| Skraeling Island | |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Nunavut#Canada |
| Native Name Link: | Inuktitut |
| Location: | Northern Canada |
| Coordinates: | 78.9119°N -75.6333°W[1] |
| Archipelago: | Queen Elizabeth Islands Arctic Archipelago |
| Length M: | 2000 |
| Width M: | 1400 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Country Admin Divisions Title: | Territory |
| Country Admin Divisions: | Nunavut |
| Country Admin Divisions Title 1: | Region |
| Country Admin Divisions 1: | Qikiqtaaluk |
| Population: | Uninhabited |
Skraeling Island is a Canadian island, located within the territory of Nunavut, which lies off of the east coast of Ellesmere Island at the mouth of Alexandra Fiord. Buchanan Bay lies to its north-east.
The Norse referred to the indigenous peoples they encountered in Greenland and the New World as skræling. According to the ancient sagas, the Norse considered the natives hostile because they were repeatedly attacked by them.[2]
Skraeling Island is an extensive archeological site which has yielded a wealth of artifacts[3] from Small-Tool cultures dating from 4500 BC (Dorset and Thule). Norse items found at Inuit sites[3] — some 80 objects from a single site including a small driftwood carving of a face with European features — suggests that there was a lively trade between the groups (as well as an exchange of Norse goods among the Inuit).