District of Keewatin

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District of Keewatin
Territory of Canada
1876–1905
Extent of the District of Keewatin before its reorganization in 1905.
Legislature	Council of Keewatin
History
• Established	1876
• Disestablished	1905
Succeeded by Keewatin Region
Today part of	Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario

The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the Keewatin Act, and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became a part of the Northwest Territories and in 1912, its southern parts were adjoined to the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, leaving the remainder, now called the Keewatin Region, with a population of a few thousand people. On April 1, 1999, the Keewatin Region was formally dissolved, as Nunavut was created from eastern parts of the Northwest Territories, including all of Keewatin.

The name Keewatin comes from Algonquian roots—either kīwēhtin (ᑮᐍᐦᑎᐣ) in Cree or giiwedin (ᑮᐌᑎᓐ) in Ojibwe—both of which mean 'north wind' in their respective languages. In Inuktitut, it was called Kivalliq (ᑭᕙᓪᓕᖅ)—a name which persists as the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut.