[7] They were told that they would be returned home after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn, for it would have damaged Canada's claims to sovereignty in the area; the Inuit were forced to stay.

Eventually, the Inuit learned the local beluga whale migration routes and were able to survive in the area, hunting over a range of 18,000 km2 (6,900 sq mi) each year.

[11] In 2009, artist and Grise Fiord resident Looty Pijamini was commissioned by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated to build a monument to commemorate the Inuit who sacrificed so much as a result of the Government's forced relocation programme of 1953 and 1955.

[12] The Grise Fiord monument was unveiled by John Duncan, at the time, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, on September 10, 2010.

Grise Fiord has a tundra climate (Köppen: ETf; Trewartha: Ftkd) with very short, cool summers and long, cold winters lasting almost the entire year.

Quota systems allow the villagers to supply many of their needs from populations of seals, walruses, narwhal and beluga whales, polar bears and muskox.

There are local guide and outfitting operations, which are an important source of income for many families, as are carving, traditional clothing and other Inuit crafts.

Since 2005, the community has been served by the Qiniq network, a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses that connects to the outside world via a satellite backbone.

[27][28] A Simon Fraser University study of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) activity in the Baffin Region states that Grise Fiord had the lowest rate of criminal offences of all communities examined in 1992,[29] and cites a 1994 Statistics Canada survey indicating that the hamlet has the highest perception of personal safety.