child Nutioc (Nuttaaq), were kidnapped and brought to Europe, where they all died.

Canadian colonization Canadian colonization extended in to Inuit Nunangat via the lands claimed as Rupert's Land, North-Western Territory and Quebec, later including Newfoundland and Labrador. Rapid spread of diseases, material wealth and Canadian (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) policing saw a rapid decline and collapse of Inuit Nunangat, from which it is still recovering.

Since European colonizers had little desire to settle much of Inuit Nunangat's territories, the violence experienced by southern First Nations was comparatively minimal in the north. However, assimilation policies including the wide-scale slaughter of community dogs between 1950 and 1970, the High Arctic relocation as well as forced participation within the Canadian Indian residential school system has left Inuit society with language loss and transgenerational trauma.

Modern era Today, Inuit Nunangat is overseen by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (, meaning either "Inuit are united with Canada"postscript on Aboriginal Titles, Katherine Barber, Government of Canada Translation Service" or "Inuit are united in Canada") which acts as a cultural centre piece and quasi-central government for Inuit affairs within Canada.

While Nunavut's confederation within Canada in 1999 via the Nunavut Act and Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is most visible, each of the regions of Inuit Nunangat has its own history. The Inuvialuit Settlement Region () came under the jurisdiction of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation two years after the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement, and Nunatsiavut was granted an autonomous government in 2005 after the 2002 Labrador Inuit Association proposal for a separate government. Beginning with a land claim in 1977, negotiations launched in 1988 between the Labrador Inuit Association, the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and that of Canada. In Northern Quebec, the Makivik Corporation was established upon the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement signing in 1978, taking the mantle from the previous Nunavimmiut organization, the "Northern Quebec Inuit Association" ( ).

The Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee (ICPC) was created in 2017 and last met on April 21, 2022. At this meeting, the Canadian federal government, in partnership with the Inuit Nunangat, unanimously endorsed the federal policy called the Inuit Nunangat Policy (INP). In a live address shortly after this meeting, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said the policy "recognizes the Inuit homeland as a distinct geographical, cultural and political region," which includes the "land, sea, and ice."

Demographics As of the 2021 Canadian census the population of Inuit Nunangat was 58,220 an increase of over the 2016 census population of 56,585. The Indigenous population is 50,500 or 89.24 per cent of the total population, of which 48,695 (83.63 per cent) are Inuit.

+ Population of Inuit NunangatRegionInuitFirst NationsMétisOther IndigenousNon-IndigenousTotals20212016% change20212016% change20212016% change20212016% change20212016% change20212016% changeInuvialuit Settlement Region3,1453,110655860140130140251,2301,2055,3105,330Nunavut30,86530,135180190120165225605,2105,02536,60035,575Nunavik12,59511,8001151353530120301,1251,13013,99013,125Nunatsiavut2,0902,290302530351501502052.3202,555Totals48,69547,3359801,2103253605001157.7157,56558,22056,585

In 2021 of those Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat 6.46 per cent live in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, 63.38 per cent in Nunavut, 25.87 per cent in Nunavik and 4.29 per cent in Nunatsiavut.

In total there are 70,545 Inuit in Canada with 48,695 (69.02 per cent) living in Inuit Nunangat and 21,850 (30.98 per cent) living in other parts of Canada. This is a growth of over 2016 when there were 65,025 Inuit in Canada with 47,335 (72.80 per cent) living in Inuit Nunangat and 17,695 (27.21 per cent) living in other parts of Canada.

Communities There are six communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR). The ISR is made up of five hamlets and one town, Inuvik, which is the headquarters of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the regional centre for the larger Inuvik Region.

There are twenty-five populated communities in Nunavut, The territory is divided into three regions, Kitikmeot, with the regional centre in Cambridge Bay, the Kivalliq, with the regional centre in Rankin Inlet, and the Qikiqtaaluk, with the regional centre and capital in Iqaluit. Other than Iqaluit, which is a city, all other Nunavut communities are hamlets. Statistics Canada also lists three settlements, Bathurst Inlet (also recognized by the Government of Nunavut), Nanisivik and Umingmaktok, all with a population of zero.

In Nunavik there are fourteen northern villages (village nordique, code=VN), governed by the Kativik Regional Government with the administrative capital at Kuujjuaq. All villages, with the exception of Puvirnituq, have Inuit reserved land (Terre de la catégorie I pour les Inuits, TI) associated with the community.

There are five towns in Nunatsiavut. The Nunatsiavut Assembly Building is located in Hopedale while the administrative capital is in Nain.

The government of Canada also lists Bathurst Inlet, Killiniq and Umingmaktuuq (Umingmaktok) as forming part of Inuit Nunangat, giving a total of 53 communities.

