Kivitoo
Kivitoo, Nunavut is an abandoned Inuit community and a former whaling station[1] on the northeast shore of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. Kivitoo's Inuit families moved to Qikiqtarjuaq, approximately 31 mi (50 km) to the south, in the 1950s.[2]
Kivitoo | |
|---|---|
Abandoned settlement | |
  Kivitoo | |
| Coordinates: 67°57′00″N 64°55′00″W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk Region |
| Highest elevation | 313 m (1,027 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
History
In 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.[3]
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.[1]
The residents of Kivitoo were evacuated to Qikiqtarjuaq in the 1950s, purportedly for their safety, after three residents of the community were killed in a collapse of the ice under their igloos.[4] 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.[4]
The evacuation and destruction of Kivitoo is the subject of Zacharias Kunuk's 2018 documentary film Kivitoo: What They Thought of Us.[4]
References
- Allinson, Martin. "Kivitoo, Nunavut FOX-D". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- "QIKIQTARJUAQ". qia.ca. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- Grant, Shelagh D. "Niaqutiaq". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- "Over 50 years ago, tragedy struck this Nunavut community. Zacharias Kunuk's new film wants answers". CBC Arts, October 19, 2018.
External links
