Haneragmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were the most westerly band of those that hunted in southern Victoria Island. They were generally located on the north shore of Dolphin and Union Strait, north of Cape Bexley, and south of Prince Albert Sound, on Victoria Island. Though they migrated seasonally both north and south for hunting, fishing, and trade, they were unaware that Victoria Island was an island. [1]
Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson discovered the Hanergmiut on May 17, 1910. [2] At the time, the Haneragmiut numbered approximately 40 people. Seasonally, a few Haneragmiut hunted and traded to the south on the mainland with another Cape Bexley subgroup, the Akuliakattagmiut, while other Haneragmiut migrated as far north as Tahiryuak Lake to hunt caribou with the Kanianermiut. The Ekalluktogmiut were situated to the east of the Haneragmiut. [1] [3] [4]
After his return to Seattle and New York City in 1912, Stefansson made the Haneragmiut, Kanhirgmiut and Nuwukpagmiut famous, referring to them as "Blond Eskimos". [2] [5]
Later studies by anthropologist Diamond Jenness showed that the subgroups of Akuliakattagmiut, Haneragmiut, Kogluktogmiut, Pallirmiut, Puiplirmiut, and Uallirgmiut {also known as the Kanianermiut} were mixed through intermarriage and by family shifting. [6]
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Icelandic American Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada, and died at the age of 82.
Diamond Jenness, was one of Canada's greatest early scientists and a pioneer of Canadian anthropology.
Blonde Eskimos or Blond Eskimos is a term first applied to sightings and encounters of light-haired Inuit peoples of Northern Canada from the early 20th century, particularly around the Coronation Gulf between mainland Canada and Victoria Island. Sightings of light-haired natives of the Arctic have been mentioned in written accounts as far back as the 17th century.
Copper Inuit are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in what is now Nunavut's Kitikmeot Region and the Northwest Territories's Inuvik Region. Most historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf, on Victoria Island, and southern Banks Island.
Ogden Bay is an Arctic waterway in Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southern Queen Maud Gulf off Nunavut's mainland. Chester Bay is situated 32 km (20 mi) to the west, Armark is to the east, and the Keith Islands are to the north.
The Rae River (Pallirk) is a waterway that flows from Akuliakattak Lake into Richardson Bay, Coronation Gulf. Its mouth is situated northwest of Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Its shores were the ancestral home of Copper Inuit subgroups: the Kanianermiut and the Pallirmiut.
Kiillinnguyaq, formerly the Kent Peninsula, is a large Arctic peninsula, almost totally surrounded by water, in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. Were it not for a 5 mi (8.0 km) isthmus at the southeast corner it would be a long island parallel to the coast. From the isthmus it extends 105 mi (169 km) westward into the Coronation Gulf. To the south, Melville Sound separates it from the mainland. To the north is Dease Strait and then Victoria Island. To the west is Coronation Gulf and to the east, Queen Maud Gulf. Cape Flinders marks the western tip of the peninsula, Cape Franklin is at the northwestern point, and Hiiqtinniq, formerly Cape Alexander marks the northeastern point.
Ahiagmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were located near Ogden Bay, on the Queen Maud Gulf, and inland towards Back River, then on towards the Akilinik River.
Akuliakattagmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were located near Cape Bexley on the south shore, mainland side of Dolphin and Union Strait, and in the vicinity of the Melville Hills' Akuliakattak Lake, the source of the Rae River.
Ekalluktogmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in Canada's Nunavut territory. They were located along the Ekalluk River near the center of Victoria Island, Albert Edward Bay in western Victoria Strait, and Denmark Bay. According to the Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Ekalluktogmiut winter hunt on Dease Strait.
Kogluktogmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit subgroup in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were located by Bloody Falls, a waterfall on the lower course of the Coppermine River in the Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park, notable for the Bloody Falls Massacre.
Sutton Island is located in northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. It is situated in the Dolphin and Union Strait immediately next to Liston/Listen Island. Rymer Point and Simpson Bay, on Victoria Island's Wollaston Peninsula are to the northeast. Bernard Harbour, on the mainland, is to the southwest, as is Chantrey Island.
Cape Bexley is a headland in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is located on the mainland, on the south shore of Dolphin and Union Strait, and bounded on the south by Souths Bay. It was named after Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley.
The Haningayogmiut were a Copper Inuit subgroup located on the Back River (Haningayok). According to Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Haningayogmiut were a small tribe. The Kaernermiut were also located on the Back River and may have been the same subgroup.
The Kangiryuarmiut were a Copper Inuit subgroup. They were located on Victoria Island in the areas of Prince Albert Sound, Cape Baring, and central Victoria island. They were also found around Nelson Head on Banks Island. Kangiryuarmiut subsisted on bear. They were the only Copper Inuit who built iglooit on land. The Kangiryuarmiut speak the Kangiryuarmiutun subdialect of Inuinnaqtun dialect of Inuvialuktun language.
The Umingmuktogmiut are a geographically defined Copper Inuit band in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut, Kitikmeot Region. They were located on the western coast of Kiillinnguyaq, and also further south in eastern Bathurst Inlet around Everitt Point by the Barry Islands. Umingmuktogmiut were notable amongst other Copper Inuit as they had a permanent community, Umingmuktog. They could hunt and fish for Arctic char, Arctic fox, barren-ground caribou, fur seals, and muskox prevalent in the area.
The Ugyuligmiut were a geographically defined Copper Inuit band in the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Territories. They were located on Victoria Island north of Minto Inlet, and on Banks Island in the Aulavik National Park region.
Tahiryuaq, formerly Tahiryuak Lake, is a lake located in the Canadian Arctic's Northwest Territories. It is situated in northcentral Victoria Island, north of Prince Albert Sound, southeast of Minto Inlet.
The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1916 was a scientific expedition in the Arctic Circle organized and led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The expedition was originally to be sponsored by the (US) National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. Canada took over the sponsorship because of the potential for discovery of new land and Stefansson, who though born in Canada was now an American, re-established his Canadian citizenship. The expedition was divided into a Northern Party led by Stefansson, and a Southern Party led by R M. Anderson.
The Kilusiktogmiut were a Copper Inuit subgroup. They lived on Victoria Island, east of the Nagyuktogmiut who were known to inhabit the area northeast of Lady Franklin Point. They also lived on the mainland along the Coronation Gulf, particularly at the mouth of the Mackenzie River. They spent at least some time on the Banks Peninsula by Bathurst Inlet.