+Communities in Inuit NunangatNameRegionType(2021)(2016)% Land area(km2)(sqmi)Inuit% of totalpopulationFirstNationsMétisOtherIndigenousNonIndigenousAklavik Inuvialuit Settlement Region Hamlet 536 590 12.29 43.6 320 59.7% 130 25 15 46Akulivik Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 642 633 75.02 8.6 635 98.9% 0 0 0 7Arctic Bay Nunavut Hamlet 994 868 245.16 4.1 960 96.6% 0 0 0 34Arviat Nunavut Hamlet 2,864 2,657 126.14 22.7 2,715 94.8% 0 0 10 139Aupaluk Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 233 209 28.68 8.1 215 92.3% 0 0 0 18Baker Lake Nunavut Hamlet 2,061 2,069 179.54 11.5 1,870 90.7% 20 0 20 151Cambridge Bay Nunavut Hamlet 1,760 1,766 195.78 9.0 1,400 79.5% 10 15 25 310Chesterfield Inlet Nunavut Hamlet 397 437 139.49 2.8 370 93.2% 0 0 0 27Clyde River Nunavut Hamlet 1,181 1,053 103.38 11.4 1,150 97.4% 0 0 0 31Coral Harbour Nunavut Hamlet 1,035 891 126.39 8.2 975 94.2% 0 0 0 60Gjoa Haven Nunavut Hamlet 1,349 1,324 28.55 47.3 1,265 93.8% 0 0 15 69Grise Fiord Nunavut Hamlet 144 129 332.90 0.4 135 93.8% 0 0 0 9Hopedale Nunatsiavut Town 596 574 2.18 273.7 550 92.3% 10 0 0 36Igloolik Nunavut Hamlet 2,049 1,744 108.46 19.5 1,935 94.4% 10 0 0 104Inukjuak Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 1,821 1,757 54.92 33.2 1,775 97.5% 0 0 0 46Inuvik Inuvialuit Settlement Region Town 3,137 3,243 62.68 50.0 1,265 40.3% 520 115 95 1,142Iqaluit Nunavut City 7,429 7,740 51.58 144.0 3,830 51.6% 95 65 65 3,374Ivujivik Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 412 414 35.15 11.7 405 98.3% 0 0 0 7Kangiqsualujjuaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 956 942 34.33 27.9 825 86.3% 0 0 0 131Kangiqsujuaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 837 750 12.41 67.5 770 92.0% 0 0 0 67Kangirsuk Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 561 567 57.15 9.8 515 91.8% 25 0 0 21Kimmirut Nunavut Hamlet 426 389 2.30 184.9 420 98.6% 0 0 0 6Kinngait Nunavut Hamlet 1,396 1,441 9.89 141.2 1,310 93.8% 0 0 10 76Kugaaruk Nunavut Hamlet 1,033 933 5.06 204.2 935 90.5% 0 0 0 98Kugluktuk Nunavut Hamlet 1,382 1,491 538.99 2.6 1,215 87.9% 0 0 10 157Kuujjuaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 2,668 2,754 289.97 9.2 2,000 75.0% 10 10 10 638Kuujjuarapik Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 792 654 7.45 106.3 600 75.8% 50 0 85 57Makkovik Nunatsiavut Town 365 377 2.95 123.5 295 80.8% 0 20 0 50Nain Nunatsiavut Town 847 1,125 93.50 9.1 790 93.3% 50 0 0 7Naujaat Nunavut Hamlet 1,255 1,082 406.19 3.0 1,200 95.6% 0 0 0 55Pangnirtung Nunavut Hamlet 1,504 1,481 7.98 188.5 1,370 91.1% 10 0 40 84Paulatuk Inuvialuit Settlement Region Hamlet 298 265 63.58 4.7 270 90.6% 0 0 0 28Pond Inlet Nunavut Hamlet 1,555 1,617 170.83 9.1 1,450 93.2% 0 0 10 95Postville Nunatsiavut Town 188 177 2.39 78.7 160 85.1% 0 10 0 18Puvirnituq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 2,129 1,779 81.61 26.1 1,965 92.3% 0 0 10 154Qikiqtarjuaq Nunavut Hamlet 593 598 130.80 4.5 555 93.6% 0 10 0 28Quaqtaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 453 403 25.82 17.5 435 96.0% 0 0 0 18Rankin Inlet Nunavut Hamlet 2,975 2,842 20.03 148.5 2,475 83.2% 25 15 10 450Resolute Nunavut Hamlet 183 198 115.02 1.6 165 90.2% 0 0 0 18Rigolet Nunatsiavut Town 327 305 5.27 62.0 300 91.7% 10 0 0 17Sachs Harbour Inuvialuit Settlement Region Hamlet 103 104 272.22 0.4 95 92.2% 0 0 0 8Salluit Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 1,580 1,483 15.08 104.8 1,505 95.3% 0 10 0 65Sanikiluaq Nunavut Hamlet 1,010 882 109.68 9.2 950 94.1% 0 0 0 60Sanirajak Nunavut Hamlet 891 848 16.36 54.5 840 94.3% 0 0 0 51Taloyoak Nunavut Hamlet 934 1,029 35.38 26.4 900 96.4% 0 0 0 34Tasiujaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 420 369 65.53 6.4 415 98.8% 0 0 0 5Tuktoyaktuk Inuvialuit Settlement Region Hamlet 937 898 12.66 74.0 815 87.0% 10 0 25 87Ulukhaktok Inuvialuit Settlement Region Hamlet 408 396 120.71 3.4 380 93.1% 0 0 0 28Umiujaq Nunavik Northern Village Municipality 541 442 28.38 19.1 530 98.0% 0 0 10 1Whale Cove Nunavut Hamlet 470 435 273.89 1.7 445 94.7% 0 0 0 25

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