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Avanimiut

A History of Inuit Independence in Northern Labrador

By Carol Brice-Bennett
Revised by Lena Onalik & Andrea Procter
Categories: Indigenous Studies
Paperback : 9781990445149, 414 pages, November 2023

Table of contents

Contents

Maps, Tables, Figures, and Abbreviations

Background Research

A Note on the Use of Historical Names and Language

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Inuit and the Moravian Mission in Northern Labrador and Ungava Bay, 1771–1814

The Moravian Mission and the Hudson’s Bay Company, 1814–1842

Inuit Interactions with the Moravian Mission, 1842–1863

Trade Competition and Expansion, 1863–1898

Many Names, Many Relations: Inuit Families North of Hebron, 1868

Traditional Inuit Life and Colonial Interactions, 1870s–1890s

The Moravian Mission and the Anglican Church in Ungava Bay and Port Burwell, 1899–1904

Inuit Living between Ramah and Killinek, 1904–1908

The Moravian Mission at Killinek, 1904–1924

The Hudson’s Bay Company Era, 1926–1940s

Divergent Government Policy: Evictions from Nutâk and Hebron and Commercial Fishing at Killinek

Appendix 1: Inuktitut Place Names and English Translations

Appendix 2: People Living in Aulatsivik in the 1920s

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Authors

A historical account of the perseverance, resilience, and strength of traditional Inuit life in northernmost Labrador.

Description

Called the Northlanders by the Moravian missionaries who sought to colonize them, Avanimiut were Inuit who maintained traditional lifeways, autonomy, and spiritual beliefs in northernmost Labrador. Despite the attempts of the Moravian Mission, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the Anglican Church to bring them into their Christian and commercial trading worlds, the Avanimiut often held on to their independence. Avanimiut: A History of Inuit Independence in Northern Labrador is the story of a people often displaced by relocation who survived and thrived despite the hardships they faced.

The first version of Avanimiut, a 1996 report titled “Northlanders,” was commissioned by the Labrador Inuit Association and written by Carol Brice-Bennett. Lena Onalik and Andrea Procter have modified the original manuscript to incorporate historical Inuit writing and interviews, including the Inuit voices that had previously been almost entirely omitted. Avanimiut presents these voices alongside the colonial accounts of Inuit families who continued to live in their ancestral territories of Labrador, providing a glimpse into their lives, families, and relationships.

From the earliest interactions between Inuit and Europeans in Labrador to the final eviction of Inuit from their northern homeland, this book illustrates the dignified history of Avanimiut families and honours the strength, resilience, and survival of their ancestors in the north.