Monday 13 July 2015

Happy Nunavut Day!

July 9 marked the annual celebration of Nunavut Day in Canada's north. While Nunavut officially became a new territory on April 1, 1999 (no joke!), Nunavut Day is celebrated on July 9 each year. On July 9, 1993, the Parliament of Canada passed the Nunavut Act establishing the territory of Nunavut, to come into operation sometime in the future, hence the July 9 date of Nunavut Day. Besides, the weather is better and there is much more sunlight in July than in April!

Here is the Nunavut territorial flag.

Flag of Nunavut

It features a red inuksuk - an Inuit land marker - and a blue star, which represents the North Star and the leadership of elders in the community. The colours represent the riches of the land, sea and sky.

At Camp Hazen we had an incredibly warm day on Nunavut Day - nearly 20 deg. C. Unfortunately that meant the bugs were out in full force to celebrate, too. To celebrate, we ate a veritable smorgasbord of delectable delights, including shrimp and chocolate cake.

3 comments:

  1. Pleased your research is going OK &weather is good so you can enjoy Lake Hazen area again. Like your photos.
    We should be home from SA about time you return to Ottawa so will be in touch then.

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  2. Are there any Inuit at your camp? And if so, does their culture add in any way to your experience? And of course, since this is a Canadian camp, I am guessing that everything is done in French and English, including all of the signs, n'est pas?

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  3. Some of the Parks Canada staff are Inuit so we got to hear about their life in Nunavut. We also had the opportunity to try caribou, muskox and Arctic char. The park signs are in Inuktitut, English and French but English was the language spoken most of the time.

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