NunatuKavut
Proposed Autonomous area
The village of Mary's Harbour, in Southern Labrador
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Capital	Vâli, Labrador
Government
• Type	Proposed parliamentary democracy within the parliamentary system of Canada
• President	Todd Russell (since 2012)
Population  (2007)
• Total	2,345
Demonym	NunatuKavummiut
Time zone	UTC−04:00 (AST)
Postal code prefix	A0P
ISO 3166 code	NL
Federal riding	Labrador
Provincial riding	Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair and Lake Melville
Website	NunatuKavut.ca

NunatuKavut (Inuktitut: ᓄᓇᑐᑲᕗᑦ) is a proposed NunatuKavummiut territory in central and southern Labrador.

The members of NunatuKavut claim to be the direct descendants of Inuit that lived in central and southern Labrador prior to European contact, with the European admixture primarily from English men.^[1] According to recent censuses completed by Statistics Canada, the majority of individuals living in communities within the NunatuKavut claims area continue to identify as Métis as well as Inuit.^[2]

NunatuKavut [ˈnuːnətuːhəvuːt] means "Our ancient land" in the ancestral Inuttitut dialect of central Labrador.

The area was known as Markland in Greenlandic Norse and its inhabitants were known as the Skræling though there is considerable debate as to whether contact was made with Thule culture or Dorset culture.

According to Gosling (1910), the earliest recorded contact between Inuit and Europeans occurred in 1501 when the Anglo-Azorean expedition visited Labrador and took three Inuit to England.^[3] These Inuit were presented to Henry VII of England by Sebastian Cabot and were described as "clothed in beastes skinnes, who eat raw flesh".^[3] It is unclear where in Labrador this first encounter occurred but according to Gosling (1910) records from voyages suggest Inuit were not documented by explorers in the southernmost portion of Labrador at the time.^[3] In 1543, Inuit were encountered by Basque whalers in the Strait of Belle Isle with seasonal contact with Inuit likely occurring throughout the Basque occupation of the region.^[4]

The first confirmation of Inuit occupation of south-central Labrador occurred in 1586 when a crew of explorers led by John Davies travelling north along the Labrador coast were attacked by Inuit living on outer islands near Sandwich Bay. Multi-century occupation of the Sandwich Bay area by Inuit has since been confirmed archaeologically^[5][6][7] thus provided finality to a longstanding academic argument over whether pre-historic Inuit lived south of Hamilton Inlet year round.^[8][9]

Black Tickle

Cartwright

Charlottetown

Lodge Bay

Port Hope Simpson

Paradise River

St. Lewis

Mary's·Harbour

North West River

Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Norman's Bay

Mud Lake

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Map with the location of the main NunatuKavut communities

Inuit expansion throughout southern Labrador occurred throughout the 1600s and 1700s^[9] and extended as far south as the Côte-Nord.^[10][11] In 1652, an Inuit community was recorded in what is now the Côte-Nord region of Quebec.^[12] In 1659, Jacques Fremin described Cape St. Charles as an Inuit community. Louis Fornel named the area from Alexis Bay to Hamilton Inlet the "Coste des Eskimaux" in 1743 and claimed there were Inuit living around St. Michael's Bay ("Baye des Meniques"), Hawke Bay, Martin Bay and Hamilton Inlet. By 1750 Inuit no longer occupied the Côte-Nord,^[11] but were still living in southern Labrador and visiting Chateau Bay for several more decades,^[13]

In 1763, Labrador was ceded to the Colony of Newfoundland. It included coastal area between the St. John's River and Cape Chidley and was meant as extra fishing grounds for Newfoundland fishermen. Labrador has been created using territory from the French colony of New France and the British colony of Rupert's Land. The inland boundary of Labrador was undefined until 1927, so Canada claimed the interior of Labrador as part of Quebec and the Northwest Territories while Newfoundland claimed that Labrador extended far inland. Labrador was ceded back to New France (now Lower Canada) and Rupert's Land in 1791 but then in 1809 it rejoined Newfoundland. In 1825 Blanc-Sablon and territory to the west was ceded to Lower Canada however this region (Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality) remains culturally close to NunatuKavut.^[14]

In 1764, Jens Haven arrived at Quirpon, Newfoundland and to Chateau Bay. He was a missionary from the Moravian Church. Haven learned the Inuit language and explained to them that the Colony of Newfoundland wished to enter a peaceful relationship with them. Haven had previously worked in Greenland which is where he learned the Greenlandic language (which is a similar language to the Inuttitut language spoken by Labradorian Inuit).

