Kinngait - ᑭᙵᐃᑦ

Kinngait is located on Dorset Island, near Foxe Peninsula, at the southwestern tip of Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut. The traditional economy plays an important role, with many residents participating in hunting, fishing, and gathering activities. The community’s hunting and fishing area spans approximately 300km north to south, 450km east to west including western portions of Hudson Strait and southeastern portions of Foxe Basin and Foxe Channel. Adjacent to Dorset Island is Mallikjuaq Island, which is home to Mallikjuaq Territorial Park. The Park preserves several important historical sites and supports many forms of plant and animal life including, wildflowers and nesting birds. The Dewey Soper (Isulijarnik) Migratory Bird Sanctuary is located north of the community and is an important habitat for snow geese and many other nesting birds.

The CRN research team visited the community in March 2021. Team members held participatory mapping workshops with the Hunters and Trappers Association, Hamlet staff, Elders, and other resource users, collecting observations on coastal health and changing coastal conditions. Participants provided all data illustrated on the map presented in the downloadable profile (see below).

Coastal issues included: the concerns relating to increased shipping due to Baffinland Phase 2 proposal, which will see the volume of ships increasing in key coastal areas and walrus habitat.

Community restoration priorities included: ghost net clean-up at two lakes close to town, monitoring of walrus haul-outs (abundance, distribution) so impacts from increased shipping and routing can be better understood, and coastal clean-up at two soapstone quarry sites (Aberdeen Bay and Kelt Inlet) to remove 45-gallon drums and naphtha cans.

To learn more about Kinngait (English version), please download our research profile here.

The website community map for Kinngait is currently not available but will be coming shortly.