Tuktoyaktuk

Tuktoyaktuk Tuktuyaaqtuuq formerly Port Brabant
Hamlet
DEW line radar station at Tuktoyaktuk
Nickname(s): Tuk
Tuktoyaktuk
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Region	Inuvik Region
Electoral district	Nunakput
Census division	Region 1
Settled	1928
Incorporated	1 April 1970
Government
• Mayor	Darrel Nasogaluak
• Senior Administrative Officer	Terry Testart
• MLA	Jackie Jacobson
• Member of Parliament	Dennis Bevington
• Senator	Nick Sibbeston
Area
• Land	13.90 km2 (5.37 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (15 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	854
• Density	61.4/km2 (159/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
Canadian Postal code	X0E 1C0
Area code(s)	867
Telephone exchange	977
- Living cost	172.5
- Food price index	161.6
Website	www.tuk.ca/
Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Canada Flight Supplement Northwestel Natural Resources Canada ^A 2009 figure based on Edmonton = 100 ^B 2010 figure based on Yellowknife = 100

Tuktoyaktuk English /tʌktəˈjæktʌk/, or Tuktuyaaqtuuq (Inuvialuktun: it looks like a caribou), is an Inuvialuit hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Commonly referred to simply by its first syllable, Tuk /tʌk/, the settlement lies north of the Arctic Circle on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Formerly known as Port Brabant, the community was renamed in 1950 and was the first place in Canada to revert to the traditional Native name.

History

Trans Canada Trail sign in Tuk

Pingos near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.

Satellite image of Liverpool Bay, the Eskimo Lakes, and the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula.

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, or became petrified. Today, reefs resembling these petrified caribou are said to be visible at low tide along the shore of the town.

No formal archaeological sites exist today, but the settlement has been used by the native Inuvialuit for centuries as a place to harvest caribou and beluga whales. In addition, Tuktoyaktuk's natural harbour was historically used as a means to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements.

Between 1890 and 1910, a sizeable number of Tuktoyaktuk's native families were wiped out in flu epidemics brought in by American whalers. In subsequent years, the Alaskan Dene people, as well as residents of Herschel Island, settled here. By 1937, a Hudson's Bay Company trading post was established.

Radar domes 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 integrate Inuit youth into mainstream Canadian culture.

The community of 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 1973 OPEC oil embargo and 1979 summertime fuel shortage. This brought many more outsiders into the region.

On 3 September 1995, the Molson Brewing Company arranged for several popular rock bands to give a concert in Tuktoyaktuk as a publicity stunt promoting their 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. Canadian film-maker Albert Nerenberg made a documentary about this concert entitled Invasion of the Beer People.

In 2008, Tuktoyaktuk was featured in the second season of the reality television series Ice Road Truckers where they travelled down the Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road. It was also referenced several times in the 1994 television series Due South as a place where the main character, Benton Fraser, spent part of his childhood.

In 2009, an episode of Jesse James is a Dead Man titled "Arctic Bike Journey" featured James riding a custom motorcycle across 125 miles of ice road to deliver medicine to the locals of Tuktoyaktuk.

In late 2010, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced that an environmental study would be undertaken on a proposed all-weather road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Work on the highway officially started on January 8, 2014, and is expected to be done by 2017 or 2018.

Tuktoyaktuk has a K-12 school called Mangilaluk School as part of the Beaufort-Delta Education Council. It also hosts a Community Learning Centres of Aurora College.

Geography

Tuktoyaktuk is set on Kugmallit Bay, near the Mackenzie River Delta, and is located on the Arctic tree line.

Many locals still hunt, fish, and trap. Locals rely on caribou in the autumn, ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, and fishing year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, reindeer herding, and berrypicking. Most wages today, however, come from tourism and transportation. Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a major employer in this region. In addition, the oil and gas industry continues to employ explorers and other workers.

Tuktoyaktuk is the gateway for exploring Pingo National Landmark, an area protecting eight nearby pingos in a region which contains approximately 1,350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills. The landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km² (6.2 sq mi), just a few miles west of the community, and includes Canada's highest (the world's second-highest) pingo, at 49 m (161 ft).

