View source for Pond Inlet

{{use Canadian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Pond Inlet
|native_name = Mittimatalik<br/>ᒥᑦᑎᒪᑕᓕᒃ
|image_skyline = Pond Inlet June 2005.jpg
|image_caption = Pond Inlet in mid-June 2005 from Salmon Creek, {{cvt|3.5|km}} west of the hamlet
|pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut#Canada
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Canada
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Nunavut]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of regions of Nunavut|Region]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]
|subdivision_type4 = [[List of Nunavut territorial electoral districts|Electoral district]]
|subdivision_name4 = [[Tununiq]]
|government_footnotes =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.nu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/municipal_council_election_results_2019_en.pdf |title=Municipal Election Results 2019-2020|access-date=26 December 2022|publisher=[[Elections Nunavut]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.nu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2021%20GE%20Results_0.pdf |title=2021 General Election|access-date=26 December 2022|publisher=[[Elections Nunavut]]}}</ref>
|government_type = Hamlet Council
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name = Joshua Arreak
|leader_title1 = [[Legislative Assembly of Nunavut|MLA]]
|leader_name1 = [[Brian Koonoo]]
|area_footnotes = &nbsp;(2021)<ref name=2021census/>
|area_total_km2 = 170.83
|population_as_of = 2021
|population_footnotes =<ref name=2021census/>
|population_total = 1,555
|population_density_km2 = 9.1
|timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
|utc_offset = −05:00
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = −04:00
|coordinates = {{coord|72|42|00|N|077|57|40|W|region:CA-NU_type:city|notes=<ref name=OANAZ>{{Cite cgndb|OANAZ|Pond Inlet}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes =
|elevation_footnotes =<ref>Elevation at airport. {{CFS}}</ref>
|elevation_m = 55
|postal_code_type = [[Canadian Postal code]]
|postal_code = [[List of X Postal Codes of Canada|X0A 0S0]]
|area_code = [[Area code 867|867]]
|website = [http://www.pondinlet.ca/ www.pondinlet.ca]
|footnotes =
}}

'''Pond Inlet''' ({{langx|iu|'''Mittimatalik'''|lit=the place where Mittima is buried}})<ref name="PI_website">{{cite web |url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/taissumani_march_11/ |title=Taissumani, March 11|date=8 March 2011 }}</ref> is a small, predominantly [[Inuit]] community in the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]] of [[Nunavut]], Canada, located on northern [[Baffin Island]]. For local Inuit the name of the place "is and always has been Mittimatalik."<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/> The Scottish explorer [[John Ross (Royal Navy officer)|Sir John Ross]] had named an arm of the sea that separates [[Bylot Island]] from Baffin Island as Pond's Bay, and the hamlet now shares that name.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/> On 29 August 1921, the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] opened its trading post near the Inuit camp and named it Pond Inlet, marking the expansion of its trading empire into the High Arctic.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/>

At the [[2021 Canadian census]] the population, which is predominantly [[Inuit]], was 1,555, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:1555-1617}}|1617|1}} from the [[2016 Canadian census|2016 census]].<ref name=2021census/>

Pond Inlet, the largest community in northern Baffin Island—part of the [[Arctic Cordillera]]—with mountains visible from all sides, is called the "Jewel of the North".<ref name="destination_PI">{{Cite web| title = 5 Things To Do In Pond Inlet| work = Destination Nunavut| access-date =8 February 2021| url = https://www.destinationnunavut.ca/discover/5-things-do-pond-inlet-0}}</ref> At the ice flow edge there is an abundance of wildlife, including [[polar bear]]s, [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[wolf|wolves]], [[Arctic fox]]es, [[ringed seal]], and [[narwhal]]s. It attracts hundreds of visitors each year, who travel by air or by cruise ship. The Nattinnak Visitors Centre on [[Tasiujaq (Baffin Bay)|Tasiujaq]] (Eclipse Sound) which overlooks [[Bylot Island]], showcases Pond Inlet artists. The [[Sirmilik National Park]] on Bylot Island, the Tamaarvik Territorial Park, and the Qilaukat [[Thule people|Thule]] site are near the hamlet.<ref name="Nunatsiaq_George_19990702"/>

==Geography==
[[File:Arctic Cordillera2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Arctic Cordillera]]]]
Mittimatalik, known in English as Pond Inlet, is located on the northerly tip of Baffin Island in the [[Lancaster Sound]] region on the east side of Eclipse Sound.

The region has one of Canada's most inhospitable climates—with long, dark winters and temperatures averaging {{cvt|-30.8|C}} (December to February, [[Winter#Meteorological reckoning|meteorological reckoning]]).<ref name="ccnYIO"/> By 2021, Pond Inlet with a population of 1,555, along with [[Clyde River, Nunavut|Clyde River]] with 1,181 and [[Qikiqtarjuaq]] with 593, comprised the population of the [[Arctic Cordillera]]—about 3,300 people.<ref name="2021census"/> Most of the people who live in the region survive by [[hunting]], [[fishing]], and [[trapping]].<ref>*Chernoff, M. N., H. R. Hovdebo, and J. Stuart-Smith. ''Eastern Canadian Cordillera and Arctic Islands An Aerial Reconnaissance''. Ottawa: 24th International Geological Congress, 1972.
* Geological Survey of Canada. ''Cordillera and Pacific Margin Interior Plains and Arctic Canada''. Geological Survey of Canada Current Research, 1998-A. 1998.
* Hall, John K. ''Arctic Ocean Geophysical Studies The Alpha Cordillera and Mendeleyev Ridge''. Palisades, N.Y.: Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University, 1970.
* Walker, Edward R. ''A Synoptic Climatology for Parts of the Western Cordillera''. Montreal: McGill University, 1961.</ref>

Significant geographic features near Pond Inlet include its ice edge which attracts a diversity of wildlife, particularly [[ringed seal]]s, [[Boreogadus saida|Arctic cod]], [[Uria|murres]] and some other sea birds that thrive there, because of its "greater access to preferred foods".<ref name="Arctic_Bradstreet_19820101">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.14430/arctic2305| issn = 1923-1245| volume = 35| issue = 1| pages = 28–40| last = Bradstreet| first = Michael S. W.| title = Occurrence, Habitat Use, and Behavior of Seabirds, Marine Mammals, and Arctic Cod at the Pond Inlet Ice Edge| journal = Arctic| access-date = 7 February 2021| date = 1 January 1982| url = https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65357| doi-access = free}}</ref>

[[File:Bylot Island.jpg|thumb|left|Pond Inlet is {{cvt|30|km}} southeast of Bylot Island]]
A {{cvt|30|km}} wide arm of the sea separates Pond Inlet from [[Bylot Island]], a large uninhabited island of {{cvt|11067|km2}}. The waterways between Bylot Island and Baffin Island are [[Navy Board Inlet]], which opens into Lancaster Sound and [[Tasiujaq (Baffin Bay)|Tasiujaq]], which opens to Baffin Bay. Navy Board Inlet is the entrance to the [[Northwest Passage]].<ref name="nunatsiaq_Anselmi">{{Cite news| last = Anselmi| first = Elaine| title = Baffinland clarifies Northwest Passage shipping plans| work = Nunatsiaq News| access-date = 8 February 2021| date = 26 September 2019| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/baffinland-clarifies-northwest-passage-shipping-plans/}}</ref> Tasiujaq separates Pond Inlet from Bylot Island and has a series of deeply cut inlets west of Pond Inlet, including [[Milne Inlet]], a small inlet, flows south from Navy Board Inlet at the confluence of Tasiujaq. The Pond Inlet region, including Bylot Island, is covered by the [[Arctic Cordillera]], a [[Biogeographic realm|terrestrial ecozone]] in Canada, characterized by a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges. There are mountains visible from all sides of Pond Inlet. From the summit of Mount Herodier at {{cvt|765|m}}, which is {{cvt|15|km}} east of the hamlet, the entire area is visible.<ref name="Tamaarvik">{{Cite web| title = Tamaarvik Territorial Park |series=Travel Nunavut| access-date = 16 February 2021| url = https://travelnunavut.ca/things-to-see-do/parks-special-places/tamaarvik-territorial-park-campground/}}</ref> Inuit from Pond Inlet travel to the Island regularly and its mountains form a backdrop to the hamlet's landscape.

