Iqaluit

Iqaluit, the place of many fish, lies near the Sylvia Grinnell River at the head of Frobisher Bay. Before a permanent town developed, its shores served as summer fishing grounds and a route towards the caribou country of Baffin Island's interior. The surrounding land and waters belonged to a much older network of Inuit habitation and seasonal travel.

In 1576 Martin Frobisher entered the bay while seeking a northwest route to China. His vessel Gabriel sailed almost to the site of present-day Iqaluit. Inuit initially visited the ship and exchanged food and skins for glass and metal goods. Relations deteriorated after five English sailors disappeared. Frobisher took an Inuk hostage that year and three more people in 1577; all died after reaching England. His three expeditions also shipped supposedly gold-bearing rock that proved worthless. Inuit oral accounts preserved memories of these encounters, while wood and metal abandoned at the mining site farther down the bay became resources for later generations.