Tuktoyaktuk

Tuktoyaktuk ( TUK-tə-YAK-tuk; Inuvialuktun: Tuktuyaaqtuuq [təktujaːqtuːq], lit. 'it looks like a caribou') is an Inuvialuit hamlet near the Mackenzie River delta in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway. One of six Inuvialuit communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, it is commonly known by its first syllable, Tuk (). It lies north of the Arctic Circle on the Arctic Ocean, and is the only place on the Arctic Ocean connected to the rest of Canada by road. Known as Port Brabant after British colonization, in 1950 it became Canada's first Indigenous settlement to reclaim its traditional name. History Tuktoyaktuk is the anglicized form of the native Inuvialuit place-name, meaning "resembling a caribou". According to legend, a woman looked on as some caribou, common at the site, waded into the water and turned into stone. Today, reefs resembling petrified caribou are said to be visible at low tide along the shore of the town. No formal archaeological sites exist today, the Inuvialuit have used the settlement for centuries as a place to harvest caribou and beluga whales. Tuktoyaktuk's natural harbour was also historically used to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements. Between 1890 and 1910, many of Tuktoyaktuk's native families were wiped out in flu epidemics brought in by American whalers. In subsequent years, the Dene people, as well as residents of Herschel Island, settled here. By 1937, the Hudson's Bay Company had established a trading post. On 9 September 1944, a windstorm blew through the community, severely damaged several buildings and schooners docked at the harbour, and killed 11 people en route back from a reindeer station on the Anderson River on the schooner Cally. Radomes were installed beginning in the 1950s as part of the Distant Early Warning Line, to monitor air traffic and detect possible Soviet intrusions during the Cold War. The settlement's location (and harbour) made Tuk important in resupplying the civilian contractors and Air Force personnel along the DEW Line. In 1947, Tuktoyaktuk became the site of one of the first government day schools, designed to forcibly assimilate Inuit youth into mainstream Canadian culture. Tuktoyaktuk eventually became a base for the oil and natural gas exploration of the Beaufort Sea. Large industrial buildings remain from the busy period following the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries 1973 oil embargo and 1979 summertime fuel shortage. This brought many more outsiders into the region. In late 2010, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced that it would undertake an environmental study of a proposed all-weather road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Work on the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway started on 8 January 2014, and the highway opened on 15 November 2017. Geography Tuktoyaktuk is on Kugmallit Bay, near the Mackenzie River Delta, and is on the Arctic tree line. Tuktoyaktuk is the gateway for exploring Pingo Canadian Landmark, an area protecting eight nearby pingos in a region that contains about 1,350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills. The landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi), just a few kilometres west of the community, and includes Ibyuk Pingo, Canada's highest, and the world's second-highest, pingo, at 49 m (161 ft). Employment Many residents continue traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, and trapping. Hunting caribou occurs in the autumn, ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, while fishing takes place all year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, berry picking, and reindeer herding. Most productivity today comes from tourism and transportation. Marine Transportation Services (MTS) is a major employer in the region, and the fossil fuel industry continues to employ explorers and other workers. In 1962, the government-sponsored Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Project started; it provided vocational training in industrial sewing and commercial production of items for sale, including parkas, mitts, slippers, mukluks, hats, wall hangings, place mats and dolls produced by local women that were sold in the Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Shop. The shop closed in the 1980s. Demographics In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Tuktoyaktuk had a population of 937 living in 285 of its 334 total private dwellings, a change of 4.3% from its 2016 population of 898. With a land area of 12.66 km2 (4.89 sq mi), it had a population density of 74.0/km2 (191.7/sq mi) in 2021. The average annual personal income in 2015 was $21,984 Canadian and the average family income was $55,424. Local languages are Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English with a few North Slavey and Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) speakers. Tuktoyaktuk is predominately Indigenous (90.8%) with Inuit (Inuvialuit) making up 88.0%, 1.7% First Nations and 1.1% giving multiple Indigenous backgrounds. The remaining 9.2% identify as non-Aboriginal. Climate Tuktoyaktuk has a subarctic climate (Dfc), bordering on a tundra climate (ET), as the July mean temperature is barely above 10 °C (50 °F). Since the Arctic Ocean freezes over for much of the year, the maritime influence is minimized, resulting in cold winters and a strong seasonal lag in spring. This results in colder Aprils than Octobers and much colder Mays than Septembers. March is also colder than November. Due to the dominance of cold air, Tuktoyaktuk has a lower precipitation rate than many desert climates. Still, the cold temperatures mean it receives more than a metre of snow a year on average. Owing to the thousands of kilometres of land south of Tuktoyaktuk, southerly winds can sometimes push warmer air into the region. Rex blocks can cause an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure to form at higher latitudes, allowing heat to build consistently. As a result, temperatures well above average can occur in summer despite the cold surrounding waters. During a bout of exceptionally hot Arctic weather, Tuktoyaktuk was among the numerous northern communities that witnessed extreme temperatures, reaching a high of 29.9 °C (85.8 °F) on 4 July 2022. Its overall highest temperature of 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) was recorded on 2 July 1998. Tuktoyaktuk's climate stands in stark contrast to those of Northern Norway at similar latitudes, but is in many ways less extreme than that of Eastern Canada at lower latitudes, where summers are cooler, moderated by the cool waters of the Hudson Bay. Transportation Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport links Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road formerly provided road access to Inuvik in the winter. In 2017, the $300-million Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway opened. It provides all-season access to Inuvik, which connects to the rest of the highway networks in Canada. The airport previously had scheduled service from Inuvik operated by Aklak Air. Service was cancelled in 2018 after the opening of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway created a permanent link between the communities and resulted in a drop in demand for air service. Geopolitics An unannounced visit by Polar Research Institute of China’s Xue Long to Tuktoyaktuk in 1999 has raised concerns for Canadian sovereignty and security in the Arctic region. In popular culture In the third episode of Jesse James Is a Dead Man, originally aired on 14 June 2009 on Spike TV, Jesse James rides his motorcycle from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk to drop off medical supplies. On 3 September 1995, the Molson Brewing Company arranged for several popular rock bands to perform in Tuktoyaktuk as a publicity stunt promoting its new ice-brewed beer. During the months leading up to concert, radio stations across North America ran contests in which they gave away free tickets. Dubbed The Molson Ice Polar Beach Party, it featured Hole, Metallica, Moist, Cake, and Veruca Salt. The show was attended by locals and 500 contest winners, who flew in from different parts of Canada. Canadian filmmaker Albert Nerenberg made a documentary about the concert, Invasion of the Beer People. Tuktoyaktuk is featured in the Discovery Channel TV show Ice Road Truckers. The imaginary Tuktoyaktuk University, abbreviated "TUK-U", has been "emblazoned on hundreds of thousands of T-shirts that travelled the world". See also List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories Territorial claims in the Arctic Notes References Further reading Onishi, Norimitsu; Philippe, Renaud (2 December 2024). "An Arctic Hamlet Is Sinking Into the Thawing Permafrost". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2025. External links Official site