Bylot Island along with [[Sirmilik National Park]], is a [[List of protected areas of Nunavut|protected area]]. The [[Bylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary]], which is across Tasiujaq from Pond Inlet, has been a federally protected area since 1962 and is the second largest Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS). It was created to protect the [[Habitat|nesting grounds]] of [[thick-billed murre]], [[black-legged kittiwake]] and [[Snow goose|greater snow goose]].<ref name="Bylot">{{cite web |title=Bylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary |date=7 March 2015 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-bird-sanctuaries/locations/bylot-island.html |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="MBS">{{cite web |title=Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada: Nunavut |date=22 February 2011 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-bird-sanctuaries/locations.html#nu |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mpaglobal.org/index.php?action=showMain&site_code=13397 |title=Bylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726110359/http://www.mpaglobal.org/index.php?action=showMain&site_code=13397 |archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2016, an Elder and a youth from Pond Inlet joined [[Parks Canada]]'s archaeologists to excavate one of the sod houses at the [[Thule people|Thule]] site, known as Qaiqsut, in Bylot Island's Sirmilik National Park—one of Canada's most northerly parks. The site, which still has a handful of sod houses, had been used by the ancestors of Inuit for centuries, and had also been used by Scottish whalers 200 years ago.<ref name="cbc_20160907">{{Cite news| last = Van Dusen| first = John| title = Artifacts recovered at ancient Thule site in Nunavut| work = CBC| access-date = 8 February 2021| date = 7 September 2016| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/thule-artifacts-recovered-pond-inlet-nunavut-1.3751264}}</ref>

[[Mary River (Nunavut)|Mary River]], with its fresh water lake, which is about {{cvt|160|km}} south of Pond Inlet—where caribou graze in the summer season—was an annual meeting place for the semi-nomadic Inuit for hundreds of years.<ref name="G&M_Waldie_20110514">{{Cite news| last = Waldie| first = Paul| title = A railway to Arctic riches: economic boom, environmental threat?| work = The Globe And Mail| access-date = 5 February 2021| date = 14 May 2011| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/a-railway-to-arctic-riches-economic-boom-environmental-threat/article4259449/?page=all}}</ref>

Pond Inlet Inuit have names for about 150 geographic features in the area immediately surrounding the hamlet that have been added to detailed maps in a collaboration between the Inuit Heritage Trust Incorporated (IHTI) and Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO). The sound which forms the entrance to the open sea west of the hamlet is called Tursukattak, or ᑐᕐᓱᑲᑦᑕᒃ in [[Inuktitut syllabics]],<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OBAZQ|Tursukattak}}</ref>—"heading west from a narrow passage to a large opening" as it resembles the narrow entrance of an [[igloo]].<ref name="IHTI_CNGO_200506">{{Citation | publisher = Inuit Heritage Trust Incorporated (IHTI) and Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO)| last = Gilbert| first = C.| title = Detailed map of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) with place names in Inuktitut| location = Pond Inlet| series = Archival place names maps supplied by Parks Canada| date = June 2005 |access-date=15 February 2021| url = http://ihti.ca/eng/place-names/NU38B_Mittimatalik_PondInlet.pdf}}</ref> One of the place names refers to Captain James Bannerman, a Scottish [[Whaling|whaler]] of the 1875 [[British Arctic Expedition]], whose great-grandson is a resident of Pond Inlet.<ref>{{Cite episode |title= Apitak Enurak| series = Ilinniq |work=APTN| access-date = 15 February 2021| url = https://www.aptn.ca/ilinniq/episode-guide/season-4/}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations
| title = Federal census population history of Pond Inlet
| type = Canada
| align = left
| width =
| state =
| shading =
| percentages =
|[[1976 Canadian census|1976]]|504
|[[1981 Canadian census|1981]]|705
|[[1986 Canadian census|1986]]|796
|[[1991 Canadian census|1991]]|974
|[[1996 Canadian census|1996]]|1154
|[[2001 Canadian census|2001]]|1220
|[[2006 Canadian census|2006]]|1315
|[[2011 Canadian census|2011]]|1549
|[[2016 Canadian census|2016]]|1617
|[[2021 Canadian census|2021]]|1555
| footnote =
| source = [[Statistics Canada]]<br/><ref name=2021census/><ref name=1976census>{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-805-1976.pdf | title=1976 Census of Canada: Population - Geographic Distributions | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=June 1977 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=1981census>{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS94-905-1981.pdf | title=1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=May 1992 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=1986census>{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS92-101-1987.pdf | title=1986 Census: Population - Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=September 1987 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=1991census>{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS93-304-1992.pdf | title=91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions - Population and Dwelling Counts | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=April 1992 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=1996census>{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/statcan/rh-hc/CS93-357-1997.pdf | title=96 Census: A National Overview - Population and Dwelling Counts | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=April 1997 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=2001census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-P.cfm?T=1&SR=1&S=1&O=A&PR=62 | title=Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Nunavut) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=15 August 2012 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=2006census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=1&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=62 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Nunavut) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=20 August 2021 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=2011census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=51&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=62 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Nunavut) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=25 July 2021 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=2016census>{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=62 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Nunavut) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=8 February 2017 | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref>
}}

In the [[2021 Canadian census]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Pond Inlet had a population of 1,555 living in 365 of its 466 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:1555-1617}}|1617|1}} from its 2016 population of 1,617. With a land area of {{cvt|170.83|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|1555|170.83|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000262 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nunavut | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=9 February 2022 | access-date=19 February 2022}}</ref>

Of the total population in 2021, about 49.8% were female and 50.2% male. There were 1,345 [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples]] (1,335 Inuit and 10 [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]]) and 110 non-Indigenous people.<ref name="NU_demographics_PI_2021">{{cite web |publisher=Statistics Canada |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table - Pond Inlet, Hamlet (HAM): Nunavut [Census subdivision] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Canada&DGUIDlist=2021A00056204020,2021A000262,2021A000011124&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=1 January 2023|date=6 December 2022}}</ref> Compared to the rest of Canada, Pond Inlet's population is fairly young with 36.7% of the population being under 15 compared to 16.3% for Canada as a whole.<ref name="NU_demographics_PI_2021"/> The average age of people in Pond Inlet is 26.6, compared to Nunavut at 28.3 and the general Canadian population at 41.9.<ref name="NU_demographics_PI_2021"/>

According to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, in 2013, 1,549 people—92% of them Inuit—lived in Pond Inlet.<ref name="qtcommission_2013">{{cite report |url=https://www.qtcommission.ca/sites/default/files/community/community_histories_pond_inlet.pdf |title=Qikiqtani Truth Commission Community Histories 1950–1975 Pond Inlet |work=Qikiqtani Truth Commission |location= Iqaluit, Nunavut |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-927095-62-1 |pages=42}} President J. Okalik Eegeesiak</ref>{{rp|9}}

Pond Inlet's population in 1976 was 504 people, and within a {{cvt|400|km}} radius, of what was to become the [[Mary River Mine]], there were 2,209 people. By the 2021 census there were 6,670 people in the same area.<ref name=2021census/><ref name=1976census/>

{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ [[Panethnicity|Panethnic]] groups in Pond Inlet (2001−2021)
! rowspan="2" |Panethnic group
! colspan="2" |2021<ref name="2021censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-10-26 |title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Pond%20Inlet&DGUIDlist=2021A00056204020&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2016<ref name="2016censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2021-10-27 |title= Census Profile, 2016 Census |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204020&Geo2=CD&Code2=6204&SearchText=Pond%20Inlet&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref name="2011censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2015-11-27 |title= NHS Profile |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204020&Data=Count&SearchText=Pond%20Inlet&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2006<ref name="2006censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-08-20 |title= 2006 Community Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204020&Geo2=PR&Code2=62&Data=Count&SearchText=Pond%20Inlet&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref name="2001censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-07-02 |title= 2001 Community Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6204020&Geo2=PR&Code2=62&Data=Count&SearchText=Pond%20Inlet&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]]
| 1,475
| {{Percentage | 1475 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 1,520
| {{Percentage | 1520 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 1,500
| {{Percentage | 1500 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 1,215
| {{Percentage | 1215 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 1,150
| {{Percentage | 1150 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[European Canadians|European]]{{efn|Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.|name=euro}}
| 65
| {{Percentage | 65 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 75
| {{Percentage | 75 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 50
| {{Percentage | 50 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 85
| {{Percentage | 85 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 65
| {{Percentage | 65 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Black Canadians|African]]
| 15
| {{Percentage | 15 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[South Asian Canadians|South Asian]]
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[East Asian Canadians|East Asian]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.|name=EastAsian}}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Southeast Asian Canadians|Southeast Asian]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.|name=SoutheastAsian}}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Middle Eastern Canadians|Middle Eastern]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.|name=MiddleEastern}}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Latin American Canadians|Latin American]]
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
| Other/[[Multiracial people|multiracial]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, {{abbr|n.i.e.|not included elsewhere}}" and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.|name=Other}}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1555 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1615 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1560 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 1315 | 2 }}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 1220 | 2 }}
|-
! Total responses
! 1,555
! {{Percentage | 1555 | 1555 | 2 }}
! 1,615
! {{Percentage | 1615 | 1617 | 2 }}
! 1,560
! {{Percentage | 1560 | 1549 | 2 }}
! 1,315
! {{Percentage | 1315 | 1315 | 2 }}
! 1,220
! {{Percentage | 1220 | 1220 | 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total population
! 1,555
! {{Percentage | 1555 | 1555 | 2 }}
! 1,617
! {{Percentage | 1617 | 1617 | 2 }}
! 1,549
! {{Percentage | 1549 | 1549 | 2 }}
! 1,315
! {{Percentage | 1315 | 1315 | 2 }}
! 1,220
! {{Percentage | 1220 | 1220 | 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="11" | {{small|Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses}}
|}

