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Vidalumi

Canada

Nain, NL, Canada

Nain: Capital of Nunatsiavut and Gateway to Torngat Mountains

Nain sits on Unity Bay on the north coast of Labrador, and no road leads to it, so people and supplies arrive by plane or by sea. Biting insects are out in force in summer, so pack a bug jacket or insect repellent along with rain gear and rubber boots.

Good to know

What Cruise Travelers Should Know About Nain

Your ship will tell you how you come ashore at Nain, so check the daily program for landing times. The town lies on the north side of Unity Bay, where many islands shelter the harbor from the open Labrador Sea, about 50 km to the east.

  • Nain is the administrative capital of Nunatsiavut; the region's legislature sits in Hopedale, farther south.
  • The town had 1,204 residents in the 2021 census, most of them Inuit or of mixed Inuit and European descent.
  • The Illusuak Cultural Centre, which the Nunatsiavut Government opened in November 2020, is the place in town to learn about Labrador Inuit life.
  • Summer evenings can drop to about 5°C (41°F), and days can reach about 20°C (68°F), so bring layers and rain gear.

Nain on Your Own

A visit to Nain on your own is a walk around a small community, with the cultural center as the main stop. No road connects Nain to the rest of Labrador, so anything beyond the town, on the land or on the water, goes with a local guide or your ship's own program.

  • The cultural center: The Illusuak Cultural Centre has exhibits on Labrador Inuit history, culture, language and traditions. Ask your ship whether it is open during your call.
  • Crafts: Craft shops in Nunatsiavut's communities sell work by local artists.
  • With a guide: Inuit guides take visitors hiking on the land and out by boat to look for whales and icebergs or to fish for arctic char, trout and cod.
  • Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
  • Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match local clocks or your phone. Nain keeps Atlantic time, half an hour behind the island of Newfoundland.

Getting Around Nain

Nain cannot be reached by road, so people and goods come and go by air or by sea. Trips beyond the town are by boat, by plane or, in winter, by snowmobile.

  • Nain Airport has scheduled flights to other communities in the province, mostly with Air Borealis, and longer trips connect through Happy Valley-Goose Bay, about 370 km away by air.
  • Boat trips for whale-watching, iceberg viewing and fishing are offered in Nunatsiavut's communities.

What to Eat in Nain

Food in Nain still comes in large part from the land and the sea, with hunting, fishing and berry-picking part of everyday life. Groceries from the store fill in the rest, so meals mix wild food with farmed food.

  • Fish: Arctic char, salmon, trout, smelt and cod are all caught here, and fishing is the town's main industry.
  • Game: Seal, moose, arctic hare, ptarmigan, grouse, ducks and geese are hunted, and gull and duck eggs are gathered too.
  • Berries: Bakeapples (cloudberries), blueberries and partridgeberries, also called redberries or lingonberries, are the berries people pick.
  • Local favorites: Smoked arctic char and partridgeberry jam are two to look for.
  • Eating out: Most Nunatsiavut communities have a restaurant with comfort food and pub-style meals, and wild food appears on the menu when it is in season.

Tipping in Canada

Canada uses the Canadian dollar (CAD). In a sit-down restaurant, a tip of 15 to 18 percent of the bill before tax is the usual practice.

  • Tipping is not expected at cafeterias, fast-food counters or takeaway stands.
  • For large groups, a restaurant or bar may add a 15 to 18 percent tip to the bill itself, so check before you add another.

The Illusuak Cultural Centre and Living Inuit Culture

Inuit culture in Nain is lived day to day, in families, churches and community gatherings. Moravian church traditions have mixed with Inuit ones for more than two centuries, and both show in the town's music and faith.

  • Drum dancing: Children start learning drum dancing as young as five, and each drum group has its own style; some add music to their dances.
  • Throat singing: Inuit women throat-sing as a friendly contest between two singers. One leads with a sound, often an animal noise, the other repeats it, and the first to laugh loses.
  • Brass bands: The Moravian missionaries brought brass instruments to Labrador, and bands played at weddings, anniversaries and other family celebrations. The tradition faded and has been revived; in 2015 the Nain brass band became the first Canadian band to play at an international Moravian music festival in Herrnhut, Germany.
  • Faith: Moravian church services have been part of community life since the missionaries arrived in the 1770s, and brass bands often played at Easter and Christmas services.
  • Clothing: Traditional clothing such as the amauti is worn alongside modern down jackets.
  • Language: Nunatsiavut means our beautiful land in Inuttitut, the Labrador Inuit language.

