Kivitoo is an abandoned Inuit community and a former whaling station[2] on the northeast shore of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. Kivitoo's Inuit families moved to Qikiqtarjuaq, approximately 50 km (31 mi) to the south, in 1963.[3] Kivitoo Memorial Park remains at the southern shore of the hamlet.[4][failed verification]
Kivitoo | |
|---|---|
Abandoned settlement | |
  Kivitoo | |
| Coordinates: 67°56′N 64°52′W / 67.933°N 64.867°W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Highest elevation | 313 m (1,027 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
History
editIn the early 20th century, the Sabellum Trading Company established a post at Kivitoo to service the whalers who would anchor there to flense carcasses. The post was abandoned in 1926.[5]
Kivitoo (qivittu) (FOX-D) is also a former Distant Early Warning Line and is currently a North Warning System site. Because of a nearby small coastal plain, a short airstrip was built during early operation of FOX-D.[2]
The residents of Kivitoo were evacuated to Qikiqtarjuaq in the 1963, purportedly for their safety, after three residents of the community were killed in a collapse of the ice under their igloos.[6] However, the town was never resettled afterward, as the remaining structures in the community had been demolished by authorities by the time residents tried to return.[6]
The evacuation and destruction of Kivitoo is the subject of Zacharias Kunuk's 2018 documentary film Kivitoo: What They Thought of Us.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Kivitoo". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ a b Allinson, Martin. "Kivitoo, Nunavut FOX-D". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ "Hunting With My Ancestors Episode 4: Kivitoo - What they thought of us?". Isuma. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ Bird, J B (1977). "Coastal Morphology and Terrain Studies, Kivitoo Peninsula, Baffin Island".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Grant, Shelagh D. "Niaqutiaq". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ a b c "Over 50 years ago, tragedy struck this Nunavut community. Zacharias Kunuk's new film wants answers". CBC Arts, October 19, 2018.
External links
edit- Photo, 2008 Archived 2013-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
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