==Wildlife==
By 2011, many Inuit continued to live off the land in the Pond Inlet area. Wildlife in the region includes [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[polar bear]]s, [[Arctic fox]]es, [[American ermine|ermines]], [[lemming]]s, and [[Arctic hare]]s. The coastal waters have [[walrus]], seals, [[beluga whale]]s (white whale), and [[narwhal]]s.<ref name="G&M_Waldie_20110514"/> A report on community histories, said that an important part of the traditional diet in Pond Inlet came from [[ringed seal]]s.<ref name="CMC"/>

A 1982 article in the journal ''[[Arctic (journal)|Arctic]]'' based on 1979 studies of the Pond Inlet ice edge, observed the behaviours of [[northern fulmar]]s (''Fulmarus glacialis''), [[black-legged kittiwake]]s (''Rissa tridactyla''), [[thick-billed murre]]s (''Uria lomvia''), and [[black guillemot]]s (''Cepphus grylle''), narwhals (''Monodon monoceros''), beluga whales (''Delphinapterus leucas''), [[Boreogadus saida|Arctic cod]] (''Boreogadus saida''), and ringed seals (''Pusa hispida''). Researchers found that both ringed seals and Arctic cod preferred [[Fast ice|land fast ice]] and that the Arctic cod that remained close to the undersurface of land fast ice, were larger and older than those offshore.<ref name="Arctic_Bradstreet_19820101">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.14430/arctic2305| issn = 1923-1245| volume = 35| issue = 1| pages = 28–40| last = Bradstreet| first = Michael S. W.| title = Occurrence, Habitat Use, and Behavior of Seabirds, Marine Mammals, and Arctic Cod at the Pond Inlet Ice Edge| journal = Arctic| access-date = 7 February 2021| date = 1 January 1982| url = https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65357| doi-access = free}}</ref>

The variety of wildlife so close to the hamlet is one of its tourist attractions.

===Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization===
[[File:Sirmilik Glacier 2 1997-08-06.jpg|thumb|Sirmilik Glacier]]
Pond Inlet's Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization (MHTO) have been actively participating in discussions regarding Baffinland's Phase 2 Proposal for expansion of the Mary River project by submitting presentations to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's (QIA). The Nunavut Impact Review Board was criticized for rushing through the process by limiting the number of questions each party could ask Baffinland.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210129">{{Cite news| last = Brown| first = Beth| title = Participants at Nunavut mine hearing question whether process is serving Inuit| work = CBC| access-date = 9 February 2021| date = 29 January 2021| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuit-leaders-question-environmental-mine-hearings-1.5893359}}</ref> MHTO board member, elder and hunter Elijah Panipakoocho expressed frustration with the process.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> The MHTO and the Hamlet of Pond Inlet said that the NIRB process was not supporting Inuit interests.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210129"/> Panipakoocho said that now the caribou are gone, and the seal that they used to hunt in Milne Inlet during the fall freeze-up are no longer abundant.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> MHTO chairperson, Eric Ootoovak, said that "This project deserves and needs more work, and more attention, and that is what we bring to the table. More questions, not less, are absolutely necessary...Instead of developing more questions based on what we've heard, our technical advisor has spent two days trying to find ways to cut corners and limit our incredibly important questions."<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210129"/> Milne Inlet, where Baffinalnd have their port, is a "small inlet" that "opens into Eclipse Sound, a primary summering area for Nunavut's largest population of narwhal. After years of negotiations, communities say they still haven't been given a clear picture of how the mine will impact Inuit land use and hunting rights for themselves and following generations."<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210129"/>

==Place name==
To the Inuit, the place "is and always has been Mittimatalik."<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/> The hamlet shares its name with an arm of the sea that separates Bylot Island from Baffin Island. The place name for the body of water, an arm of the ocean that separates Baffin Island from Bylot Island to the north – Pond's Bay – <ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109">{{Cite news| last = Harper| first = Kenn| title = Pond Inlet, Names and Choices| work = Nunatsiaq News| access-date = 5 February 2021| date = 9 November 2007| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Pond_Inlet_Names_and_Choices/}}</ref> was chosen by the explorer John Ross in 1818 in honour of the English astronomer [[John Pond]], at the time the sixth [[Astronomer Royal]].<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/>{{rp|9}} The hamlet shares that English name, Pond Inlet, used by the early Scottish whalers and traders, the ''Sikaatsi''.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/> On 29 August 1921, when the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] opened its trading post near an Inuit camp called Pond's Inlet, they named the HBC post, Pond Inlet.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/><ref group="Notes">Scottish explorer [[John Ross (Arctic explorer)|John Ross]] (1777–1856) with naming the body of water and arm of the sea between Bylot Island and Baffin Island—Pond Inlet—in his failed exploratory 1818 expedition organized by the [[British Admiralty]] to find the Northwest passage. There was no hamlet until the trading companies arrived much later in the 2oth century. In an Arctic whaling ship, the {{ship||Isabella|1813 ship|2}} Ross produced a detailed map of the western coast of Greenland and the eastern coast of Baffin Island, naming dozens of capes, mountains, islands, and other geographical features after Scottish and English people and places.{{cite book|last=Edinger|first=R.|year=2003|title=Fury Beach: The Four-Year Odyssey of Captain John Ross and the Victory|location=New York|publisher=Berkley|isbn=0425188450}} He named Pond Inlet after [[John Pond]], a leading [[England|English]] [[astronomer]] who was Astronomer Royal from 1811 to 1835. During this first expedition to find the Passage, Ross became confused by a [[mirage]] of apparent mountains, at what he thought was the end of [[Lancaster Sound]]—a range he called "Croker Mountains"—and decided to turn back, much to the discouragement of Lieutenant [[William Edward Parry]], who was the captain of the second ship in the 1818 expedition, the {{ship||Alexander|1813 ship|2}}. Parry returned the next year and continued beyond the "Croker Hills" mountain mirage, and discovered the main axis of the [[Northwest Passage]].[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.509.4658&rep=rep1&type=pdf More]{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RkFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA878 |title = The Voyages and Travels of Captains Ross, Parry, Franklin, and Mr. Belzoni: Forming an Interesting History of the Manners, Customs, and Characters of Various Nations|last1 = Dennett|first1 = John Frederick|year = 1838}}</ref>

==Pond Inlet community histories==

According to the 2013 Qikiqtani Truth Commission, the people of the region around Pond Inlet are known as ''Tununirmiut''—"people of the shaded place" or ''Mittimatalingmiut''—people of Mittimatalik."<ref name="qtcommission_2013">{{cite report |url=https://www.qtcommission.ca/sites/default/files/community/community_histories_pond_inlet.pdf |title=Qikiqtani Truth Commission Community Histories 1950–1975 Pond Inlet |work=Qikiqtani Truth Commission |location= Iqaluit, Nunavut |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-927095-62-1 |pages=42}} President J. Okalik Eegeesiak</ref>{{rp|9}}

Archaeologists have identified the four thousand years of land use—hunting and fishing on land, sea, and ice—in the Pond Inlet area as pre-[[Dorset culture|Dorset people]],<ref>{{cite report |title=Inuit History and Heritage |work=Inuit Tapirisat Katami |pages=17 |date=2016 |access-date=8 February 2021 |url=https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/5000YearHeritage_0.pdf}}</ref><ref group="Notes">About five thousand years ago, the people the ITK refer to as the [https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/5000YearHeritage_0.pdf Sivullirmiut]—the first people—"travelled from the north coast of Alaska, east across Canada as far as southern Greenland" over a period of a thousand years., This movement east took place about 5000 years ago by a people we refer to as the Sivullirmiut which means the first people. In our legends these early people were often called Tunnit. Archaeologists use the terms [[Pre-Dorset]], [[Independence I culture|Independence I]], [[Independence II culture]]s, and Dorset sub groups of [[Paleo-Eskimo]] to identify the Sivullirmiut. In less than a thousand years, groups of Sivullirmiut travelled from the north coast of Alaska, east across Canada as far as southern Greenland. In Canada, early Inuit settled as far east and south as the Strait of Belle Isle on the coast of Newfoundland. See more at [https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/5000YearHeritage_0.pdf ITK 2016:5]</ref> Dorset, [[Thule people|Thule]], and modern Inuit.<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/>{{rp|9}}

Many Inuit in "present-day Pond Inlet are related to families in [[Igloolik]]".<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/> The Igloolik Inuit, are part of the [[Amitturmiut]] groups of Inuit—the historic Inuit groups that occupied the coast of northern [[Foxe Basin]]—encountered Scottish [[Whaling|whalers]] and British explorers searching for the [[Northwest Passage]] in the 1820s.<ref name="Desjardins_2013">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.5252/az2013n1a2| issn = 0761-3032| volume = 48| issue = 1| pages = 37–51| last = Desjardins| first = Sean P. A.| title = Evidence for intensive walrus hunting by Thule Inuit, northwest Foxe Basin, Nunavut, Canada| journal = Anthropozoologica| access-date = 7 February 2021| date = June 2013| s2cid = 128764741| url = http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.5252/az2013n1a2}}</ref> The Amitturmiut were [[Nomad|semi-nomadic]], travelled great distances on foot and by [[dog sled]] on traditional routes to follow the caribou and [[Marine mammal|sea mammals]], from hunting caribou to fishing spots.<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999"/>{{rp|268}}

The settlement that was later named Pond Inlet "grew along a shoreline inhabited as long as any other part of Eclipse Sound— [[Tasiujaq (Baffin Bay)|Tasiujaq]].<ref>[http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/0c74230c849c20c38ac61b18bb58a08f Tasiujaq (Formerly Eclipse Sound)]</ref> Tasiujaq—which has several arms—is a natural [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]] waterway through the [[Arctic Archipelago]] that separates [[Bylot Island]] from Baffin Island.

