The Inuvialuit
(more images)
In 1826, John Richardson of the British Royal Navy visited the Inuvialuit village of Nuvurak on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula. His drawing of an Inuvialuit house there suggests European rather than Inuvialuit architecture.
In the early 19th century the Inuvialuit lived in six territorially distinct "societies," each named after its main or capital village. Earlier a seventh group had existed around the Eskimo Lakes.
An aerial view of the hamlet of Tuktoyuktuk, located on the shore of the Beaufort Sea. "Tuk" lies just feet above sea level and coastal erosion is a very real threat to the long-term survival of the settlement.
Traditional Inuvialuit music is undergoing a revival and the Delta Drummers and Dancers are in great demand. They recently performed at the opening of the exhibit "Threads of the Land" at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Here they are in Inuvik entertaining as part of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in 1992.
An Inuvialuit couple drawn by Father Émile Petitot in the mid-XIXth century. Note the labrets or cheek ornaments.
Summers spent on the coast, like here at Shingle Point on the North Yukon coast, were a time of plenty with fishing and beluga hunting providing large quantities of food to help pass the long winters
The Inuvialuit have used nets for fishing for centuries.
