Igloolik Island
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 Remnants of older Inuit sod houses in Igloolik Point | |
  Igloolik Island  Igloolik Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Foxe Basin |
| Coordinates | 69°23′N 81°40′W / 69.383°N 81.667°W[1] |
| Archipelago | Arctic Archipelago |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Nunavut | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Largest settlement | Igloolik |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,538 |
| Ethnic groups | Inuit |
Igloolik Island is a small island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Foxe Basin, very close to the Melville Peninsula (and to a lesser degree, Baffin Island), and it is often thought to be a part of the peninsula. It forms part of the Arctic Archipelago.
The word Igloolik (Inuktitut: "there is an igloo here") comes from iglu (meaning: "house"/"building") and refers to the sod houses (qarmaq)[3] that were originally in the area.[4][5] Inuit and their ancestors have inhabited the island since 2000 BC. The archaeological sites on the island, which show a sequence up to 1000 AD, were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1978.[6][7]
There is only one community on the island, also named Igloolik.
On the north of Igloolik Island at 69°24′45″N 081°30′07″W / 69.41250°N 81.50194°W is a peninsula called Qikiqtaarjuk (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᕐᔪᒃ,[8] 'little island').[9][10] About 400 – 500 years ago Qikiqtaarjuk was a separate island but due to isostatic rebound it became part of the main island.[9] Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge) says that prior to that there was an even smaller island called Puqtuniq from which the waters receded forming Qikiqtaarjuk.[11] Qikiqtaarjuk is associated with several Inuit legends and stories and was the place from where Atanarjuat starts his run.[9][10][11]
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