Starting in 1903, Scottish entrepreneurs had set up a small whaling station at Igarjuaq.<ref group="Notes">Not to be confused with Igarjuaq an island near [[Qikiqtarjuaq]], {{Cite cgndb|OEAZG|Igarjuaq}}</ref> Other non-Inuit (''Qallunaat'') traders established [[trading post]]s in the area. There was some contact with Inuit during the short annual whaling season.<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/>{{rp|11}} By 1903, the whaling industry was declining and the year-round station closed down.<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/>{{rp|9}} The area used by non-Inuit traders at that time "extended 65 kilometres from Button Point on Bylot Island to Salmon River, which was near Mittimatalik.<ref name="qtcommission_2013"/>

During the 1920s, the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC) trading post, [[Christian mission|Anglican and Catholic mission]] stations, the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] post were established. In 1922, the RCMP built a detachment at Pond Inlet.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Harper_20071109"/> The Commission reported on community histories, explaining how an important part of the [[Inuit diet|traditional diet]] in Pond Inlet came from [[ringed seal]]s. The report also noted that preserved cultural objects provided archaeological evidence of a "rich material and intangible culture" in the area. Among these were two "superb" ''[[angakkuq]]'' (shamans) [[Masks among Eskimo peoples|Dorset period masks]] from Button Point,<ref name="CMC">{{cite web |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasure/254eng.html |work=Canadian Museum of Civilization |title=Dorset Masks |date= |series=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206171643/https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasure/254eng.html |archive-date=6 February 2021|access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref> that had been carved c. 500-1000 CE and are now in the permanent collection of the [[Canadian Museum of History]].

[[File:Pond_Inlet_Catholic_Church_1997-08-12.jpg|thumb|Catholic Church at Pond Inlet]]
The ''[[angakkuq]]'' masks were originally collected by [[Guy Mary-Rousselière]], a [[French Canadians|French-Canadian]] anthropologist, missionary [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Catholic priest]], who spent 56 years in the [[Arctic Archipelago|Canadian Arctic]] including 36 years in Mittimatalik, from 1958 until his 23 April 1994 death there at the age of 81.<ref name=Arctic>{{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Bryan |date=January 1994 |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic47-3-318.pdf |title= Father Guy Mary-Rousselière (1913–1994) |journal=Arctic |volume=47 |issue=3 |page=318 |doi=10.14430/arctic1301 |access-date=31 January 2020 |issn=1923-1245}}</ref><ref name="NationalPost_O'Connor_1991">{{cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Bryan C. |date=24 September 1991 |title=The priest who chronicled the North |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-priest-who-chronicled-the-north |website=National Post |access-date=31 January 2020}} ''(Article updated after death of Mary-Rousselière).''</ref> Father Mary, as he was known, "died in a fire at the Catholic mission in Pond Inlet"—a "wise and somewhat eccentric elder of the church".<ref name="NationalPost_O'Connor_1991"/>

In 1923, Nuqallaq, following Inuit customary law killed a fur trader Robert Janes, originally from [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], in Pond Inlet following the communities collective decision to sanction Janes for his dangerous behaviour.<ref name="Harper_2017">{{Cite book| publisher = Nunavut Arctic College Media| isbn = 978-1-897568-49-1| last = Harper| first = Kenn| title = Thou Shalt Do No Murder: Inuit, Injustice, and the Canadian Arctic| date = 2017}}</ref> Janes had "reportedly threatened the Inuit and their valuable [[sled dog]]s".<ref name="thetelegram_20171005">{{Cite news| last = Whiffen| first = Glen| title = Newfoundland trader's 1920 murder a turning point in Arctic, author says {{!}} The Telegram| access-date = 6 February 2021| url = http://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/newfoundland-traders-1920-murder-a-turning-point-in-arctic-author-says-154692/}}</ref> Nuqallaq was tried according to Canadian law and his wife's testimony in his defence was recorded by Father Mary-Rousselière. Nuqallaq was found guilty and sentenced to ten years of hard labour in the [[Stony Mountain Institution|Stony Mountain Penitentiary]]. In her 2002 non-fiction, ''Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923'', Shelagh Grant said that the trial and sentence were motivated by "Canada's international political concerns for establishing sovereignty over the [[Arctic]]."<ref name="Grant_2002">{{Cite book| publisher = McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP| isbn = 978-0-7735-2337-1| last = Grant| first = Shelagh Dawn| title = Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923| date = 2002}}</ref> In his 2017 non-fiction ''Thou Shalt Do No Murder: Inuit, Injustice, and the Canadian Arctic'', [[Kenn Harper]] said that the trial "marked a collision of two cultures with vastly different conceptions of justice and conflict resolution...It hastened the end of the Inuit traditional way of life and ushered in an era in which Inuit autonomy was supplanted by dependence on traders and police, and later missionaries".<ref name="Harper_2017"/><ref name="thetelegram_20171005"/>

When the first hospital was built in 1962, in what is now Nunavut—the [[Qikiqtani General Hospital|Baffin Regional Hospital]] in [[Iqaluit]]—pregnant [[Inuit women]] were sent there to deliver their babies.<ref name="Marchildon_2013">{{Cite book| publisher = McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)| isbn = 978-0-7735-8885-1| last1 = Marchildon| first1 = Gregory P.| last2 = Torgerson| first2 = Renée| title = Nunavut: A Health System Profile| date = 1 June 2013}}</ref>

In 1964, the [[Kinngait|Cape Dorset]] (now Kinngait) art studio manager, Terrence Ryan, travelled to several communities in North Baffin, provided drawing materials, commissioned and collected drawings from local Inuit Pond Inlet, [[Clyde River, Nunavut|Clyde River]], [[Arctic Bay]] and [[Igloolik]], which resulted in a collection of approximately 1,860 sheets of drawings — drawn by 159 local residents.<ref name="cbc_Strong_20170826">{{Cite news| last = Strong| first = Walter| title = Unique 1960s North Baffin-area art collection goes on display in Iqaluit| work = CBC| access-date = 8 February 2021| date = 26 August 2017| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/north-baffin-art-collection-display-1.4263736}}</ref> It was a time of "social, economic and spiritual upheaval" and the images recorded and reflected that experience in the northern hamlets.<ref name="cbc_Strong_20170826"/> The drawings were digitized and published online by the [[Agnes Etherington Art Centre]].<ref name="AEAC">{{Cite web| title = Picturing Arctic Modernity: North Baffin Drawings from 1964 |work=Agnes Etherington Art Centre | access-date = 8 February 2021| url = https://agnes.queensu.ca/microsites/picturing-arctic-modernity/en/index.htm}}</ref><ref group="Notes">The 1964 drawings including many from Pond Inlet were published online based on three themes: [https://agnes.queensu.ca/microsites/picturing-arctic-modernity/en/stories_behind_the_drawings.htm#conveying-identities Conveying Identities, On the Land, and Our Stories]</ref>

