Aklavik (HBC Vessel)
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Aklavik (
Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...
: ''Akłarvik'') (from the
Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...
meaning '' barrenground grizzly place'') is a
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
located in the
Inuvik Region The Inuvik Region or ''Beaufort Delta Region'' is one of List of regions of the Northwest Territories, five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. According to Municipal and Community Affairs the region consists of eig ...
of the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, Canada. Until 1961, with a population over 1,500, the community served as the regional administrative centre for the territorial government. Because of repeated flooding in this area, the government developed
Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...
to the east. It was meant to entirely replace Aklavik, but many of the residents of the original community persevered and kept Aklavik going. Its 2018 population was 623. The hamlet's mayor is Andrew Charlie.


History

Aklavik began to develop in the early 1900s after the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
opened a
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
in 1912. The
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
later established a
mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...
here in 1926. Located on the Peel Channel, the community became a transportation hub in the Mackenzie. It was in a good
trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur trade, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and w ...
area. Aklavik became part of the
Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System The Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System was a radio service spanning the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, in existence from 1923 until 1959. It was created for easy communication between the towns or outposts and the rest of the coun ...
(NWT&Y) in October 1925. The NWT&Y system, a pioneer system, was critical in providing communications in Canada's North. It was operated by the
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS or RC Sigs; ) is a component within the Canadian Armed Forces' Communications and Electronics Branch, consisting of all members of that personnel branch who wear army uniform. Prior to 1968 it was a combat ...
(RC Sigs). In Aklavik, besides providing services to the general population, NWT&Y also provided communication for any aircraft that overflew the site, with or without radio. An aircraft without radio that was passing over one of these stations and not planning to land, would fly very low over the station so that it could be identified and the date and time of its passing could be recorded. The call sign for the NWT&Y station in Aklavik was VEF. In 1931, Albert Johnson, also known as the "Mad Trapper of Rat River", moved into the area. A complaint was made to the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
(RCMP) post in Aklavik and the two members attempted, unsuccessfully, to talk with him concerning trapline tampering. A few days later, after gaining a
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize Police, law enforcement officers to conduct a Search and seizure, search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to Confiscation, confiscate an ...
, they tried again to talk with him, but Johnson fatally shot one of the RCMP and fled. A 42-day
manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...
began, ending with Johnson's death. These events are considered to have been the catalyst for introducing the airplane and communications radio as tools to help track a person. Museums dedicated to Albert Johnson can be found in Aklavik and in Fort Smith. In December 1946, radio station "CHAK" went on the air at Aklavik. The AK in the call sign was the first and last letters of the location. Built and initially operated by WO2 R.A. (Red) McLeod of the RC Sigs, the station was a voluntary operation serving the Mackenzie River delta. It initially had 30 watts of power, later upgraded to 100 watts, and operated on 1490 kHz. It received its license in 1947. In 1949, the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
established a signals intelligence station in Aklavik. It remained operational until March 1961. After it closed down, operations were moved to a newly built station in Inuvik. By the 1950s the community had developed to more than 1,600 people. However, the Peel Channel was subject to flooding, and the
river bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...
s were being washed away. Due to the flooding, the
Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
built a new community at what is now
Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...
, and intended to close Aklavik. In the 1960s, the principal of Aklavik's school, A. J. (Moose) Kerr, started a committee to help save the community. The efforts were successful and the community has survived. The local school is named for him.Moose Kerr School at the Beaufort-Delta Education Council


