Nunavik
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| Subdivision of: | North American League |
| Cities: | |
| Capital: | Iqaluit |
| Other: | Kuuyyuaq |
| Languages: | |
| Official: | Inuttitut |
| Others: | Cree Innu Aimun |
| Established: | mid-1990's, Seperated from Unincorporated Territory |
| Admission to NAL: | 2004 (34th) |
History
Nunavik was until 2003 a province-like territory in the far north of the NAL, opposite the Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat). Some confusion over its status stems from the fact that there are two entities inhabiting and controlling the same land area. One, indeed, Labrador, was part of the Unincorporated Territory. The other, Nunavik, was a nascent Province that hadn't yet ascended to provincial membership within the NAL-SLC.
When the Native Coucils first created the Nunavik Referendum (mid 1990s), they did not seek independence or provincehood at the time. They were at first only creating a structure that would grow into a functional Provincial government, ultimately replacing the insufficient territorial government already in place. They wanted to test the waters, so to speak, and see how well an autonomous provincial structure could work in Nunavik.
Nunavik coexisted until Provincehood was attained on 1.1.2004 with the Territory of Labrador, which comprises Hudson's Company owned trading posts, American military installations, weather stations and the like. Labrador falls under the auspices of the Bureau of Territories at Philadelphia and offers little in the way of local government services. As of first January, Labrador ceased to exist as a territory under the Bureau of Territories administration, for it became a full province. The Province of Nunavik on the other hand, sponsors schools and governmental infrastructure, and levies taxes just like any other Province. It's lands encompass all of the Hudson Tract plus the Labrador Coast - thus all of the land north of the Intendancy of Nouvelle Francie and the Province of Mueva Sefarad; it varies between the "livre" and the "poond" for its currency, though any pound equivalent currency is naturally valid in the province. It has a place around the great Council Fire equal to that of any other province and has attained all official recognitions from Philadelphia as a functioning government. As is common in the NAL, all provincial currencies trade on par with other provincial currencies and those of the FK. Numismatists are quite pleased to see marvellous landscapes and Native symbology on the new 2004 issue of currency and coin. However, they lament the limited quantities available!
A referendum on seeking provincehood was held on 26 July, 2003. An overwhelming majority of Nunavik residents favoured incorporation of their lands as a Province. As of mid 2002, they had yet to work out the disposition of the military installations, Company lands, etc. The intention was to "get it right" before officially seeking admission. There was no infrastucture to build on, and Nunavik had to do it from scratch. The Council of Nunavik has demonstrated over the last two years that it is able to create and maintain a stable if spartan infrastructure of education, healthcare, social and religious services as well as public works maintainance. A formal petition was delivered to the General Moderator and the Great Council last Fall, and was thereafter acceded.
The military installations were transferred to the new Province directly, under the auspices of the American Defense Council, just like any other Province. Negotiations with the Company were a little more delicate, but for the most part their activities will remain unchanged. Rather than paying their fees to Philadelphia, a portion will be paid to Nunavik instead. Company Officials call the deal "fair and reasonable - at least this way our fees stay local".
Geography
Nunavik covers the northern part of the Nitassinan Peninsula, as well as a large number of North American Arctic islands north of Nitassinan and Hudson Bay.
Borders
Like Mueva Sefarad, the Province of Nunavik lacks a contiguous land connection to the rest of the North American League, being separated from it by water and Nouvelle Francie.
To the North: the Arctic Ocean
To the East, across Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea: Greenland, Scandinavian Realm
To the Southeast, across Atatšuinipeku Bay: Mueva Sefarad
To the South: New Francy
To the West: Hudson Bay
Culture
The vast majority of the population of Nunavik are Native Inuit, with smaller populations of other Native groups — mostly Cree and Innu — in the southern parts of the province. There are also scattered settlements of Laurentians and Muevasefaradíes, the latter especially along the Labrador Coast ("La Kosta Norte").
Due to influence from early Muevasefaradí settlements on the Labrador Coast, the language of eastern Nunavik has traditionally been written in the Hebrew alphabet. Generally speaking, Inuit languages in the NAL are written using Greenlandic orthography, or some regional variant thereof.