Inuit youth from Pond Inlet were taken from their families<ref name="CBC_20080107"/> and sent to the Churchill Vocational School in [[Manitoba]], which operated from 9 September 1964 to 30 June 1973.<ref name="IRSHDC">{{Cite web| title = IRSHDC : School : Churchill (MB) [18707]| access-date = 6 February 2021| url = https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/entities/1099}}</ref> The students were housed in hostels that were segregated based on the students' religious affiliation—Roman Catholic or Anglican.<ref name="IRSHDC">{{Cite web| title = IRSHDC : School : Churchill (MB) [18707]| access-date = 6 February 2021| url = https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/entities/1099}}</ref> According to the final report of the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada]] (2008 to 2015), organized by the parties of the [[Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement]], the Churchill Vocational Centre in [[northern Manitoba]], housed Inuit youth from Pond Inlet and about 16 other remote hamlets—all at that time still part of the [[Northwest Territories]]—Nunavut was created in 1999.<ref name="TRC">{{cite report |chapter-url=http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Volume_2_Inuit_and_Northern_English_Web.pdf |chapter=Canada's Residential Schools: The Inuit and Northern Experience |title=The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada|series=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada]] (2008 to 2015) |volume=2 |date=|access-date=6 February 2021 |publisher=McGill-Queen’s University Press |location=[[Montreal]], [[Kingston, Ontario]], [[London]], United Kingdom, [[Chicago]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717144525/http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Volume_2_Inuit_and_Northern_English_Web.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2020}}</ref>{{rp|104}} Some of the students at the [[Canadian Indian residential school system|Indigenous residential school]] at [[Churchill, Manitoba|Churchill]] travelled "staggering" distances with some Inuit communities separated by as much as {{cvt|2,200|km}}.<ref name="TRC"/>{{rp|104}}<ref name="CBC_20080107">{{Cite news| title = Missing records complicate residential school claims| work = CBC| access-date = 6 February 2021| date =7 January 2008| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/missing-records-complicate-residential-school-claims-1.717273}}</ref> Over the years, the Churchill Vocational Centre had "provided academic and [[Vocational education|vocational training]] to about 1,000 to 1,200 Inuit youth". The September 2007 landmark compensation deal, the federal government-approved agreement amounted to nearly $2 billion in compensation to former students who had attended 130 schools.<ref name="CBC_20080107"/> By 2008, different levels of government, including [[Tununiq]] MLA [[James Arvaluk]] and [[Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated]], worked with some former Churchill residential school students, as the school records had not been properly maintained, and many former students were not able to receive adequate and fair compensation.<ref name="CBC_20080107"/> While at Churchill, the young Inuit met other young people from different regions and they discussed common problems and considered political change.<ref name="publichistory_Bonesteel_2006">{{cite report |url=https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/inuit-book_1100100016901_eng.pdf |title=Canada's Relationship with Inuit: A History of Policy and Program Development |publisher=Public History Inc. via [[Indian and Northern Affairs Canada]] |editor-first=Erik |editor-last=Anderson|first=Sarah |last=Bonesteel |date=June 2006 |access-date=11 September 2018 |isbn=978-1-100-11121-6}} www.publichistory.ca</ref><ref name="Bonesteel_2006">{{cite book |title=Canada's Relationship with Inuit: A History of Policy and Program Development |publisher= [[Canadian Museum of Civilization]] |first=Sarah |last=Bonesteel |date=1 January 2006 |isbn=9781100111216}}</ref> The new organizations they founded upon returning to the Arctic, included the [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]] (formerly the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada or ITK) in the eastern Arctic in 1971.

By the 1970s, Inuit had gradually "moved, or been moved, from land-based hunting and trapping camps to new settlements",<ref name="InuitStudies_Tester_2013">{{Cite journal| issn = 0701-1008| volume = 37| issue = 2| pages = 15–36| last1 = Tester| first1 = Frank James| last2 = Lambert| first2 = Drummond E. J.| last3 = Lim| first3 = Tee Wern| title = Wistful thinking: Making Inuit labour and the Nanisivik mine near Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay), northern Baffin Island| journal = Études/Inuit/Studies| date = 2013| doi = 10.7202/1025708ar| jstor = 24368114| doi-access = }}</ref> like Pond Inlet, that had been developed in the eastern Arctic, and over the years, attempts had been made by the federal government, to integrate Inuit into a "modern industrial economy".<ref name="SCC_Gibson_1978">{{Cite book| publisher = Science Council of Canada via Public Supply and Services Canada]| isbn = 978-0-660-01675-7| last = Gibson| first = Robert B.| title = The Strathcona Sound mining project: a case study of decision making| location = [Ottawa| series = Background study - Science Council of Canada; no. 42| date = 1978}}</ref>

By the 1970s, the three main sections in Pond Inlet were the area around the cliff called Qaiqsuarjuk, the beach area known as Mittimatalik, and the upper hill area called Qaqqarmiut.<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999"/>{{rp|213}}

In the 1990s, in response to one of the recommendations of the 1992 [[Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples]], three generations of Pond Inlet women participated in a project with author and researcher Nancy Wachowich to record and publish their stories.<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999">{{Cite book| publisher = McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP| isbn = 978-0-7735-1887-2| last1 = Wachowich| first1 = Nancy| last2 = Awa| first2 = Apphia Agalakti| last3 = Katsak| first3 = Rhoda Kaukjak| last4 = Katsak| first4 = Sandra Pikujak| title = Saqiyuq| date = 1999}}</ref> Apphia Agalakti Awa was born on the land in the Eastern High Arctic in 1931, for four decades lived the semi-nomadic life style travelling "across tundra and sea ice, between hunting camps, fishing spots, and trading posts."<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999"/>{{rp|4}} Mandatory federal day schools opened in Pond Inlet in 1960 and for families that lived on the land, the government built hostels in Igloolik, where even young children—like 8-year old Rhoda Kaukjak Katsak—were housed.<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999"/>{{rp|271}} Sandra Pikujak Katsak, was born in the regional hospital in Iqaluit as Pond Inlet did not have the hospital facilities. She grew up in Pond Inlet.<ref name="Wachowich_Saqiyuq_1999"/>

By the 2000s, the [[Aboriginal Healing Foundation]] through the Saluqat Committee's Mittimatalik Healing project in Pond Inlet were providing on-the-land healing camps where elders and residential school survivors addressed many issues related to the aftermath of the residential schools experience.<ref name="AHF_2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.ahf.ca/funded-projects/northnunavut/saluqat-committee |work=[[Aboriginal Healing Foundation]] |title=Helping Aboriginal People Heal Themselves via Saluqat Committee in the Hamlet of Pond Inlet|access-date=8 February 2021 |date=2010}}</ref>

==Mixed economy: wage-based and traditional subsistence==
Pond Inlet's economy is mixed—including both traditional subsistence and wage-based activities. The wildlife economy, "including hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering...continues to play an important role in Pond Inlet and contributes to the foundation of [[Inuit culture]] and economy".<ref name="Nu_PI"/> As part of the decentralization process that was adopted by the new Nunavut government as a job creation strategy, Pond Inlet became the Qikiqtani regional centre for Nunavut's Department of Economic Development and Transportation.<ref name="Nu_PI">{{Cite web| title = Pond Inlet: Nunavut Climate Change Centre| access-date = 8 February 2021| url = https://www.climatechangenunavut.ca/en/community/pond-inlet}}</ref> Growth sectors in Nunavut include [[Inuit art|arts and crafts]] and wildlife harvesting for future economic development.

When Nunavut was established, its government adopted a decentralized strategy for job creation. As part of the decentralization process, Pond Inlet became the Qikiqtani regional centre for Nunavut's Department of Economic Development and Transportation.<ref name="Nu_PI"/> The government is now the largest employer in Pond Inlet. Growth sectors in Nunavut include small businesses, usually related to serving the community, tourism, arts and crafts and wildlife harvesting.<ref name="Nu_PI"/>

Employment areas include sales and service, social science, education, "government service and religion occupations, business finance and administration, trades, transport and equipment operators."<ref name="Nu_PI"/>

Pond Inlet has a higher unemployment rates than most of Nunavut.<ref name="Nu_PI"/>

When announcing lay-offs in November 2019, Baffinland said that 586 contract employees were affected, which included 96 Inuit.<ref name="nunatsiaq_20191114">{{Cite web| title = Baffinland lays off 586 contract employees, halts planned work| work = Nunatsiaq News| access-date = 8 February 2021| date =14 November 2019| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/baffinland-lays-off-586-contract-employees-halts-planned-work/}}</ref>

===Tourism===
As a tourist destination, Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "Jewels of the North". It is one of the most picturesque communities with mountain ranges visible in all directions. Icebergs are most often accessible from the community within walking distance or a short snowmobile ride in winter. Pond Inlet boasts a nearby floe edge, several dozen glaciers, explorable ice caves, and many grand and picturesque inlets. [[Barren-ground caribou]], [[ringed seal]], [[narwhal]]s and [[polar bear]]s are just some of the wildlife that can be encountered while travelling out on the land. The area is also home to [[Sirmilik National Park]] ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɜr|m|əl|ɪ|k}}; [[Inuktitut]]: "the place of [[glacier]]s"<ref name="CE">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/sirmilik-national-park|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204013002/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/sirmilik-national-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2013|title=Sirmilik National Park|publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2013-06-22}}</ref>), name for the glaciers that can be observed there.

