Salluit

Overlooking Salluit

Salluit is the second northernmost Inuit community in Quebec, Canada, located on Sugluk Inlet close to the Hudson Strait. Its population was 1241 in 2006 (Census of Canada), and growing rapidly. It is not accessible by road, but by air through Salluit Airport.

Salluit means "The Thin Ones" in Inuktitut, referring to a time when local inhabitants were facing starvation as a result of a lack of wildlife.

History

In 1925, an independent trader opened a trading post on the site of present-day Salluit. Not to be outdone, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) quickly established its own post on the far shore of Sugluk Inlet but relocated it soon after to Deception Bay, about 53.5 km (33.2 mile) to the east. In 1930, the HBC built a store at present-day Salluit and closed its post at Deception Bay in 1932. The golden years of fur trading came to an end around 1936 when the price of pelts collapsed.

In 1930 a Catholic mission was established, closing some twenty years later, but followed by an Anglican mission in 1955. The Government of Canada opened a day school in 1957. As more public services were being delivered, Inuit settled around the small village. The first residential houses were built in 1959 and ten years later a co-operative store was established by its residents. Salluit legally became a municipality in 1979.

References

• Official website
• Nunavik Tourism, Salluit website
• Northern light in Salluit
• Project: Municipal case studies: The planning process and climate change