Pangnirtung is an Inuit hamlet, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. As of the 2011 census the population was 1,425, an increase of 7.5% from the 2006 census. Pangnirtung is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of Pangnirtung Fjord, a fjord which eventually merges with Cumberland Sound. The area of the town is 7.77km2. As of January 2014, the mayor is Mosesee Qappik.NameThere is some confusion about the village name. Residents say the real name is Panniqtuuq, which means "the place of many bull caribou". Early in 2005 residents voted against officially changing the name of the village to the native one, as Pangnirtung has achieved an international reputation. Its residents have created high-quality traditional arts in sculpture, as well as adaptation of themes and design in printmaking and weaving.Pangnirtung is nicknamed the Switzerland of the Arctic, or simply Pang.HistoryThe Inuit and their ancestors have inhabited the area for thousands of years, perhaps as long as 4,000. Their cultures became well-adapted to the climate and environment.Contact with European Canadians has been limited to less than the last century. In 1921, the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post in Pangnirtung. Two years later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police erected a permanent office. The first government-appointed teacher arrived in 1956. The first administrative office was established in 1962.