[[File:Nattinnak Visitor Centre and Library.JPG|thumb|Nattinnak Visitor Centre and Library]]
By 1999, Pond Inlet was receiving about 1,500 visitors from six to eight cruise ships with tours usually organized around the hamlet's newly built Nattinnak Visitor Centre and the Rebecca P. Idlout Public Library and archives.<ref name="Nunatsiaq_George_19990702">{{Cite news| last = George| first = Jane| title = Pond Inlet learns how to profit from cruise ship tourists| work = Nunatsiaq News| location = Iqaluit| access-date = 6 February 2021| date = 2 July 1999| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/pond_inlet_learns_how_to_profit_from_cruise_ship_tourists/}}</ref> The Nattinnak Centre offers a variety of on-shore programs, which may include a walking tour of the hamlet, a visit to the Qilaukat Thule site near Salmon River, and/or a cultural performance—with a focus on the creation of Nunavut.<ref name="Nunatsiaq_George_19990702"/> Pond Inlet carvers, artists, performers, and others benefit from this "locally-generated economic activity."<ref name="Nunatsiaq_George_19990702"/> In 1996, the Rebecca P. Idlout library was moved to its current location in the building it shares with the Nattinnak centre. The building, which is on the waterfront, overlooks Tasiujaq and [[Bylot Island]]. The library, which first opened in November 1988, was named after Idlout, who was a graduate of the [[Nunavut Teacher Education Program]] and was very involved in young people's education in Nunavut.<ref name="NLA_201207">{{cite magazine|title=Library Profile: The Rebecca P. Idlout Library |magazine=Nunavut Library Association |series=Nunavut Library Association Newsletter |date=July 2012}}</ref>

===Tununiq Sauniq Co-op===
The Tununiq Sauniq Co-operative, a member of [[Arctic Co-operatives Limited]], was incorporated in 1968. In Pond Inlet, businesses include a retail store, convenience store, hotel, fuel delivery, Yamaha snowmobile and ATV repair shop, cable television services and property rentals.<ref name="coop">[http://www.arcticco-op.com/acl-baffin-region-pond-inlet.htm Tununiq Sauniq Co-operative Limited]</ref> It serves the community by managing contracts and delivering goods and services to the citizens of Pond Inlet. Some of the services the Co-op provides are: school bus services, [[Canadian North]] airline agents, Qilaut heavy equipment rentals and services, construction contracts, TV cable services, a grocery and department store, Yamaha snowmobile and ATV repair shop, and others. It also has the largest hotel in the community, the Sauniq Inns North Hotel.

===Inuit land use and occupation===
The [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]] (ITK) initiated the 1973 [[Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project]] (ILUOP).<ref name="ILUOP_Freeman_1976">{{cite report |first=Milton|last=Freeman|title=Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: A Report |publisher=Department of Indian and Northern Affairs|location=Ottawa, Ontario|year=1976}}</ref><ref name="Argetsinger_2009">{{citation|url=http://ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Undergraduate/Argetsinger/ArgetsingerThesis2009.pdf|year=2009|title=The Nature of Inuit Self-Governance in Nunavut Territory|first=Timothy H. Aqukkasuk |last=Argetsinger|series=Native American Studies |work=Dartmouth College|location=Hanover, NH}}</ref> The ILUOP "presented a detailed, comprehensive, and verifiable basis for the claim that Inuit used and occupied an area in excess of 2.8 million square kilometres at the time the ILUOP was completed in the Northwest Territories and northeast Yukon".<ref name="CDNGeographer_Freeman_2011">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00341.x| issn = 1541-0064| volume = 55| issue = 1| pages = 20–31| last = Freeman| first = Milton M. R.| title = Looking back—and looking ahead—35 years after the Inuit land use and occupancy project| journal = The Canadian Geographer| access-date = 6 February 2021| date = 2011| url = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00341.x| url-access = subscription}}</ref> [[Hugh Brody]] (1943–), who was an [[anthropologist]], associated with the [[Scott Polar Research Institute]], operated by the [[University of Cambridge]], and a [[Canada Research Chair]] at the [[University of the Fraser Valley]] in British Columbia.<ref name="ufv_chairs">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ufv.ca/canada_research_chair_in_aboriginal_studies__crcas/ |title=University of the Fraser Valley: Research Chairs |access-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025252/http://www.ufv.ca/canada_research_chair_in_aboriginal_studies__crcas/ |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> did extensive field work in Pond Inlet in the 1970s, as a research officer with the Northern Science Research Group.<ref name="guardian">[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/jan/27/society The peoples' champion], [[The Guardian]], profile, 27 January 2001.</ref> In 1976–78 he coordinated the [[Counter-mapping|land use mapping]] in the North Baffin region for the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project and assembled accounts of Inuit perceptions of land occupancy across the Arctic which were included in the Project's final publications.<ref name="ReferenceA">See the three volume, Report of the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project, ed Milton Freeman, Ottawa: DIAND, 1976</ref>

In the mid-1980s there were two "longitudinal surveys of local economic changes in Pond Inlet" undertaken and more data was gathered in 1997.<ref name="Arctic_Myers_2000">{{Cite journal| issn = 0004-0843| volume = 53| issue = 2| pages = 134–145| last1 = Myers| first1 = Heather| last2 = Forrest| first2 = Scott| title = Making Change: Economic Development in Pond Inlet, 1987 to 1997| journal = Arctic Via Arctic Institute of North America | date = 2000| doi = 10.14430/arctic843| jstor = 40512201| doi-access = free}}</ref> At that time, job opportunities remained limited. There was some expectation for increased employment with the creation of the new Nunavut government.<ref name="Arctic_Myers_2000"/>

In Pond Inlet in 2006, the Mary River Inuit Knowledge Study (MRIKS) began with a series of workshops and interviews that were also undertaken in Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Sanirajak (Hall Beach), and Igloolik from 2007 and 2010.<ref name="Byam_2013">{{cite thesis |title=Strengthening the Integration of Traditional Knowledge in Environmental Impact Assessment An analysis of Inuit place names near Steensby Inlet, NU |first=Amelie |last=Byam |series=Master in Geography |url=https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/e2564226-f152-40b8-84b3-c4f47d09f557/etd_pdf/ac4c9f3c4e9ca2320c44ae387582f7bf/byam-strengtheningtheintegrationoftraditionalknowledge.pdf |access-date=6 February 2021 |date=2013 |work=Carleton University}} MRIKS "included the mapping and illustration of travel routes; seasonal and permanent camps; waterbodies and sources of drinking water; harvesting areas for dietary stables – including caribou, sea mammals, waterfowl, berries and eggs; rock and mineral harvesting areas; non-mammal sea resources such as seaweed, clams, mussels and other fish; and sea ice use. Spiritual, archaeological and burial sites were also identified during this stage of assessment." p.121</ref>{{rp|64}} MRIKS, which was informed by the 1976 ILAOP, asked participants about "Inuit use and understanding of the land, caribou, marine mammals, fish, birds and other land mammals." Participants were asked about the "names for the major land and water features and thirty-six key words were recorded. The study included Inuit Heritage Trust place names.<ref name="Byam_2013"/>{{rp|102–5}} The Qikiqtani Inuit Association had outstanding concerns about the interpretation of MRIKS data and impacts, and how traditional knowledge from MRIKS will be integrated into the Final Environmental Impact Statement.<ref name="Byam_2013"/>{{rp|65}}

In June 2019, at a Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation's [[Mary River Mine]] technical review meeting in Pond Inlet as part of the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) process, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association presented their study that they had compiled with residents of the nearest community to Mary River Mine—Pond Inlet.<ref name="CBC_Frizzel_20190619">{{Cite news |first=Sara |last=Frizzel |work=CBC News|date=19 June 2019| title = North Baffin community loses trust in Baffinland over traditional knowledge use| access-date = 7 February 2021| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/baffinland-technical-meeting-phase-2-inuit-traditional-knowledge-1.5180083}}</ref> Pond Inlet had raised concerns Baffinland contracted article that seemed to "reduce traditional knowledge or ''[[Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit]]'' (IQ) to static data".<ref name="CBC_Frizzel_20190619"/> QIA conducted interviews with 35 Pond Inlet residents on "how they live their daily life, including where they hunt, fish and just enjoy the outdoors" and used [[Google Earth]] mapping to "mark hunting routes, burial sites and other areas of importance to the community".<ref name="CBC_Frizzel_20190619"/>

==The creation of Nunavut==
In 1976, the [[nonprofit organization]], the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC), now known as the [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]]—who represent all Canadian [[Inuit]]—submitted its first Inuit land claims proposal, calling for the creation of a new territory.<ref name="LAC_20140917">{{Cite web|last=Canada|first=Library and Archives|date=17 September 2014|title=Nunavut (1999)|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/nunavut-1999.aspx |access-date=6 February 2020|website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref><ref name="thelancet">[http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30836-4/fulltext?elsca1=etoc Canada's Indigenous suicide crisis]</ref><ref name="ITK">{{Cite web|url=https://www.itk.ca/national-voice-for-communities-in-the-canadian-arctic/|title=The National Voice for Inuit Communities in the Canadian Arctic|website=Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami|access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

In 1999, Nunavut was established, brought about by the 1993 [[Nunavut Land Claims Agreement]]—the largest and most all-encompassing land claims and self-determination agreement in Canadian history.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Légaré|first=André|title=Canada's Experiment with Aboriginal Self-Determination in Nunavut: From Vision to Illusion|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ijgr/15/2-3/article-p335_9.xml?rskey=erGm1S&result=1|journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights|year=2008|volume=15|issue=2–3|pages=335–367|doi=10.1163/157181108X332659|via=BRILL|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="LAC_20140917"/>

==Mineral development projects==
Two large mineral development projects that were located close to Pond Inlet included [[Nanisivik Mine]] which operated from 1976 until 2002.<ref name="SCC_Gibson_1978"/> and Baffinland Iron Mine Corporation's [[Open-pit mining|open-pit]] iron ore mine—the [[Mary River Mine]] has been operational since 2014 and is now seeking major expansion which includes a railway and a dramatic increase in shipping.

