Contingent Profile:

Team Nunavut

Prior to 2002, Nunavut participated in every Arctic Winter Games as a part of team NWT. Since that time, it has become a permanent member in its own right. Also noteworthy for 2002 was the fi rst time Nunavut hosted the Games in Iqaluit, along with
Nuuk, Greenland.

Nunavut is Canada’s newest territory, created from the division of the Northwest Territories in 1999. Nunavut is an area characterized by vast tracts of Canadian Shield and tundra, as well as most of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago. Like Greenland, some of the islands in the Archipelago, including Baffi n Island and Ellesmere Island, have permanent ice caps and coastlines cut by scenic fjords. No trees grow on any of the islands due to the low temperatures that prevail even during the summer months.

The fi rst Europeans to visit the territory were Vikings from Greenland followed by a group of explorers who began to search for the Northwest Passage in the 16th century. Until that time, Nunavut’s Inuit residents lived largely undisturbed in small groups.

The territory of Nunavut, which means ‘Our Land’ in the Inuktitut language, was created in an effort to address the Inuit control over its traditional way of life. More than 80% of Nunavut’s residents are Inuit.

The fl ag has two vertical bars, one yellow and one white, with a traditional Inukshuk centred, and a blue star offset in the top right corner. The team colours are red, yellow,
and blue.