The Moravian Church set up missionary posts in northern Labrador since the British hoped to colonize the south. They restricted access by Europeans to territory between Cape Chidley and Cape Harrison which created a cultural divide between the Inuit of the north and the Inuit of the south.^[12]

In 1810,^[12] an Englishman named William Phippard married an Inuk woman named "Sarah" and they had a son. During this time some other English fishermen started marrying Inuit women as well. They were later joined by large numbers of fishermen from Conception Bay and Trinity Bay (who were mostly of English and Irish descent). Most Inuit in southern Labrador received European surnames through intermarriage with Europeans. However, some Inuit surnames were anglicized such as "Paulo", "Kippenhuck", "Shuglo", "Tuccolk", "Elishoc", "Alliswack", "Penneyhook", and "Maggo" ("Kippenhuck" and "Toomashie" are the only remaining Inuit surnames (excluding names of people that have moved to NunatuKavut from other places). In 1824, it was recorded that the population around Lake Melville consisted of 160 Inuit, 90 European settlers and 60 "half-breeds" (people of European and Inuit descent).^[15] Of marriages recorded between 1773 and 1891 in southern and central Labrador, it was shown that 152 married people were Inuit, 27 were European, 14 were mixed and 1 was Mi'kmaq while the ethnic origin of 26 people could not be identified.^[12]

The racial composition of southern Labrador during the 1800s was a mix of the Inuit and English settlers while the north remained Inuit dominant. The culture of southern Labrador was (and remains) a unique blend of Newfoundland's Celtic-influenced culture and the native Inuit culture.

Newfoundland exerted significantly more control over Labrador than Canada did over its northern regions. The Newfoundland Ranger Force enforced colonial laws in Labrador like it also did in rural Newfoundland.

In 1946, the Dominion of Newfoundland conducted an election to choose delegates for the Newfoundland National Convention. This was the first time that an election was held in Labrador and Lester Burry of Bonavista Bay was elected to represent Labrador. Burry wanted the Dominion of Newfoundland to become a province of Canada and in 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's 10th province.

Before Canadian Confederation, most Inuit lived in small settlements of a few families in isolated harbours and on islands off the coast of Labrador. During the 1950s and 1960s many communities across the province were resettled to larger population centres as part of a provincial government-sponsored program. The collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery also had a huge impact on central and southern Labrador like it had on the province as a whole and many people left the province to find work elsewhere.

In 1996, the then-Labrador Metis Association vigorously protested the KGY Group's proposed Eagle River fishing camp.^[16] The issue came up as a result of a decision by the provincial government in 1996 to call for proposals for the development of a quality sports fishing camp on the Eagle River in Labrador.^[17] Corner Brook based KGY Group (a non-aboriginal application) was selected over a Labrador company.^[18] The Labrador Metis Association claimed Eagle River as a traditional salmon fishing area.^[19] For about nine days in 1996, hundreds of residents from Cartwright and nearby communities in the Sandwich Bay area kept a supply vessel and helicopter from delivering materials to the construction site. A joint Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Coast Guard operation arrested at least 47 residents involved in the protests and charged most of them with mischief. In June 1999, the Crown entered a stay of proceedings on all charges laid against members of the Labrador Metis Nation during the Eagle River protests.^[16]

In 2002, a gravel road opened between Red Bay and Cartwright. This road was later extended to reach Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) identified Labrador Metis Association (LMA) as one of two Metis groups in Canada (with the Métis Nation) as meeting the criteria for nationhood. RCAP clearly stated that the LMA's claims were based on Inuit rather than First Nation rights and ancestry. Despite this finding, the Federal Government did not formally recognize the LMA and / or the Labrador Metis Nation (LMN) throughout its existence.

In 2006, LMN initiated a project with Memorial University of Newfoundland to better understand their past through the Community-University Research Association (CURA).^[12] Research by CURA has been used to argue that the "Labrador Metis" could be interpreted as a continuation of the Inuit of southern Labrador.^[20]

Labrador Metis began calling themselves the Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut following a membership renewal process that required all members to submit proof of Inuit ancestry. ^[21] Both Innu and Inuit have criticized the Federal Government for its formal recognition of NCC.^[22]

NunatuKavut claims to represent approximately 6,000 members covering a third of Labrador's landmass. Many residents of anglophone communities in northeastern Quebec (between the Natashquan River and the Strait of Belle Isle, sometimes called the "forgotten Labrador"^[23]) claim a similar Inuit and European heritage as the people of NunatuKavut.^[24]

The NunatuKavut have been vocal in their opposition to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.^[25][26]

In 2016, the NunatuKavut Community Council unveiled a proposal for its flag.^[27] The flag was designed by Barry Pardy of Cartwright. According to NunatuKavut the flag

...reflects our Inuit history, culture and way of life. Its symbolism honours the historic and present role of women as culture carriers in our homes and communities.

