CHESTERFIELD

Just a few hundred miles down the estuary from Baker Lake towards Hudson Bay is the coastal community of Chesterfield Inlet. The town is small but it used to have a vibrant and important history in the Kivalliq Region of Nunuavut. “Igluligaarjuk” is the Inuktitut word for "place with few houses" and still describes the hamlet today. With a population that has steadily declined in the past ten years from over 350 to just over 300, the reason's are many and mostly economic.

Inuit loading recently arrived supply vessels in early 1900's

This area was always a meeting point for the Inuit people to camp for hunting and for fishing. In those times it was known as Fish Bay. Many Inuit travel to this area each year to continue that tradition.Visitors will find ancient Thule sites nearby where ancient Thule tent rings and animal traps still stand today.

You have to go back to the early exploration of the area. While searching for a 'northwest passage' to China, considerable navigation occurred in the area during the short 'open water' season. This inlet, off Hudson Bay was named “about 1749, after Philip Dormer (Stanhope), 4th Earl of CHESTERFIELD (1694-1773) who was England's Secretary of State from 1746-48.”

From the mid 1800's to the beginning of this century, whalers visited the area regularly and often overwintered here. There are many tales and stories of the mistreatment of the Inuit by the whalers even though they counted on these local inhabitants to hunt for them and to man their whale boats. It was once Hudson's Bay Company's main supply centre for other posts in the area.

At Chesterfield Inlet, the Inuit people often gathered to seek employment or to trade goods. Until the 1950's, Chesterfield Inlet was a major centre north of Churchill, Manitoba. It was the Hudson's Bay Company's main supply centre for other trading posts in the area. It was also the site of the largest RCMP barracks and the largest Roman Catholic mission in the eastern arctic, as well as medical and education centre.

This hamlet has been permanently settled since about 1910, making it one of the oldest of the modern Inuit settlements in the Arctic. When you research the area you find out about the Thule people.... the very early settlers in the area.

Inuit worked for the Whaler's - courtesy New Bedford Whaling Museum

Overall, it appears that the Chesterfield Inlet North West Mounted Police detachment had an extensive area of responsibility. Dog sled and launch fulfilled most transportation needs of the detachment depending upon the time of year. Additional facilities were built for the Chesterfield Inlet detachment in 1949 and 1950. First, two separate quarters were built for Inuit special constables. In the second year, a residence was constructed.

Members of "M" Division RNWMP, Fullerton Harbour, 1905

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police remained an integral part of Chesterfield Inlet until 1963 when the detachment was closed and Chesterfield Inlet was administered from the newly established base at the now growing Rankin Inlet.  In C.I., there is a monument erected dedicated to Mrs Agnes Clay, the wife of Staff Sergeant Sidney G. Clay who was attacked and killed by sled dogs. Their life is worth the read.

North West Mounted Police Barracks

The decline of Chesterfield Inlet was largely economic in nature. In the mid fifties, the rapid growth of the famous at the Rankin Nickel Mine was the main reason for mass exodus. In a few short years, well paying regular, non-governmental jobs served as a beacon for all the communities but, more so for Chesterfield Inlet. 

The nickel mine closed abruptly in Rankin Inlet when the price of nickel suddenly dropped making it uneconomical to mine given the hardships that this climate brings. As the closure devistated that town, so too, the previously prosperous Chesterfield Inlet never recovered thereafter.  

In 2011, the Hudson's Bay Company commemorated its 100th year mark of the 1911 establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company post in Chesterfield Inlet during the early fur-pelt trade industry. 

Editor's note: I have tried to assemble this information from conversations with patients and staff augmented by the websites of the local Hamlet. Some links for photos are available. Many thanks to all. Additional History