In a 2000 article in the journal ''Arctic'', co-authors reported that "[m]any of the obstacles to development...identified in 1987 still persist"—"lack of infrastructure, insufficient local control of economic forces, and sometimes inappropriate development models".<ref name="Arctic_Myers_2000"/> Much of the literature on northern development was "triggered" by potential mega-project hydrocarbon and mineral development where discussions focused on comparisons of the "relative merits of the new 'formal' economy and the traditional...informal economy".<ref name="Arctic_Myers_2000"/> According to a 2013 ''[[Inuit Studies]]'' journal article based on archival records of the [[Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada|Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]] and the [[Natural Resources Canada|Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources]], the decision-making process surrounding development in the eastern Arctic was flawed.<ref name="InuitStudies_Tester_2013"/> The researchers examined the "relationship between Inuit as hunters and Inuit as wage earners" with reference to "contemporary mining development in Nunavut".<ref name="InuitStudies_Tester_2013"/>

===Baffinland Iron Mine Corporation's Mary River Mine===
{{main|Mary River Mine}}
In 2014, after years of negotiations, the Baffinland Iron Mine Corporation opened its open-pit [[iron ore]] mine—the [[Mary River Mine]]—located {{cvt|160|km}} south-southwest of Pond Inlet, the nearest community. In 2011, the Luxembourg-based [[ArcelorMittal]] SA—the largest steel maker in the world—and an American hedge fund,<ref group="Notes">WW Mines Inc., a private investment firm formerly known as Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc.</ref> had jointly purchased the Baffinland Iron Mine Corporation. Their plans included a proposed northern railway that would carry the iron ore to tidewater.<ref name="G&M_Waldie_20110514">{{Cite news| last = Waldie| first = Paul| title = A railway to Arctic riches: economic boom, environmental threat?| work = The Globe And Mail| access-date = 5 February 2021| date = 14 May 2011| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/a-railway-to-arctic-riches-economic-boom-environmental-threat/article4259449/?page=all}}</ref> The mine has been the source of much debate over cultural and environmental issues.<ref name="CTV_Tranter_20210131">{{Cite news| last = Tranter| first = Emma| title = 'Serious concern' among Nunavut communities over iron ore mine's proposed expansion| work = CTVNews| access-date = 5 February 2021| date =31 January 2021| url = https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/article/serious-concern-among-nunavut-communities-over-iron-ore-mines-proposed-expansion/}}</ref>

In Baffinland's 2019 annual report, Pond Inlet reported that in 2018 there were 49 people employed by Baffinland in Pond Inlet and the number was decreasing.<ref name="baffinland_202003">{{cite report |url=https://www.baffinland.com/_resources/2019_NIRB_AnnualReport.pdf |title=Baffinland Annual Report 2019 |date=March 2020 |access-date=8 February 2021 |pages=905}}</ref>{{rp|825}} Concerns were raised for hunters - the lack of animals was noticeable. There were concerns about sound pollution and ships in summer affecting wildlife as there are fewer seals and narwhals.<ref name="baffinland_202003"/>{{rp|825}} It was also noted that QIA received the royalties not the affected communities.<ref name="baffinland_202003"/>{{rp|825}}

The mine has attracted international attention for its planned phase two expansion, that would see a dramatic increase in shipping from its [[Milne Inlet]] port in Tasiujaq, near Pond Inlet, through a narwhal habitat in the waters near [[Greenland]].<ref name="nunatsiaq_Deuling_20200727">{{Cite news| last = Deuling| first = Meagan| title = Canada allows Greenland to weigh in on Nunavut mine expansion, under UN convention| work = Nunatsiaq News| access-date = 8 February 2021| date =27 July 2020| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/canada-allows-greenland-to-weigh-in-on-nunavut-mine-expansion-under-un-convention/}}</ref><ref name="thenarwhal_20200713"/> Milne Inlet is a "small inlet" that "opens into Eclipse Sound, a primary summering area for Nunavut's largest population of narwhal".<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210129"/> Ships from Baffinland's port in Milne Inlet will have to enter and exit [[Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area]]—a national marine conservation area. In a 2021 letter to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the mayor of Pond Inlet, Joshua Arreak, said that the hamlet would not support the phase two project unless Baffinland agreed to slow down their increase in production to yearly increments of 1.5 million tonnes per year."<ref name="cbc_20210113">{{Cite news| title = Pond Inlet calls for slow increase to iron ore output at Mary River Mine| work = CBC News| access-date = 8 February 2021| date =13 January 2021| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/pond-inlet-calls-for-slow-increase-to-iron-ore-output-at-mary-river-mine-1.5870419}}</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Denmark]], concerned by the environmental impacts of the next phase of Baffinland's Mary River Mine on nearby Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, has been included by the [[Government of Canada|Canadian government]] in the [[Nunavut Impact Review Board]]<ref group="Notes">[https://www.nirb.ca/mandate-and-mission The Nunavut Impact Review Board] (NIRB) was created by the [[Nunavut Land Claims Agreement|Nunavut Agreement]] (NA) to undertake assessments of proposed development in the Nunavut Settlement Area, make proposals, and monitor projects. NIRB uses both traditional knowledge or ''Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit'' (IQ) and "recognized scientific methods" to assesses the "potential biophysical and socio-economic impact of proposals".</ref> assessment process for the planned expansion.<ref name="nunatsiaq_Deuling_20200727"/> The iron ore shipping lanes, which go through a narwhal habitat, will threaten this population which is just beginning to return after a hundred years.<ref name="thenarwhal_20200713">{{Cite magazine| title = Baffinland owns Canada's northernmost mine. Now Greenland has a say in its expansion plans| magazine = The Narwhal| access-date = 8 February 2021| url = https://thenarwhal.ca/baffinland-iron-mines-mary-river-greenland/ |first=Julien |last=Gignac |date=13 July 2020}}</ref>
The two weeks of Nunavut Impact Review Board environmental hearings regarding the Mary River Mine ended on 6 February. By 6 February peaceful protesters from Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay were blockading the [[Mary River Aerodrome]] and trucking road at Mary River Mine.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206">{{Cite news| last = Brown| first = Beth| title = Pond Inlet protesters say mine expansion ignores Nunavut Agreement| work = CBC News| access-date = 8 February 2021| date = 6 February 2021| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/pond-inlet-protests-nunavut-agreement-1.5904305}}</ref> They are concerned that expansion would result in an "increase the number of ore carriers that visit during the ice free season".<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> The expansion would double output from 6 to 12 million tonnes a year and would include a railway. It would increase shipping through its port at Milne Inlet and impact a crucial habitat for narwhal in the Canadian Arctic.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> Elder and hunter Elijah Panipakoocho, who is a Pond Inlet's Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization board member, "participated in early wildlife research" undertaken before the mine opened in 2014.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/>

Nunavut communities had serious concerns about the mine's proposed expansion and were engaged in protests and public hearings.<ref name="Patar_nunatsiaq_20210205">{{Cite news| last = Patar| first = Dustin| title = Hunters block Mary River mine airstrip, road to protest Baffinland expansion| work = Nunatsiaq News| access-date = 5 February 2021| date =5 February 2021| url = https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/hunters-block-mary-river-mine-airstrip-road-to-protest-baffinland-expansion/}}</ref>
On 4 February 2021, as the two-week long scheduled Nunavut Impact Review Board review on the Baffinland expansion was nearing its end, eight hunters from Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay, set up a peaceful blockade at Mary River project's tote road and airstrip.<ref name="CBC_Frizzell_20210205">{{Cite news| last = Frizzell| first = Sara| title = Nunavut mine blockade to continue until concerns are addressed, say Inuit hunters| work = CBC| access-date = 9 February 2021| date = 5 February 2021| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/baffinland-blockade-hunters-group-1.5902516}}</ref> The communities of Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay are nearest the mine site. The hunters feel their wildlife economy is threatened—protesting the expansion and the review process itself.<ref name="CBC_Frizzell_20210205"/> The protesters have formed a line of snowmobiles, their gear-laden wooden sleds, and their tent. The hunters are asking other protesters to not destroy Baffinland's equipment.<ref name="CBC_Frizzell_20210205"/> Dozens of Baffinland's Inuit employees are being paid to stay home to avoid bringing COVID-19 into the small communities. The vast majority of mine workers are non-Inuit who are flown into the work camps.<ref name="CBC_Frizzell_20210205"/>

A concern is the dust from the [[Mary River Mine#Mary River - Milne Inlet tote road|tote road]]. Pond Inlet residents are worried that the water and the food chain will be contaminated with trace metals.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> An added concern is that the water and the food chain will be contaminated with trace metals.<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/> Baffinland had built a tote road to carry truckloads of iron ore from Mary River Mine to Milne Inlet instead of the special cold-weather railway and a new port, [[Steensby Inlet]], planned in 2011 and proposed in 2008. With a global decrease in the price of iron ore, Baffinland said that the railway and Steensby Inlet port was too expensive an option.<ref name="Olyslager_2011">{{cite web |url=https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/59154077 |title=Milne Camp at Assomption Harbour: The sandy point in middle foreground is proposed dock site |first=N. John |last=Olyslager |date=2011}}</ref> The bulk carrier ''[[Federal Tiber]]'' departed from Milne Inlet on 8 August 2015, with the first shipment of ore from the mine.<ref name="ArcticShipping_Gedeon_20090302">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.canadiansailings.ca/Archive/tabid/120/selectedmoduleid/500/ArticleID/16378/Default.aspx | series=Arctic Shipping Special Report |title=Floating wharf gets around lack of Arctic infrastructure| magazine=Canadian Sailings| date=2 March 2009 | first=Julie |last=Gedeon| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113191717/http://www.canadiansailings.ca/Archive/tabid/120/selectedmoduleid/500/ArticleID/16378/Default.aspx | archive-date=13 November 2010}}</ref> In 2021, Baffinland said that the "railway and a new indoor crushing facility will decrease dust."<ref name="CBC_Brown_20210206"/>

