Arviat (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June, 1989) is a predominantly Inuit hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut Canada. Arviat ("place of the bowhead whale") is derived from the Inuktitut word arviq meaning "Bowhead Whale".

Its population was 1,899 in the 2001 Census, ^* Statistics Canada of whom 95% are Inuit. It is the southernmost community on the Nunavut mainland and is close to the geographical centre of Canada.

The only access is by air and by annual sea-lift, but the Nunavut government and the federal Senate member for Nunavut (Willie Adams) are investigating the possibility of a billion dollar highway from Churchill, Manitoba to Rankin Inlet, through Arviat.

The Hudson Bay Challenge sled-dog race was run from Churchill to Arviat for the first time in 2005.

See also

• Arviat Airport

External links

• Government of Nunavut - Arviat (PDF)
• Photos of Arviat in 1955

References