Editing Rankin Inlet (section)

== History ==
[[File:Meliadine River (Rankin Inlet) Thule-Site 1995-06-22.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Thule people|Thule]] site at the Meliadine River near Rankin Inlet]]
Archaeological sites suggest the area was inhabited around 1200&nbsp;CE by [[Thule people]] who were [[bowhead whale]] hunters. By the late 18th century, they were succeeded by [[Kivallirmiut]] (Caribou [[Inuit]]) who hunted the inland [[barren-ground caribou]], and fished for [[Arctic char]] along the coast, as well as the Diane River and Meliadine River. The [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC) established itself throughout the bay in the 17th century, and after 1717, sloops from [[Churchill, Manitoba]] traded north to Rankin Inlet and beyond. There was an unfortunate expedition shipwrecked on [[Marble Island]], {{cvt|32|km|}} east of Rankin Inlet: [[James Knight (explorer)|James Knight's]] expedition died on the island around 1722. It was surveyed by [[William Moor]] in 1747. HBC contact was followed in the mid-19th century by American and European [[Whaling|whalers]], who were followed by [[fur trade]]rs trapping [[Arctic fox]]es for their skins in the early 20th century, followed by missionaries who brought a written language system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arcticomi.ca/2rankin.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030503191104/http://www.arcticomi.ca/2rankin.html |archive-date=3 May 2003 |title=Notre Dame Du Cap |publisher=arcicomi.ca |access-date=26 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulaarvik.ca/community/Inuit.html |title=Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre |publisher=pulaarvik.ca |access-date=26 January 2008 |archive-date=10 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210130522/http://www.pulaarvik.ca/community/Inuit.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The town itself was founded by the owners of the [[Rankin Inlet Mine]], just north of Johnston Cove. Starting in 1957, the mine produced [[nickel]] and [[copper]] [[ore]]s from an underground operation. The [[Mining|mine]] was the first case of [[Inuit]] miners in Canada. When the mine closed in 1962, Rankin Inlet had a population of approximately 500 Inuit, and 70-80% had been mine workers. Several unsuccessful attempts followed to develop alternate sources of income for the town. These included a pig ranch in 1969 and a chicken-raising venture in the 1970s. Both animal groups were fed a diet of local fish, which gave the meat an unpleasant flavour. It was also common for the animals to freeze to death or be eaten by [[polar bear]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farmnwt.com/history.pdf |title=History of the Development of Agriculture in the N.W.T.|page=11| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929071142/http://www.farmnwt.com/history.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref>

The [[Meliadine Gold Mine]] operated by [[Agnico Eagle]] opened in 2019 and is expected to produce until at least 2032. It is the second mine opened in the low Arctic, after the [[Meadowbank Gold Mine]], and is both an underground and [[Open-pit mining|open-pit mine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.agnicoeagle.com/English/operations/operations/meliadine/default.aspx |title=The Meliadine mine in the Kivalliq District of Nunavut is Agnico Eagle's second mine in Canada's Low Arctic, opening nine years after the Meadowbank mine.|access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref>

From 1985 to 1997, Kivalliq Hall operated as a boarding school for Inuit pupils; it had been recognized as a [[Canadian Indian residential school system|residential school]] for the pre-1995 period when it was operated by the Federal government.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/rankin-inlet-kivalliq-hall-dismiss-1.4767608| title = Kivalliq Hall qualifies for residential school settlements, Nunavut appeals court rules |publisher= CBC News |last=Pucci |first=Michelle |date=31 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=20 December 2016|title=Nunavut judge recognizes Kivalliq Hall as a residential school|url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674nunavut_judge_recognizes_kivalliq_hall_as_a_residential_school/ |access-date=16 September 2021|website=[[Nunatsiaq News]]}}</ref>

Voters chose Iqaluit over Rankin Inlet to become the new territorial capital of Nunavut in the [[1995 Nunavut capital plebiscite]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/decentralize_or_else/ |title=Decentralize or else |website=nunatsiaq.com |date=7 June 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?param=71&art=138 |title=The Election of Nunavut’s First Legislative Assembly |website=revparl.ca |last=Armstrong |first=Brian |access-date=December 30, 2024}}</ref>