Our Aboriginal ancestors lived in Labrador long before Europeans set foot on North American soil. The land was part of them, and they were part of the land.

Temporary visits by fishermen and other travelers started in the middle centuries of the last millennium. European men from the Old World met Inuit women from Labrador. These two dynamic peoples mingled, traded and intermarried, retaining a strong attachment to the land and the bounties it offered, and the dreams of European immigrants.

The descendents of these two cultures can be seen within the communities that line the southern coastal and interior waterways of Labrador. The well-established community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay supports a large southern Inuit population, along with the smaller communities of Mud Lake, North West River, Cartwright, Paradise River, Black Tickle, Norman Bay, Charlottetown, Pinsent's Arm, Williams Harbour, Port Hope Simpson, St. Lewis, Mary's Harbour and Lodge Bay. The southern Inuit have lived, and continue to live, in other parts of Labrador as well.

We have lived here for many generations. For centuries, our way of life has sustained us, and our sense of identity has made us stronger.

We are the more than 6,000 southern Inuit of Labrador. We are proud of who we are and what we've accomplished. Our rights are protected and enshrined in the Constitution of Canada. No one can take them from us. Our traditions resonate with the ways of our elders. Our respect for the environment, the sharing of our harvest, our knowledge of traditional medicines and practices, and our care for each other can be traced directly to our Aboriginal heritage. This Aboriginality, and our ties to our land and its resources, is core to our existence.

We've always been here... This is our home!

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