Trans Canada Trail sign in TukPingo near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest TerritoriesTuktoyaktuk Community CoolerTuktoyaktuk, aerial photo 1987
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.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15][16]
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).[18]
Employment
Many locals still hunt, fish, and trap. Locals hunt caribou in the autumn and ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, and fish 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.[19]
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.[2]
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses
Climate
The Arctic Ocean, at the end of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk HighwaySatellite image of Liverpool Bay, the Husky Lakes, and the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula
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.[35] As a result, temperatures well above average can occur in summer despite the cold surrounding waters.
During a bout of exceptionally hot Arctic weather,[36] Tuktoyaktuk was among the numerous northern communities that witnessed record temperatures on 4 July 2022, reaching a high of 29.9 °C (85.8 °F).[37] Its overall highest temperature of 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) was recorded on 2 July 1998.[38] 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.[citation needed]
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.[43]
Tuktoyaktuk panorama
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.[44]
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,[45]Moist, Cake, and Veruca Salt. Canadian filmmaker Albert Nerenberg made a documentary about the concert, Invasion of the Beer People.[46]
The imaginary Tuktoyaktuk University, abbreviated "TUK-U", has been "emblazoned on hundreds of thousands of T-shirts that travelled the world".[48][49]