Moravian Missions, Inuit Self-Government, and the Torngat Heritage

The Labrador Inuit descend from the Thule people, who came to this coast to hunt whales and other animals. Nain began as a Moravian mission in 1771, and in 2005 it became the administrative capital of the Inuit government of Nunatsiavut.

  • Early contact: Inuit met Basque whalers on this coast in the 16th century, and European settlers came later in growing numbers.
  • Mikak: Mikak, an Inuk woman captured by the British in the 1760s, was taken to England, where she met the Moravian missionary Jens Haven and argued for his mission. She returned to Labrador, helped win Inuit acceptance of the Moravians, and died at Nain in 1795.
  • 1771: A group of 14 Moravian missionaries, Jens Haven among them, founded Nain. That makes it one of Canada's oldest permanent Inuit settlements; most communities in Nunavut and Nunavik date from the 1950s or later.
  • More missions: The Moravians went on to found Okak in 1776, Hopedale in 1782 and Hebron in 1831, bringing schools, trade and a written form of the Inuit language.
  • 1918 and 1919: The mission supply ship Harmony carried Spanish influenza to Okak, where most of the people died. The mission and the community were abandoned in 1919.
  • 1959: Services were withdrawn from Hebron and Nutak, and their people were resettled in Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The move divided families and left them on unfamiliar hunting land, and the provincial government apologized in 2005.
  • The land claim: In the 1970s the Labrador Inuit Association filed a land claim with the federal government. The Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement was signed in January 2005, and on December 1, 2005, the Nunatsiavut Government took office, with Nain as its administrative capital.
  • Torngat Mountains National Park: The same agreement set aside the Torngat Mountains in the far north of Labrador as a national park reserve, which became Torngat Mountains National Park in 2008.
  • To learn more ashore: The Illusuak Cultural Centre in Nain covers the history of the Labrador Inuit with exhibits and programs run by the Nunatsiavut Government.

Nain with Children

A family visit to Nain is a short walk through town with the cultural center as the main stop. Drumming, throat singing and traditional Inuit games are part of community life here.

  • Younger children: Keep the walk short and make the cultural center the main stop. Dress them in layers with rain gear and rubber boots, because Labrador weather changes quickly.
  • School age: Drum dancing and throat singing are good to watch with children of this age, since local children learn drum dancing from about five. Ask your ship whether a performance is planned during your call.
  • Teenagers: Traditional Inuit games test strength and endurance with little or no equipment, and elders and young people compete side by side. A guided boat trip on the bay suits this age group too.

Shopping in Nain

Crafts made in Nunatsiavut are the souvenirs worth taking home from Nain. Local artists carve stone, caribou antler and moose antler, sew slippers lined with sealskin and weave baskets and bowls from grass.

  • Younger artists are adding new work, such as sealskin brooches and designs carved in wood instead of stone.
  • US law places a moratorium on importing marine mammal products, so sealskin pieces are a problem for travelers going home to the United States. Check your own country's rules before you buy.
  • Bug jackets and insect repellent can often be bought in Nunatsiavut's communities if you arrive without them.

Wildlife and the Torngat Wilderness Around Nain

Nain sits in subarctic tundra country, with rock and open ground on the hills and black spruce growing in the valleys. Farther north, the Torngat Mountains rise to the highest peaks in mainland Canada east of the Rockies.

  • Polar bears: Northern Labrador's polar bear population is healthy, and July and August are when they are seen most.
  • Other wildlife: Caribou, black bears, seals, porcupines, hares and lynx live in the region, along with eagles, hawks, geese, ducks, grouse and ptarmigan.
  • Plants: Blueberries, partridgeberries, cloudberries and raspberries grow wild, along with several kinds of orchid.
  • Daylight: Nunatsiavut gets close to 18 hours of daylight in summer.
  • Torngat Mountains National Park: The park covers about 9,700 square kilometers between northern Quebec and the Labrador Sea, and it can be reached by charter flight, by cruise ship or by snowmobile.
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