— NunatuKavut^[28]

The flag features an ulu with a qulliq on the blade. A traditional dog team with the dog sled carrying a Inuk and a seal is on the handle. The three main colours, green, blue, and white, represent the waters, lands, and sky along with snow and ice.^[28]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)

In the mid 1980s, the Labrador Metis Association (LMA) was created by the inhabitants of central and southern Labrador to gain recognition as a distinct ethnocultural group.^[12] At the time, the LMA allowed individuals with any Labrador Indigenous ancestry to apply for membership regardless of whether it was Inuit or First Nations ancestry.^[29] LMA also allowed members to be enrolled who lacked any Indigenous ancestry but whose descendants were from north of the Pinware River.^[29] In 1998, LMA changed its name to the LMN.^[30]

In 2010, the Labrador Metis Association changed its name to reflect new membership criteria, and became the NunatuKavut Community Council.^[21] As a part of this land claim, the NunatuKavut Community Council asserts that the Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill hydroelectric project fall on their territory.^[26] The Lower Churchill hydroelectric project injunction was rejected in 2019 by the Newfoundland supreme court.^[31]

The legitimacy of the territory as claimed by NunatuKavut has been disputed by several Inuit and First Nations groups.^[22][32] Nunatsiavut does not consider NunatuKavut an Indigenous collective^[33][34] while the Innu Nation considers NunatuKavut a "settler organization".^[33] The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami officially rejects NunatuKavut as an Indigenous organization.^[33]

A memorandum of understanding between the NCC and the Canadian government was challenged by both the Innu Nation and Nunatsiavut.^[35][22] The Innu Nation does not consider the inhabitants of NunatuKavut to be Indigenous under the provisions of Section 35 of the Constitution Act.^[35] The Innu Nation's claim lands additionally significantly overlap with the lands claimed to be under NunatuKavut.^[35][36] The grand chief of the Innu Nation, Gregory Rich was critical of the memorandum of understanding, stating that the land claim "is basically the land and the rights of the Innu people."^[36] Negotiator and former MP Peter Penashue was critical of the NCC, stating: "There has never been a group that sprung out of nowhere, that suddenly became an Aboriginal group, now here we are in a very unusual circumstance: settlers becoming Métis, becoming Inuit and now are going to fight us over land."^[22] The Innu have been additionally critical of the presence of MP Yvonne Jones, a member of the NCC, describing it as a "conflict of interest".^[36] Todd Russell described the Innu Nation's court action as a form of lateral violence.^[36]

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, was critical of the NunatuKavut's recognition by the federal government, considering the organization to be pretendians (fraudulently claiming Indigenous identity). Obed expressed his concerns that further recognition of NunatuKavut would weaken the negotiating authority of Inuit groups.^[37] Stating that the potential for the group to receive rights and territory was perplexing "on the basis of assertions that appear unfounded."^[22][38][34] In addition, stating that "an Inuit territory outside of the four regions that constitute Inuit Nunangat does not exist."^[22][38] Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, former MP for Nunavut, was critical of Yvonne Jones (NCC member and MP), tweeting "Jones is not an Inuk",^[39] Qaqqaq reiterated the positions shared by the ITK, Nunatsiavut, and the Innu Nation in disputing NunatuKavut's claim to Indigenous identity.^[39] Qaqqaq would later apologize for the tone of the comments made towards Jones without retracting her criticism.^[40]

For its part, NunatuKavut has pointed to several successful court decisions to justify its claims. Further the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples provided significant support for the claims of the precursor to NCC (LMA).

• List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes
• Nunavik
• Nunavut

• Canadian Government: NunatuKavut Land Claim Document
• NunatuKavut Community Council Inc.
• Labrador Inuit History
• Canadian Encyclopedia; Inuit presence in southern Labrador
• Royal Commission White Paper on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada

• Proposed flag of NunatuKavut