Nunavut Communities, 1999

Clyde River, Nunavut

Clyde River is a community built on a small bay off of Clyde Inlet on the coast of northeastern Baffin Island. Most of the 800 people who live here are Inuit. Because our community is small, people usually know one another and we think our place is friendly. People share with one another and try to be helpful. About half of the people here are under the age of 18 and our population is growing rapidly. We have a school, two stores, a new arena, a community hall, a church, health center, hotel and an airport with regular flights to Iqaluit and Pond Inlet. There are mountains near and in the winter we get lots of blizzards that pile snow in high snowdrifts. We get more snow than many arctic communities and our air is always fresh. In the summer we have 24 hour daylight and in winter the sun does not shine for about two months so we have a long winter night. Our community is quiet. It is expensive to buy things here or to have things sent in by plane. Some tourists come to mountain climb, hunt or take pictures.

We enjoy many sports, especially floor hockey. Children and adults like to play or walk around outside, visit with friends, go camping in the summer, and skidoo riding in the winter. There are lots of things to do here: hunting, hiking, boating, sewing, playing cards, working out for exercise, and listening to music. Some people go with their dog teams. At special times we have a community feast.

Many plants grow here such as lichens, moss, berries of different kinds, tundra grass, mushrooms, arctic willow, arctic heather and see weed in the ocean. Some of the animals, birds and fish in our region include: fox, wolf, lemming, ermine, seagull, falcon (several different types), snowy owl, arctic tern, arctic swan, ptarmigan, walrus, polar bear, caribou, rabbit, ducks, geese, halibut, arctic char, scalpins, shrimp, and clams. There are several different kinds of whales - beluga, killer, bow head, and narwhale. We also have harp, ring and bearded seals.

We like to eat country food - the animals and plants that are found here. Most common foods are seal, arctic char and other fish, caribou, ptarmigan, and polar bear. In season there are lots of berries, (qungulik) and eggs. We also like southern food, especially pizza and "junk food" like pop, chips and chocolate.

In ten years we think our community will be bigger, with more people, houses, more and bigger stores and services. Maybe things will be less expensive, There might be more jobs. We might have more tourism, some restaurants, and the beginning of agriculture - maybe hydroponics. We could have cable T.V. and satellite dishes as well as Internet access. More people would have a better education. We have to think about the fact that the permafrost might melt a bit if global warming continues.

Because we are a small community we don’t think that the coming of Nunavut will change many things in our daily life. Maybe there will be more jobs if businesses get going. The coming of Nunavut does not change the way we think of ourselves.