Today

The community has a school with approximately 150 students from
Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
to
Grade 12 Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...
(K-12).
Aurora College Aurora College, formerly Arctic College, is a college located in the Northwest Territories, Canada with campuses in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. It has learning centres in 23 communities in the NWT. The head office for Aurora College i ...
provides
adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...
at the Community Learning Centre.
Northwestel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and part of northe ...
phone directory
There are three
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
s: the Aklavik General Store, Stantons, and the Northern Store operated by
The North West Company The North West Company Inc. is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories; the US states of Alaska and Hawaii; and several other countries and US territor ...
. The community has a three-person RCMP detachment, a
health centre A healthcare center, health center, or community health center is one of a network of clinics staffed by a group of general practitioners and nurses providing healthcare services to people in a certain area. Typical services covered are family pr ...
with four
nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
s, a
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
outlet, the Aklavik Lodge and the Aklavik Inn (Bessie's Boarding House) for visitor accommodation, and two taxi companies. Like most northern communities, Aklavik has a community hall, and a gymnasium that is attached to the school. Uncommonly it also has a swimming pool. The community is served only by air, via the
Aklavik/Freddie Carmichael Airport Aklavik/Freddie Carmichael Airport is located adjacent to Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The aerodrome is built on the banks of the Peel Channel of the Mackenzie River delta. Aklavik was the regional centre but was prone to flooding. In ...
, and by winter
ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...
directly from Inuvik across the streams of the Mackenzie Delta. When the river is open, usually June to September, the Aklavik Water Aerodrome is available for float planes.


Land claims

Aklavik is one of the few places in the NWT to be included within two different
land claims A land claim is "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, Antarctic l ...
areas, being part of the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR (; ), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement by the Government of Canada for the Inuvialuit (''the real people''). It spans , including ...
and the Gwich'in Settlement Region. The
Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...
, whose claim, the ''Inuvialuit Final Agreement'' was settled in 1984, are represented by the Aklavik Community Corporation. It forms part of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. The Gwich'in of Aklavik are covered under the ''Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement'', signed in 1992, and are represented by the Ehdiitat Gwich'in Council, as well as the
Aklavik First Nation The Aklavik First Nation is a Gwich'in First Nations band government in the Northwest Territories. The band is located in Aklavik, a mixed community of First Nations, Inuit, and non-Indigenous people. The Aklavik First Nation, also known as the ...
. The Ehdiitat Gwich'in Council in turn forms part of the Gwich'in Tribal Council.


Indigenous peoples

The Inuvialuit of Aklavik, an
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
, are primarily
Uummarmiut The Uummarmiut or Uummaġmiut (, ''people of the green trees'') is the name given to the Inuvialuit who live predominantly in the Mackenzie Delta communities of Aklavik and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Their language is known as Uumm ...
. They are descendants of the
Nunamiut The Nunamiut or Nunatamiut (, , "People of the Land") are semi-nomadic inland Iñupiat located in the northern and northwestern Alaskan interior, mostly around Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. History Early Nunamiut lived by hunting caribou instead of th ...
, Inupiat people who migrated from
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
in the early 20th century. Although at first antagonistic with the local
Siglit The Sallirmiut (formerly Siglit) are an Inuit group residing in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The Sallirmiut are regarded as part of the Inuvialuit, or western Canadian Inuit. Inuvialuit is a modern political identity that brings together S ...
, the peoples later intermarried. The Siglit suffered high mortality from new infectious diseases. They speak
Uummarmiutun Uummarmiutun (), Uummaġmiutun or Canadian Iñupiaq is the variant of Iñupiaq (or Inuvialuktun) spoken by the Uummarmiut, part of the Inuvialuit, who live mainly in the communities of Inuvik and Aklavik in the Northwest Territories of Canada. ...
, which is almost identical to Inupiaq language, but is grouped with
Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...
. The Gwich'in, a
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
people, are an
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
-dwelling
Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...
people who inhabit parts of Alaska, and
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
and the NWT in Canada. They speak the
Gwichʼin language The Gwichʼin language () belongs to the Athabaskan languages, Athabaskan language family and is spoken by the Gwich'in First Nation (Canada) / Alaska Natives, Alaska Native People (United States). It is also known in older or dialect-specific ...
, which is part of the
Athabaskan Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...
language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...
. Both Inuvialuktun and Gwichʼin are official languages of the NWT, and in 2009 19.2% of the Aboriginal population spoke at least one Native language.Northwest Territories Official Languages Act, 1988
(as amended 1988, 1991–1992, 2003)


Climate

Aklavik has a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
( Dfc), typical of Canada's Arctic, with mild summers and cold winters lasting most of the year with highs regularly below zero. Freezing can occur at any time of the year.


