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45-602: The Umingmuktogmiut are a geographically defined Copper Inuit band in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut , Kitikmeot Region . They were located on the western coast of Kiillinnguyaq (Kent Peninsula), and also further south in eastern Bathurst Inlet around Everitt Point by the Barry Islands . Umingmuktogmiut were notable amongst other Copper Inuit as they had a permanent community, Umingmuktog. They could hunt and fish for Arctic char , Arctic fox , barren-ground caribou , fur seals , and muskox prevalent in

90-710: A Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line , in what is now the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories . Most of them historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf , on Victoria Island , and southern Banks Island . Their western boundary was Wise Point, near Dolphin and Union Strait . Their northwest territory

135-430: Is also used for countertops and bathroom tiling because of the ease of working the material and its property as the "quiet stone". A weathered or aged appearance occurs naturally over time as the patina is enhanced. Soapstone can be used to create molds for casting objects from soft metals, such as pewter or silver . The soft stone is easily carved and is not degraded by heating. The slick surface of soapstone allows

180-404: Is formed by the metamorphism of ultramafic protoliths (e.g. dunite or serpentinite ) and the metasomatism of siliceous dolomites . By mass, "pure" steatite is roughly 63.37% silica , 31.88% magnesia , and 4.74% water. It commonly contains minor quantities of other oxides such as CaO or Al 2 O 3 . Pyrophyllite , a mineral very similar to talc, is sometimes called soapstone in

225-820: Is mined in Canada, Brazil, India, and Finland and imported into the United States. Active North American mines include one south of Quebec City with products marketed by Canadian Soapstone, the Treasure and Regal mines in Beaverhead County , Montana mined by the Barretts Minerals Company, and another in central Virginia operated by the Alberene Soapstone Company. Mining to meet worldwide demand for soapstone

270-415: Is most commonly used for architectural applications, such as counter tops, floor tiles, showerbases, and interior surfacing. Soapstone is sometimes used for construction of fireplace surrounds, cladding on wood-burning stoves , and as the preferred material for woodburning masonry heaters because it can absorb, store, and evenly radiate heat due to its high density and magnesite (MgCO 3 ) content. It

315-504: Is often used as an insulator for housing and electrical components, due to its durability and electrical characteristics and because it can be pressed into complex shapes before firing. Soapstone undergoes transformations when heated to temperatures of 1,000–1,200 °C (1,830–2,190 °F) into enstatite and cristobalite ; on the Mohs scale, this corresponds to an increase in hardness to 5.5–6.5. The resulting material, harder than glass,

360-448: Is sold in the form of sawn slabs . "Ground soapstone" sometimes designates the ground waste product of the slab manufacturing. Petrologically , soapstone is composed predominantly of talc, with varying amounts of chlorite and amphiboles (typically tremolite , anthophyllite , and cummingtonite , hence its obsolete name, magnesiocummingtonite), and traces of minor iron-chromium oxides . It may be schistose or massive . Soapstone

405-581: Is sometimes called "lava". Ancient Egyptian scarab signets and amulets were most commonly made from glazed steatite. The Yoruba people of West Nigeria used soapstone for several statues, most notably at Esie , where archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of male and female statues about half of life size. The Yoruba of Ife also produced a miniature soapstone obelisk with metal studs called "the staff of Oranmiyan ". Soapstone mining in Tabaka, Kenya occurs in relatively shallow and accessible quarries in

450-418: Is threatening the habitat of India's tigers. Soapstones can be put in a freezer and later used in place of ice cubes to chill alcoholic beverages without diluting. Sometimes called whiskey stones, these were first introduced around 2007. Most whiskey stones feature a semipolished finish, retaining the soft look of natural soapstone, while others are highly polished. People can be exposed to soapstone dust in

495-407: Is used primarily for its dielectric and thermally-insulating properties in applications such as tile, substrates, washers, bushings, beads, and pigments. It is also used for high-voltage insulators, which have to stand large mechanical loads, such as insulators of mast radiators . Soapstone continues to be used for carvings and sculptures by artists and indigenous peoples. In Brazil, especially in

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540-500: The tupilaq is similar to the Christian concept of the devil . The angakkuit ( shamans ) could be male or female. They warded off evil spirits, functioned as intermediaries between people and the spirit world, healed illness or taboo violations, and controlled weather. Copper Inuit lived within geographically defined subgroups well documented by Stefansson, Franz Boas , and others: Soapstone The definitions of

