Nunavut-all of it!

Today marks the birth of Canada's newest territory-Nunavut (pronounced noo-na-voot). Carved out of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut means "our land" in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit who comprise 80 percent of Nun-avut's population.

The Council for Canadian Unity has constructed a Web site on Nunavut http://www.ccu-cuc.ca/en/library/nunavut.html with a lengthy list of well-organized links. Basic facts on Nunavut and a history of its creation are available, along with important primary source documents, such as the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and the Nunavut Act.

The Web site has links to important organizations including the Nunavut Planning Commission and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, set up to insure promises made in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement are implemented. Other organizations as diverse as the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and the Inuit Circumpolar Conference are listed.

Under the "Life in Nunavut" heading are many sites examining the people, culture and land of Nunavut. Link to a short history of the Inuit people and to a chart of the symbols used to write Inuktitut, the Inuit language. While the language has been spoken for thousands of years, the written syllabic script, inspired by Pittman shorthand, was relatively recently introduced by missionaries to the eastern arctic. Clicking on "Cape Dorset Inuit Art and Inuit Cultural Perspectives" will bring up a list of Inuit artists with their photographs and reproductions of selected artwork.

Interested in news and editorials from Nunavut? Click on Nunatsiaq News-Nunavut Edition. Also under the "News" heading is a useful and interesting site called "Nunavut: resources for journalists," with links to organizations, media, people, culture and art, eggheads, business and curiosities. Under "curiosities," the Leo Ussak Movie Theatre offers Quicktime movies on building an igloo, riding on a dog team, and cleaning and stretching sealskins.

Let's join our neighbors to the north in celebrating the creation of Nunavut by learning about and exploring the many facets of its rich history and culture! Later this month look for a display on Nunavut inside Lockwood Library.

For assistance in connecting to the World Wide Web, contact the CIT Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Austin Booth and Nina Cascio, University Libraries