Iqittiniq District
Iqittiniq District
Iqittiniq aviktuqsimajunik (Itchalnu) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Surrow |
| Founded | April 1, 1953 |
| County seat | Port Lochlan |
| Government | |
| • High Commissioner | Robert Amaruralak |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6,079.95 km2 (2,347.48 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 662 |
| • Rank | 5th in Surrow |
| • Density | 0.11/km2 (0.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (Surrowese Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed |
Iqittiniq District (Itchalnu: Iqittiniq aviktuqsimajunik) is a district in Surrow, bordered to the north by Stoney County. Established in 1953 as part of the Northern Integration Scheme, alongside the Northern Improvement District (present-day Ukiuqtaqtuq District) and the Central Improvement District (present-day Stoney County), Iqittiniq District is today the most populous of the two districts, although it is the fifth-most populous administrative division in Surrow, behind Disappointment County.
Etymology
Iqittiniq District derives from the Itchalnu word iqittiniq, which means hugging. This name was first conceived in 1983 by Charles Aklack, who used the name to describe "the bond between the people and the land," and his hopes that "this bond may also be extended to include all of Surrow." The name was adopted on 15 September, 2015 following President Wyatt Martel's decision to rename the districts to Itchalnu names.
The previous name, Southern Improvement District referred to its position on the southern reaches of Great Island, and to its status as an improvement district, as districts were known until 2015.
History
The first Auressian settlement to be established in present-day Iqittiniq District was the Rythenean settlement of Port Lochlan, which was established in 1711, although it would only become permanently inhabited in 1733, with Rythene treating the present-day Iqittiniq District as part of Northland County, which was at the time based at Lombelon Bay in what is today Kikik County. The only Tyrnican settlement to ever be established in present-day Iqittiniq District was Port Hentze, which was established in 1754 during the Eleven Years' War, when Tyrnica had control over the entire Surrowese archipelago.
In the aftermath of the Eleven Years' War, more outports would be established on Great Island, of which sixteen would be located in present-day Iqittiniq by 1823. During most of the nineteenth century, the colonial government was only able to maintain control over the outports themselves: even after Kikik County was carved out of Northland County in 1869, and the county seat moved from Lombelon Bay to Port Lochlan, it was unable to properly exercise influence over most of its claimed area. However, the relocation of the county government to Port Lochlan would allow for the development of a rudimentary county government, while Port Lochlan would become the primary settlement on all of Great Island, with a population of 363 people in the 1901 census, or nearly seventy percent of the enumerated population in Northland County.
In the early twentieth century, Port Lochlan continued to develop as the primary settlement on Great Island, with the opening of the first government high school in 1910, which served as a boarding school for those who lived outside of Port Lochlan. The grant of autonomy to the Surrowese government in 1915 led to the newly autonomous government instituting some of the first plans to settle the Itchalnu into settlements. While the two new settlements in present-day Stoney County and Ukiuqtaqtuq District did not achieve the much hoped-for population growth, interest in strengthening government control over the islands led to the slow growth of Port Lochlan: by 1951, Port Lochlan's population was around 507 people.
In 1953, following the discovery of palladium near Tulaktarvik, the Surrowese government dissolved Northland County and divided it into three improvement districts, with present-day Iqittiniq District becoming the Southern Improvement District as part of the broader Northern Integration Scheme. At the time, Surrowese government officials thought that by 1975, both the Central Improvement Districts and the Southern Improvement Districts would become counties as they were deemed to be the "most likely districts to be fully integrated into the body politic." However, the explosive growth of Tulaktarvik and the decision to declare most of the settlements in the county as unsustainable would lead to a population decline as many people in the county moved to Tulaktarvik, leading to the Southern Improvement District remaining a district as its population stagnated from 901 in 1951 to 763 in 1971.
The Southern Improvement District would be renamed to Iqittiniq District in September 2015 as part of the wider effort by the Surrowese government to recognise indigenous toponymy following President Wyatt Martel's apology for the Northern Integration Scheme.
Government
Per the Northern Integration Act, Iqittiniq District is governed by a five-member commission (Itchalnu: katimajiit), with the head of the district being the high commissioner (Itchalnu: quttiktumi kamisina). Until 2015, the commissioners were all appointed by the Surrowese government, but as part of President Wyatt Martel's reforms, four of the five members are now elected by the people of Iqittiniq District, with the one remaining appointed member serving as the ex officio high commissioner, currently Robert Amaruralak since 2018, when he succeeded his predecessor, Eleanor Lingby, who served from 2013 until 2018.
Like the other districts in Surrow, Iqittiniq District is responsible for day-to-day operations of schools, but is also responsible for determining whether a given settlement is sustainable or unsustainable, while the national government is responsible for infrastructure maintenance, emergency services, and medical facilities. Since 2015, it has been given increased powers, most notably in administering trial courts.
Since 2015, Iqittiniq District is officially bilingual in Rythenean and Itchalnu.
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Iqittiniq District's population was measured to be at 662 people.
Racially, Iqittiniq District is roughly evenly split between Native Surrowese and Auressians. 377 people, or around 57% of the population, are of Native Surrowese descent, with estimates suggesting that roughly 99% of the Native Surrowese population are Itchalnu, with 1% being Chequan. 283 people, or 42.74% of the population, are of Auressian descent, with (TBC). Finally, 2 people, or around 0.3% of the district population belong to other races.
Religiously, 634 people, or around 95.8% of the district population are Perendist, while 22 people, or around 3.3% of the district population are irreligious. 6 people, or around 0.9% of the district population, follow other religions, primarily traditional Itchalnu religion.
Linguistically, 462 people, or around 69.8% of the district population speak Rythenean as their first language; 196 people, or around 29.6% of the district population speak Itchalnu as their first language; 1 person, or around 0.1% of the county population speaks Chequan as their first language, and 3 people, or around 0.5% of the county population speak other languages as their first language, with 2 people reporting that they spoke Tyrnican as their first language.
Settlements
Iqittiniq District has one village (Itchalnu: nunaliralaaq): Port Lochlan, the district seat, with a population of 634 people as of the 2021 census.
In addition to the one village in Iqittiniq District, there are three unsustainable settlements (Itchalnu: kajusititaujunnanngittut nunaliit) in the district with a population: Kippenburg Inlet, with a population of 24 people as of the 2021 census and declared unsustainable in 1991, Port Hentze, with a population of 3 people as of the 2021 census and declared unsustainable in 1983, and Welcker's Reed, with a population of 1 person as of the 2021 census and declared unsustainable in 1981.