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governments turned their eyes to the Arctic, both for defence and resource exploration.“ Tuk” became a strategic site, first for military installations as part of the Distant Early Warning( DEW) Line, then later as a hub for offshore oil and gas development. In the 1960s, the Canadian government encouraged the permanent settlement of nomadic Inuvialuit families here, promising services, housing, and employment.
The result was a swift and jarring shift from traditional lifeways to a sedentary, modernised existence, one that brought both opportunity and profound disruption. The transition to permanent housing and wage labour was, for many, a mixed blessing. While healthcare and education became more accessible, the loss of seasonal movement, the erosion of language, and the imposed structures of government life took a toll on identity and community cohesion.
Today, Tuktoyaktuk is home to around 900 people, the vast majority of whom are Inuvialuit. It is a community that holds both modern realities and ancestral traditions in a delicate balance. Snowmobiles sit beside traditional qamutiik sleds. Youth scroll through TikTok while elders teach them how to harvest seal oil or tan hides. The Inuvialuktun language, once endangered, is now taught in schools and celebrated in local events.
The town itself is spread out across a peninsula and series of low-lying islands. Roads are gravel. Houses are raised on stilts to cope with the permafrost. There’ s a health centre, a school, a few small stores, and a gas station that occasionally runs dry if the barge is late. The pace of life is dictated by weather, ice, and tradition.
Despite its remoteness, Tuk has several attractions that are anything but ordinary. One of the most
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