Haneragmiut facts for kids

The Haneragmiut were a group of Copper Inuit people. They lived in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. They were the westernmost group of Copper Inuit who hunted on southern Victoria Island. Their main home was on the north shore of Dolphin and Union Strait. This area is north of Cape Bexley and south of Prince Albert Sound. The Haneragmiut moved with the seasons to hunt, fish, and trade. They did not know that Victoria Island was actually an island.

Meeting the Haneragmiut

An Arctic explorer named Vilhjalmur Stefansson met the Haneragmiut people. He found them on May 17, 1910. At that time, there were about 40 Haneragmiut people.

During different seasons, some Haneragmiut traveled south. They hunted and traded on the mainland. They met another group called the Akuliakattagmiut. Other Haneragmiut traveled north. They went as far as Tahiryuak Lake. There, they hunted caribou with the Kanianermiut people. The Ekalluktogmiut group lived to the east of the Haneragmiut.

After his trip, Stefansson returned home in 1912. He made the Haneragmiut, Kanhirgmiut, and Nuwukpagmiut groups famous. He called them "Blond Eskimos".

Later, an anthropologist named Diamond Jenness studied these groups. He found that many groups were connected. The Akuliakattagmiut, Haneragmiut, Kogluktogmiut, Pallirmiut, Puiplirmiut, and Uallirgmiut (also known as the Kanianermiut) often married each other. Families also moved between these different groups.