===Geological survey===
In 2017 and 2018, researchers from the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] and the Département des sciences de la Terre et de l’atmosphère, at the [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] conducted extensive fieldwork for the "bedrock mapping for the GEM-2 North Baffin project" in the area around Pond Inlet and part of [[Sirmilik National Park]] which is situated on Bylot Island, as well as in the area bordering [[Steensby Inlet]] and the [[Barnes Ice Cap]], including included the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation's Mary River iron mine.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Skipton, Diane |author2=Saumur, Benoit |author3=St-Onge, M. |pages=16 |date=31 October 2018 |title=Regional bedrock mapping of northern Baffin Island (Steensby Inlet and Barnes Ice Cap areas), Nunavut: GEM-2 Baffin Project, report of activities 2018 |work=Geological Survey of Canada |doi=10.4095/312408|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Environmental concerns===
In 1991, the [[Northern Contaminants Program]] (NCP) began monitoring the levels of contaminants in wildlife species that continued to be an important part of the traditional diet of Inuit, such as beluga, ringed seals, and arctic char. Their third assessment focused on [[persistent organic pollutants]] (POP)s.<ref name="NCP_No3_2013">{{cite report |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/ncp/79027.pdf |title= AINA |series=Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment |number=3 |date=2013 |pages=524 |work=Northern Contaminants Program via [[Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]] (AINA) |access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref> In Pond Inlet a specific focus was placed on sea run Arctic char.<ref name="NCP_No3_2013"/>{{rp|xi}}

==Transportation==
[[File:Pondinlet.jpg|thumb|Pond Inlet in 2007]]
Pond Inlet is most readily accessible by aircraft through a connection in [[Iqaluit]], Nunavut's capital, to [[Pond Inlet Airport]]. The ocean is ice free for as long as three and a half months when cruise ships bring tourists to visit and goods can be transported to the community by [[sealift]] cargo carrying ships. Fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables and milk are flown from [[Montreal]] to Pond Inlet several times a week, a distance of about {{cvt|3000|km}}.

Because of such great distances the cost of food and other materials such as construction supplies can be much higher than that of southern Canada. Milk is approximately [[Canadian dollar|$]]3.75/L, and carbonated drinks can be as much as $4.50/can.

Although the community is not more than {{cvt|2.5|km}} long, snowmobiles and [[All-terrain vehicle#Four-wheelers|ATV four-wheelers]] are the main modes of transportation. With the [[decentralization]] of the Nunavut government and increased economic opportunities in the community, the number of vehicles has been increasing.

==Education==
Ulaajuk Elementary School and Nasivvik High School together teach kindergarten through grade 12 to approximately 450 students.<ref name="Ulaajuk-School">{{cite web|url=https://ntip.gov.nu.ca/qikiqtani-school-operations-qso/pond-inlet/ulaajuk-school |title=Ulaajuk School |publisher=Nunavut Teacher Induction Program |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="Nasivvik-School">{{cite web|url=https://ntip.gov.nu.ca/community/school/nasivvik-school |title=Nasivvik School |publisher=Nunavut Teacher Induction Program |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref> [[Nunavut Arctic College]] hosts a variety of programs for adult learners. Pond Inlet is also the headquarters of the [[Qikiqtani School Operations]] which runs schools throughout the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]]. Nunavut uses the Alberta curriculum, which may not be appropriate for high schools in Nunavut.

== Broadband communications ==
The community has been served by the [[Qiniq (company)|Qiniq]] network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by [[SSi Canada]]. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

==Climate==
Pond Inlet has a [[polar climate|polar arctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|ET]]) with long cold winters and short cool summers. Pond Inlet's average high for the year is {{cvt|-10.3|C}} while the average low for the year is {{cvt|-17.2|C}}. The daily mean for the coldest month, February, is {{Convert|−33.1|C}}. The daily mean for the warmest month, July, is {{cvt|7.2|C}}. The annual average during the 30 year period from 1991–2020 is {{cvt|-13.7|C}} up {{cvt|0.9|C-change}} from the 1981–2010 average of {{cvt|-14.6|C}}.<ref name="ccnYIO"/><ref name=YIO1981/> The record high for Pond Inlet is {{cvt|22.3|C}} on 12 July 2001. The record low for Pond Inlet is {{cvt|-53.9|C}} on 12 February 1979.<ref name="ccnYIO"/>

{{Pond Inlet weatherbox}}

==Notable people associated with Pond Inlet==
* [[Siku Allooloo]], an Inuk/Haitian [[Taíno]] writer, artist, facilitator and land-based educator from Denendeh ("the Land of the People"), Northwest Territories and Pond Inlet
* [[Titus Allooloo]], a business man and former territorial level politician
* [[Sheila Burnford]], a Scottish writer who wrote ''One Woman's Arctic'' (1973) about her two summers in Pond Inlet
* [[Joe Enook]], an Inuk politician who was elected to represent the district of Tununiq in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
* [[Elijah Erkloo]], a former territorial level politician
* [[Joseph Idlout]], an Inuk featured on the former Canadian two-dollar bill
* [[Ruben Komangapik]], an Inuk artist primarily known for his mixed media sculptures
* [[Jobie Nutarak]], an Inuk politician who was elected to represent the district of Tununiq in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
* [[Karen Nutarak]], an Inuk politician who was elected to represent the district of Tununiq in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
* [[Elisapee Ootoova]], an Inuk elder who preserved and promoted Inuit traditional knowledge
* [[Katharine Scherman]], an American author who wrote ''Spring on an Arctic Island'' (1956) about a research trip to Bylot Island in 1954

== See also ==
*[[List of municipalities in Nunavut]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group="Notes"}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Finley, K. J., and Elizabeth J. Gibb. ''Summer Diet of the Narwhal (Monodon Monoceros) in Pond Inlet, Northern Baffin Island''. Toronto: LGL Limited for Petro-Canada Exploration Inc., Calgary, 1982.
* Grant, Shelagh D. ''Arctic Justice On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923''. McGill-Queen's native and northern series, 33. Montréal, QC: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7735-2337-5}}
* Grigsby, Michael. ''Eskimos of Pond Inlet''. [Great Britain]: Granada TV, 1975.
* Jackson, G. D., A. Davidson, and W. C. Morgan. ''Geology of the Pond Inlet Map-Area, Baffin Island, District of Franklin''. Paper (Geological Survey of Canada), 74–25. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1975.
* MacFarlane, I. C. ''The Effects of Deformation on the Structure of Sea Ice, Pond Inlet, N.W.T. A Contract Report''. St. John's, Nfld: Centre for Cold Ocean Resources Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1983.
* Nashook, Elijah. ''Pond Inlet Airstrip Extension Correspondence between Elijah Nashook, Mayor of the Hamlet of Pond Inlet and the Government of the Northwest Territories''. Yellowknife?, N.W.T.: Government of the Northwest Territories?, 1987.
* Northwest Territories. ''Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik)''. Northwest Territories data sheets. 1986.
* Pond Inlet Education Council, and Baffin Divisional Board of Education. ''Nanuit Miksaanut''. [Iqaluit, N.W.T.]: Pond Inlet Education Council, 1980. {{ISBN|0-920245-66-8}}
* Remote Community Demonstration Program (Canada), and Peter J. Poole. ''A Study to Determine Off-Oil Options for Pond Inlet, N.W.T., with Special Emphasis on the Prospects for Developing Coal Reserves''. Ottawa: The Program, 1983.
* Romer, Mark. ''Pond Inlet Gardens A Report on the Design and Operation of a Solar Greenhouse on North Baffin Island, NWT, with Particular Reference to Economic Viability of Vegetable Production for Arctic Regions''. Outremont, Qué: Romer, 1987.
* Soberman, D. A. ''Report to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on the Complaints of the {{sic|Inuit People|nolink=yes}} Relocated from Inukjuak and Pond Inlet, to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay in 1953 and 1955''. S.l: s.n.], 1991.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100406020409/http://www.pondinlet.ca/ Official site]
* [https://www.qia.ca/about-us/communities/#pond-inlet Pond Inlet at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association]

{{Arctic Cordillera}}
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hamlets in the Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
[[Category:Hudson's Bay Company trading posts in Nunavut]]
[[Category:Inlets of Baffin Island]]
[[Category:Populated places in Arctic Canada]]
[[Category:Road-inaccessible communities of Nunavut]]