The largest Inuit community on the eastern coast of the Hudson Bay, Puvirnituq is located at the 60th parallel, and has nearly 1,500 inhabitants, half of whom are under 21.
Visitors have never seen anything like it… a kingdom of snow and ice in the winter, and beautiful flora in the summer… Memories of the scenery that will last a lifetime. This pure natural place however has a peculiar name…
Puvirnituq means “the place where there is a smell of rotten meat”. Where does this name come from? Legend has it that migrating caribou drowned while attempting to cross the river, and their carcases were washed up on the shore where they began to rot, releasing a putrid smell.
However, the region has a far more pleasant name, “Amaamatisivik”, which means “the place where women nurse their babies”, because apparently women in Puvirnituq would continually nurse their babies so that they would not cry and disturb the herds of migrating caribou.
What gives credence to these explanations is that thousands of caribou still regularly migrate through the region. It is a sight to see since they parade near the village, and then cross the Purvirnituq River.
