Nunavut Communities
KIMMIRUT
The hamlet of Kimmirut, home to about 425 residents, prides itself on its warm, friendly people and traditional indigenous Inuit culture and way of life. Kimmirut, which means “a heel” in Inuktitut, is named after a geological feature resembling a heel located across the Inlet opposite the community.
Many of Kimmirut’s residents participate in subsistence harvesting, hunting caribou, seal, fish, whale, walrus and migratory birds. The hamlet also fosters a vibrant arts and crafts community, which includes carvers and jewellers who incorporate local gem stones in their work.
Tourism is an important part of Kimmirut’s economy as well, with cruise ships visiting in the summer, and numerous eco-tourism opportunities for the more adventurous traveller throughout the year. While visiting Kimmirut you'll see some of the most incredible tides in the world, reaching 11 meters in the summer months. In the winter, when the bay is frozen, you'll notice dramatic ice walls during low tide.
Kimmirut is the southern gateway to the Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve, which takes in the whole of the Soper Heritage River watershed. Canoeists, kayakers, rafters and hikers can take advantage of the Soper Valley’s temperate climate and experience the area’s abundant plant and animal life. Visits to the Katannilik Park Visitors Centre and Soper House Gallery – named for government scientist and artist Dewey Soper who built the house in the 1930s – are musts for anyone touring the community.
Kimmirut is named for a marble outcrop located opposite the community and many unusual minerals and gemstones have been discovered on nearby marble hills. Precious and semi-precious gems such as sapphire, spinel, scapolite, tourmaline, iolite, apatite, zircon, moonstone, garnet, diopside, pargasite and lapis lazuli have been discovered here. The geological setting of Southern Baffin Island, where Kimmirut is located, is analogous to productive gem mineral occurrences created by the collision of India with Asia (eg. Afghanistan, Myanmar and Vietnam).
Arts and Crafts
The hamlet of Kimmirut has fostered an impressive, world-renowned arts community with a history spanning almost a century.
Stone carving dominates what is produced in Kimmirut, and unlike many other communities in Nunavut, there is an abundance of stone here to work with. The hardness of the local stone strongly affects regional styles.
There is a tradition in the community of scrimshaw etchings done on walrus ivory and more recently there has been a surge in jewellery-making spurred on partially by the discovery of semi-precious stones in the Kimmirut area.
Visitors to Kimmirut can visit the Soper House Gallery to view and purchase carvings, jewellery, some examples of fabric arts and cards. The Kimik Co-op may have some carvings for sale and visitors may also buy directly from artists.
How to get to Kimmirut
Kimmirut is most easily reached by air and is serviced by two airlines – First Air and Kenn Borek Air. There are four flights a week from Iqaluit – Nunavut’s capital city and travel hub; the duration of flights is about 30 minutes. These airlines also offer charter services. First Air and Canadian North Airlines offer daily service to Iqaluit from Ottawa, the closest southern destination. Three times a week travellers can also fly from Edmonton to Iqaluit via Yellowknife and Rankin Inlet and catch a connecting flight to Kimmirut.
Cruise North Expeditions (www.CruiseNorthExpeditions.com), a company based in northern Quebec, Adventure Canada, Clipper Cruise and Zegraham & Eco Expeditions are offering cruises with stops in Kimmirut during the 2005 season. There will be six visits by cruise ships to Kimmirut in 2005 and any cultural events staged for passengers can be enjoyed by all visitors.
Because of Kimmirut’s proximity to Iqaluit (half an hour by plane), tour companies such as Polynya (www.polynya.ca) will arrange day charters for interested groups. People would be well advised to book in advance.
Eco-tourism groups travelling through Katannilik Territorial Park make Kimmirut their destination.
For winter visitors there is a well-travelled 120-kilometre snowmobile trail (the Itijjagiaq Trail) running from Iqaluit to Kimmirut through Katannilik Park, with shelters en route. The trip by snowmobile can take anywhere from about six hours depending on weather and frequency of stops. There are also outfitters in Iqaluit who will take visitors by dogteam on the trail. Contact Northwinds (www.northwinds-arctic.com) or Nunavut Tourism for more information.
For further information go to: www.kimmirut.ca