kept a "vigilant distance" between themselves and the traders, the explorers and the Aivilingmiut. This may be in part due to historical confrontations with the Aivilingmiut who sought Southampton Island for its prosperous whaling potential, and the Dene peoples who moved northwards during the summer in pursuit of caribou. Language The Sadlermiut language is unknown, but appears to have been significantly different from that of their mainland neighbours. The neighbouring Inuit reported that they used "baby talk", but it is not clear if this means they spoke a distinct variety of Inuit language, or that they used pidgin Inuktitut as a contact language. Extinction By the second half of 19th century, the Sadlermiut population numbered above 200. But then the contact with outsiders increased and various diseases caused a steep decline in population. The ethnic group was wiped out in 1902-03, as a result of a pandemic that spread among the community from the whaling ship Active. Out of the total population of 58, there were only 5 survivors (one adult woman and 4 children). The survivors were then evacuated to Naujaat. Out of this group of survivors, only two children were alive by 1908, and they had no memory of Sadlermiut traditions. Genetics A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of 10 Sadlermiut buried between c. 1500 AD and 1900 AD. The 8 samples of mtDNA extracted were determined to belong to haplogroup A2b (7 samples) and D3a2a. The haplogroups are characteristic of the Thule people and Inuit, suggesting that the Sadlermiut were derived from the Thule people. It was found that the Thule people were further derived from the Birnirk culture of Siberia, from where they had migrated into North America and completely replaced the Dorset people around 1300 AD. References External links Article on the Sadlermiut from the Canadian encyclopedia Dorset Paleoeskimo Culture at Civilization.ca. The Way West: Blocked Passage, by John N. Harris Tooth wear and sexual division of labour in an Inuit population, by Shannon Raye Wood Indigenous peoples in Northern Canada Archaeological cultures of North America Inuit history Archaeology of Canada Indigenous peoples in the Arctic Extinct ethnic groups