585-537: The Arctic have traditionally used soapstone for carvings of both practical objects and art. The qulliq , a type of oil lamp, is carved out of soapstone and used by the Inuit and Dorset peoples. The soapstone oil lamps indicate these people had easy access to oils derived from marine mammals. In the modern period, soapstone is commonly used for carvings in Inuit art . In the United States, locally quarried soapstone

630-823: The Bering Strait trade network. Other trade partners included Inuvialuit from the Avvaq Peninsula and Caribou Inuit to the south. Many Copper Inuit gathered in the Cambridge Bay area in the summertime because of plentiful game. According to Robin McGrath , there are Inuit stories that show there was a history of conflict between the Inuit and the Dene , as well as others which may have involved Europeans. This conflict seems to have been instigated by both

675-541: The Thule people . Changes in the environment may have resulted in the transition from prehistoric Thule culture to Copper Inuit culture . For about 3,000 years the Copper Inuit were hunter-gatherer nomads . Their settlement and acculturation to some European-Canadian ways has occurred only since the 1940s, and they have also continued the hunting and gathering lifestyle. They lived in communal snowhouses during

720-412: The 1930s, the ceremonial clothing of the Copper Inuit had died out, although it was intentionally revived in the 1990s. Copper Inuit had an animistic spiritual system, which included belief that animal spirits could be offended through taboo violations. They believed that dwarfs, giants, "caribou people", and the sea-goddess Arnapkapfaaluk or "big bad woman" inhabit the world. Their conception of

765-665: The 5th to 3rd millennia BC. Soapstone has been used in India as a medium for sculptures since at least the time of the Hoysala Empire , the Western Chalukya Empire and to an extent Vijayanagara Empire . Even earlier, steatite was used as the substrate for Indus-Harappan seals . After the intricate carvings of icons and (yet undeciphered) symbols, the seals were heated above 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) for several days to make them hard and durable to make

810-613: The Copper Inuit from his Arctic exploration of 1908–1912. During the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916 , Canadian ethnographer Diamond Jenness spent two years living with and documenting the lives of Copper Inuit. He sent thousands of artifacts of their material culture to the Geological Survey of Canada . Along with trade, European contact brought influenza and typhoid . These newly introduced infectious diseases likely weakened resistance of

855-470: The Copper Inuit diet. They liked raw but not boiled eggs . They used and cooked food and products from the sea, but kept them separate from those of the land. Copper Inuit clothing consisted of short-waisted inner parkas accented with long, narrow back tails, and sleeves that came short of the wrist. In severe weather, they added a heavy outer parka. Women's parkas were distinguished by elongated hoods, and exaggerated, pointed shoulders. Boots extended up

900-528: The Copper Inuit used for years. Richard Collinson explored the area in 1850–1855. In the belief that the Copper Inuit had migrated to Hudson Bay for trading at various outposts, the Canadian government's 1906 map marked Victoria Island as "uninhabited". It was not until the early years of the 20th century that trading ships returned to Copper Inuit territory. They followed Vilhjalmur Stefansson 's encounter with, and report on, so-called Blond Eskimos among

945-497: The Copper Inuit. Copper Inuit traditionally speak Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun , sometimes referred to as Western Canadian Inuktitut. Historically, Copper Inuit lived among tundra , rocky hills, outcrops, with some forested areas towards the southern and southwestern range. Here they hunted Arctic ground squirrel , Arctic hare , caribou ( barren ground and Peary's herds), grizzly bear , mink , moose , muskox , muskrat , polar bear , wolf , and wolverine . They fished in

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990-592: The Dene and the Inuit and possibly was caused by trade disputes but sometimes due to raids for women. One of the better known of these battles was recorded by European explorer, Samuel Hearne . In 1771, Samuel Hearne was the first European to explore the Coppermine River region. It was here that Matonabbee , leader of Hearne's Chipewyan Dene guides, and his companions massacred a Copper Inuit group at Bloody Falls . Further exploration did not take place until

1035-544: The Palace of Knossos , a steatite libation table was found. Soapstone is relatively abundant in northern Europe. Vikings hewed soapstone directly from the stone face, shaped it into cooking pots, and sold these at home and abroad. In Shetland , there is evidence that these vessels were used for processing marine and dairy fats. Several surviving medieval buildings in northern Europe are constructed with soapstone, amongst them Nidaros Cathedral . In modern times, soapstone

1080-481: The area. In 1964, a Hudson's Bay Company post moved into the area then referred to as Bay Chimo, but now known as Umingmaktok ( Inuinnaqtun , "place of many muskoxen"), but, eventually, the post closed. The Umingmuktogmiut population of Umingmaktok declined in recent years with the 2006 census reporting zero population, though some families may have returned to the community. Copper Inuit Copper Inuit , also known as Inuinnait and Kitlinermiut , are