Demographics

In the
2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Aklavik had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Like most other NWT communities the majority of the population, 93.2%, is
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
. However, unlike other communities Aklavik has a large number of both
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
, 33.9%, and
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
, 53.4%, along with a small number of
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
, 4.2%, and non-Aboriginal, 8.5%. From 2006 to 2014 there were 94 births and 42 deaths in the community. In 2017, 14% of residents were 9 or under, 6.9% were from 10 to 14 years old, 14.2% were from 15 to 24, 30.9% were from 25 to 44, 20% were from 45 to 59, and 14% were 60 or older. At the 2016 census the median age in Aklavik was 31.8, compared to 34.0 for the NWT and 41.2 for Canada as a whole. The
crime rate In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
for 2016 was 70.9 (per 1,000 persons) for
violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...
s, and 200.9 (per 1,000 persons) for property crimes, both numbers below the average for the NWT of 78.4 and 206.6. In 2015 the average
income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
in the hamlet was C$33,826, compared to $61,909 for the NWT, and the average income for a family was $80,200, compared to $133,754 for the NWT, with 20.0% of all families earning less than $30,000.


Notable people

* Frank Carmichael, trapper and former MLA for Mackenzie West and Mackenzie Delta *
Nellie Cournoyea Nellie Cournoyea (born March 4, 1940 in Aklavik, Northwest Territories) is a Canadian politician, who served as the sixth premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991 to 1995. She was the first female premier of a Canadian territory, first Ind ...
, former
Premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...
* John Hagen, surgeon *
Glenna Hansen Glenna F. Hansen (born August 10, 1956) is an Inuvialuk Canadian politician. She served as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from March 31, 2000, to April 29, 2005. Early life Born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada, Hansen ...
, former
Commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories () is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembl ...
* Robert C. McLeod, MLA for
Inuvik Twin Lakes Inuvik Twin Lakes is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is one of two districts that represent Inuvik, alongside the district of Inuvik Boot Lake. The electoral districts were c ...
*
Abe Okpik Abraham "Abe" Okpik, CM (12 January 1928 – 10 July 1997) was an Inuk community leader in Canada. He was instrumental in helping Inuit obtain surnames rather than disc numbers as a form of government identification. He was also the first ...
, first
Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...
on the
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a u ...
and spearheaded ''Project Surname'' to replace
disc number Disc numbers (, singular: ujamik, dual: ujamiik, plural: ujamiit; ) were used by the Government of Canada in lieu of surnames for Inuit. They were similar to dog tags. Prior to the arrival of European customs, Inuit had no need of family names ...
s * Rick Rivet,
Sahtu The Sahtú or North Slavey (historically called ''Hare'' or ''Hareskin Indians'') are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake (''Sahtú'', the source of their nam ...
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
Neo-Expressionist painter"The Fellows: 1999."
''Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art.'' Accessed 4 May 2014.
* Vince Steen, former MLA for
Nunakput Nunakput is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Its name translates to "our land" in Inuvialuktun, and its area covers much of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in Inuit Nunangat. Th ...
*
Willie Thrasher Willie Thrasher (born 1948) is a Canadian Inuvialuk musician from Aklavik, Northwest Territories.
, musician


See also

*
List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is the most populous of Canada's three territories with 41,070 residents as of 2021 and is the second-largest territory in land area at . The Northwest Territories' 24 municipalities cover only of the territo ...


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control Aklavik Populated places in Arctic Canada Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Aklavik First Nation Inuit in the Northwest Territories Inuvialuit communities Road-inaccessible communities of the Northwest Territories