Demographics

Tuktoyaktuk Panorama

At the 2011 census, the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk had a population of 854, down 1.8% from the 2006 census total of 870. There are 267 private dwellings, and a population density of 61.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (159/sq mi). The average annual personal income in 2010 was $33,595 Canadian and the average family income was $72,913 with 30.4% below $30,000. Tuktoyaktuk has a large Protestant following, with a sizeable Catholic population as well. Local languages are Inuvialuktun and English. Tuktoyaktuk is predominately Inuit/Inuvialuit (79.7%) with 16.4% non-Aboriginal, 2.8% North American Indian and 1.1% Métis. In 2012 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 954 with an average yearly growth rate of -0.8 from 2001.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% 1996 971 —     1997 964 −0.7% 1998 981 +1.8% 1999 982 +0.1% 2000 977 −0.5% 2001 999 +2.3% 2002 984 −1.5% 2003 963 −2.1% 2004 960 −0.3%	Year Pop. ±% 2005 940 −2.1% 2006 907 −3.5% 2007 902 −0.6% 2008 906 +0.4% 2009 907 +0.1% 2010 899 −0.9% 2011 920 +2.3% 2012 954 +3.7%
Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001-2012)

Climate

Tuktoyaktuk displays a cold subarctic climate, just short of a polar (tundra) climate, as the July mean temperature is barely above 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

Climate data for Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high humidex	3.8	0.7	−0.5	6.4	23.3	29.6	34.1	32.9	21.6	16.4	2.1	0.6	34.1
Record high °C (°F)	0.6 (33.1)	0.7 (33.3)	−0.5 (31.1)	4.8 (40.6)	20.9 (69.6)	28.2 (82.8)	29.4 (84.9)	27.6 (81.7)	20.9 (69.6)	17.4 (63.3)	2.2 (36)	0.8 (33.4)	29.4 (84.9)
Average high °C (°F)	−23.0 (−9.4)	−22.4 (−8.3)	−21.1 (−6)	−11.3 (11.7)	−1.1 (30)	11.0 (51.8)	15.1 (59.2)	12.3 (54.1)	5.8 (42.4)	−4.7 (23.5)	−17.3 (0.9)	−20.1 (−4.2)	−6.4 (20.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−26.6 (−15.9)	−26.4 (−15.5)	−25.1 (−13.2)	−15.7 (3.7)	−4.7 (23.5)	6.4 (43.5)	11.0 (51.8)	8.9 (48)	3.3 (37.9)	−7.4 (18.7)	−20.7 (−5.3)	−23.8 (−10.8)	−10.1 (13.8)
Average low °C (°F)	−30.4 (−22.7)	−30.6 (−23.1)	−29.2 (−20.6)	−20.1 (−4.2)	−8.2 (17.2)	1.7 (35.1)	6.9 (44.4)	5.4 (41.7)	0.7 (33.3)	−9.9 (14.2)	−24.0 (−11.2)	−27.5 (−17.5)	−13.8 (7.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−48.9 (−56)	−46.6 (−51.9)	−45.5 (−49.9)	−42.8 (−45)	−28.9 (−20)	−8.9 (16)	−1.7 (28.9)	−2.5 (27.5)	−12.8 (9)	−28.5 (−19.3)	−40.1 (−40.2)	−46.7 (−52.1)	−48.9 (−56)
Record low wind chill	−70.8	−61.2	−58.1	−55.5	−40.1	−16.5	−6.5	−8.9	−20.9	−46.9	−50.8	−58.9	−70.8
Average precipitation mm (inches)	10.5 (0.413)	8.9 (0.35)	7.2 (0.283)	8.3 (0.327)	6.8 (0.268)	11.0 (0.433)	22.3 (0.878)	25.7 (1.012)	23.3 (0.917)	18.4 (0.724)	9.6 (0.378)	8.7 (0.343)	160.7 (6.327)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	1.4 (0.055)	9.7 (0.382)	22.2 (0.874)	24.4 (0.961)	15.5 (0.61)	1.3 (0.051)	0.0 (0)	0.3 (0.012)	74.9 (2.949)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	13.4 (5.28)	10.2 (4.02)	9.0 (3.54)	9.4 (3.7)	6.2 (2.44)	1.3 (0.51)	0.1 (0.04)	1.2 (0.47)	8.9 (3.5)	20.1 (7.91)	12.1 (4.76)	11.2 (4.41)	103.1 (40.59)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	8.4	7.3	7.1	5.5	4.9	5.1	10.1	12.7	12.7	13.3	9.6	8.9	105.6
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.1	4.3	10.0	12.4	9.0	1.1	0.0	0.1	38.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)	8.6	7.4	7.5	5.8	4.2	1.0	0.1	0.9	5.0	13.0	9.9	9.1	72.5
Average relative humidity (%)	74.2	73.0	73.9	81.5	81.5	68.4	68.7	73.9	77.9	85.7	79.5	76.1	76.2
Source: Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010

See also

• List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories
• Tuktoyaktuk Airport
• Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road
• Territorial claims in the Arctic

External links

• Dempster Highway & Tuktoyaktuk roadtrip article on the Economist's More Intelligent Life website