1125-402: The dance clothing of the Copper Inuit has been extensively studied and preserved in museums worldwide. The design of these garments was inextricably linked with the religious practices of the Copper Inuit, containing what anthropologist Bernadette Driscoll-Engelstad describes as "design references alluding to the integration of the human and animal realm, the natural and the supernatural." By

1170-487: The extensive network of ponds, lakes, and rivers, including the Coppermine, Rae, and Richardson Rivers , which sustained large populations of freshwater Arctic char (also found in the ocean), grayling , lake trout , and whitefish . The marine waters supported codfish , bearded seal , and ringed seal . Ducks, geese, guillemots, gulls, hawks, longspurs, loons, plovers, ptarmigans, and snow buntings were also part of

1215-914: The final seals used for making impressions on clay. In China, during the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC), soapstone was carved into ceremonial knives. Soapstone was also used to carve Chinese seals . Soapstone was used as a writing pencil in Myanmar as early as the 11th-century Pagan period. After that, it was still used as a pencil to write on Black Parabaik until the end of the Mandalay period (19th century). Pipes and decorative carvings of local animals were made out of soapstone by Australian Aboriginal artist Erlikilyika ( c.  1865  – c.  1930 ) in Central Australia . The Minoan civilization on Crete used soapstone. At

1260-571: The finished object to be easily removed. Welders and fabricators use soapstone as a marker due to its resistance to heat; it remains visible when heat is applied. It has also been used for many years by seamstresses, carpenters, and other craftspeople as a marking tool, because its marks are visible but not permanent. Resistance to heat made steatite suitable for manufacturing gas burner tips , spark plugs , and electrical switchboards. Steatite ceramics are low-cost biaxial porcelains of nominal composition (MgO) 3 (SiO 2 ) 4 . Steatite

1305-465: The generic sense, since its physical characteristics and industrial uses are similar, and because it is also commonly used as a carving material. However, this mineral typically does not have such a soapy feel as soapstone. Soapstone is relatively soft because of its high talc content—talc has a definitional value of 1 on the Mohs hardness scale . Softer grades may feel similar to soap when touched, hence

1350-597: The ground form. While the geologists logically will use "steatite" to designate both forms, in the industry, "steatite" without additional qualifications typically means the steatite that is either already ground or to be used in the ground form in the future. If the ground steatite is pressed together into blocks, these are called "synthetic block steatite", "artificial block steatite", or "artificial lava talc". In industrial applications soapstone refers to dimension stone that consists of either amphibole-chlorite-carbonate-talc rock, talc-carbonate rock, or simply talc rock and

1395-492: The leg to button at the waistline. They made the soles from feathers or bird skins. Copper Inuit used different napkins for different meals: ptarmigan skins when eating caribou, and gull skins when eating seal. Contemporary clothing and boots may be made of a variety of skins, including: In addition to their everyday clothing, historically, many Inuit had a set of ceremonial clothing made of short-haired summer skins, worn for dancing or other ceremonial occasions. In particular,

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1440-451: The legal limit ( permissible exposure limit ) for soapstone exposure in the workplace as 20 million particles per cubic foot over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended exposure limit of 6 mg/m total exposure and 3 mg/m respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. At levels of 3000 mg/m , soapstone is immediately dangerous to life and health . The local names for

1485-428: The name. No fixed hardness is given for soapstone because the amount of talc it contains varies widely, from as little as 30% for architectural grades such as those used on countertops, to as much as 80% for carving grades. Soapstone is easy to carve; it is also durable and heat-resistant and has a high heat storage capacity. It has therefore been used for cooking and heating equipment for thousands of years. Soapstone

1530-707: The natives. Between 1929 and 1931, one in five Copper Inuit died from a tuberculosis epidemic. Around the same time, the whaling industry deteriorated. Alaskan Iñupiat and Mackenzie Delta Inuvialuit came into the Coronation Gulf area to co-exist with the Copper Inuit. The first Holman -area (Ulukhaktok) trading post was established in 1923 at Alaervik, on the north shore of Prince Albert Sound , but it closed five years later. The post relocated to Fort Collinson on Walker Bay, north of Minto Inlet . Two other stores opened in Walker Bay but closed by 1939, in

