Pond Inlet

Population : 1315

Latitude: 72°41’22” N
Longitude: 77°58’08” W


Average temperature in August: 5°C
Average temperature in January : -28,7°C

Joshua Arreak – Deputy mayor of Pond Inlet

« Pond Inlet is located on the northern tip of Baffin Island. The main attractions here are the moutains and the scenery. There are bird sanctuaries across on Bylot island, we also have narwals, polar bears and the big Sirmilik National Park.

In June the sun is going around and around and never sets. And that goes on until maybe the second week of August when it starts to get dark a little. At the end of November the sun sets and never comes back for almost three months. But we do get daylight along the horizon. It’s pretty cold, it can go to – 40° in winter and last year I think we had 18° in July. »

In winter it is cold and hostile. If you’re not prepared and you’re out there and suddenly a blizzard comes, you can freeze to death. You have to dress up and be prepared. In the spring, the people go camping, hunting, they enjoy life. They spend many hours outside, because it doesn’t get dark […] and it’s warmer so you don’t have to dress so much. In summer, once the ice is gone you can go boating anywhere, weather permitting.

We are in a remote place, […] the prices are very high. You have to compensate with countryfood in order to survive. I think that is the main challenge of living in the north, high costs of living and airline prices. If I want to go down to Ottawa, it’s more expensive then for someone to go from Ottawa to overseas.

In the past Inuit lived in outpost camps, only families with a leader; as the head of the family. It could be quite large, but they managed their own affairs and survived in harsh conditions in the north. There were many outpost camps of families surrounding this area. And now in the transition these leaders were dumped into a community and I think the confusion may have been; who’s going to lead? They were kind of stripped from their leadership and put in a settlement. But through the years and the many changes, Inuit have survived and they will survive.