Civilization.ca - The Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic

The Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic - From Ancient Times to 1902

The Inuit living in the western Canadian Arctic call themselves "Inuvialuit" or "real human beings." Their homeland stretches from the Alaskan border east to Amundsen Gulf and the western edge of the Canadian Arctic Islands. It is a land of rolling tundra and high, rocky mountains, bisected by the labyrinth of the Mackenzie River Delta.

The traditional culture of the Inuvialuit was shattered by European infectious diseases in the late 19th century, before it could be described in writing in any great detail. What we do know has been pieced together from traditional oral histories, archaeological research, and the writings of the various 19th-century explorers, fur traders, and missionaries who visited the western Arctic.

The Land | The People | From Ancient Times | ...To 1902 | Survival
About the Researcher

Text written by Dr. David Morrison, Archaeological Survey of Canada.

This web based publication has been produced by:
Inuvialuit Projects Inc.
Bag 7, Inuvik, NWT
K. Albright-Murchison, Developer
Under the direction of the Canadian Museum of Civilization