1575-526: The people have no collective name for themselves, they have adopted the English term "Copper Inuit". It represents those westernmost Central Inuit who used and relied on native copper gathered along the lower Coppermine River and the Coronation Gulf. According to Knud Rasmussen (1932), other Inuit referred to Copper Inuit as Kitlinermiut , as Kitlineq was an Inuit language name for Victoria Island. Copper Inuit, like all Inuit, are descendants of

1620-610: The period of 1820–1853, which included the Sir John Franklin expeditions of 1821 and 1825. John Rae encountered Copper Inuit at Rae River in 1847, and at Cape Flinders and Stromness Bay in 1851. During the McClure Arctic expedition , Irish explorer, Robert McClure abandoned his ship, HMS  Investigator , at Mercy Bay on Banks Island in 1853 during his search for Franklin's lost expedition . It provided extensive amounts of wood, copper, and iron which

1665-405: The rock's thermal qualities; compared to clay or metal containers, soapstone retains heat more effectively. Use of soapstone in native American cultures continue to the modern day. Later, other cultures carved soapstone smoking pipes , a practice that continues today. The soapstone's low heat conduction allows for prolonged smoking without the pipe heating up uncomfortably. Indigenous peoples of

1710-443: The state of Minas Gerais , the abundance of soapstone mines allow local artisans to craft pots, pans, wine glasses, statues, jewel boxes, coasters, and vases from soapstone. These handicrafts are commonly sold in street markets found in cities across the state. Some of the oldest towns, notably Congonhas , Tiradentes , and Ouro Preto , still have some of their streets paved with soapstone from colonial times. Architectural soapstone

1755-748: The surrounding areas of Sameta, Nyabigege and Bomware. These were at the time open to all to access provided they had the labor resources to do so. This mostly meant the men did the mining as they were custodian to the community land, meaning ancestral lands in Riamosioma, Itumbe, Nyatike etc. Native Americans have used soapstone since the Late Archaic period. During the Archaic archaeological period (8000–1000 BC), bowls, cooking slabs, and other objects were made from soapstone. The use of soapstone cooking vessels during this period has been attributed to

1800-449: The terms "steatite" and "soapstone" vary with the field of study. In geology, steatite is a rock that is, to a very large extent, composed of talc. The mining industry defines steatite as a high-purity talc rock that is suitable for the manufacturing of, for example, insulators ; the lesser grades of the mineral can be called simply " talc rock ". Steatite can be used both in lumps ("block steatite", "lava steatite", "lava grade talc"), and in

1845-411: The winter and engaged in breathing-hole ( mauliqtoq ) seal hunting. In the summer, they spread out in smaller, family groups for inland caribou hunting and fishing. The people made copper arrows, spear heads, ulu blades, chisels, harpoons, and knives for both personal use and for trade amongst other Inuit. In addition to the copper products, Copper Inuit soapstone products were highly regarded in

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1890-476: The workplace via inhalation and skin or eye contact. Exposure above safe limits can lead to symptoms including coughing , shortness of breath , cyanosis , crackles , and pulmonary heart disease . Due to the potential presence of tremolite and crystalline silica in the dust, precautions should be taken to avoid occupational diseases such as asbestosis , silicosis , mesothelioma , and lung cancer . The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set

1935-762: The years of the Great Depression . In 1960, the federal government shipped three housing units to Holman, and another four in 1961. In the years to follow, some families moved to Holman permanently, while others lived there seasonally. Some Copper Inuit moved to the communities of Coppermine (Kugluktuk) or Cambridge Bay. Still others gravitated to outposts along Bathurst Inlet , Contwoyto Lake , Coronation Gulf , and on Victoria Island. The Copper Inuit have gradually adopted snowmobiles , satellite dish television service, and Christian churches. Many young people now speak English rather than Inuinnaqtun . Together, these introductions have created social change among

1980-640: Was the southeast coast of Banks Island. Their southern boundary was the eastern shore of Great Bear Lake , Contwoyto Lake and Lake Beechey on the Back River . To the east, the Copper Inuit and the Netsilingmiut were separated by Perry River in Queen Maud Gulf . While Copper Inuit travelled throughout Victoria Island, to the west, they concentrated south of Walker Bay , while to the east, they were concentrated south of Denmark Bay . As

2025-624: Was used for gravemarkers in 19th century northeast Georgia , around Dahlonega , and Cleveland as simple field stone and "slot and tab" tombs. In Canada, soapstone was quarried in the Arctic regions like the western part of the Ungava Bay and the Appalachian Mountain System from Newfoundland. The ancient trading city of Tepe Yahya in southeastern Iran was a center for the production and distribution of soapstone in

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