Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Fort McPherson

| native_name = Teetł'it Zheh

| other_name =The heart of the Gwichʼin

| native_name_lang =Gwichʼin

| settlement_type = Hamlet

| motto = "Take what you need"

| image_skyline = FortMcPhersonNWT.JPG

| imagesize =

| image_caption = A wooden church in Fort McPherson, NWT

| image_flag =

| flag_size =

| image_seal =

| seal_size =

| image_shield =

| shield_size =

| pushpin_map = Canada Northwest Territories#Canada

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Canada

| subdivision_type1 = Territory

| subdivision_name1 = Northwest Territories

| subdivision_type2 = Region

| subdivision_name2 = Inuvik Region

| subdivision_type3 = Electoral district

| subdivision_name3 = Mackenzie Delta

| subdivision_type4 = Census division

| subdivision_name4 = Region 1

| leader_title = Mayor

| leader_name = Richard Nerysoo

| leader_title1 = Senior Administrative Officer

| leader_name1 = Susan Blake

| leader_title2 = MLA

| leader_name2 = Frederick Blake Jr.

| established_title = Hamlet

| established_date = 1 November 1986

| area_footnotes = (2021)

| area_land_km2 = 53.83

| elevation_m = 43

| coordinates = {{coord|67|26|07|N|134|52|57|W|type:city_scale:30000_region:CA-NT|notes={{Cite cgndb|LAIKT|Fort McPherson}}|display=inline,title}}

| population_as_of = 2021

| population_footnotes =

| population_total = 647

| population_density_km2 = 12.0

| timezone = MST

| utc_offset = −07:00

| timezone_DST = MDT

| utc_offset_DST = −06:00

| postal_code_type = Postal code

| postal_code = X0E 0J0

| area_code = 867

| blank_name = Telephone exchange

| blank_info = 952

| blank2_name = Prices

| blank3_name = - Living cost (2018)

| blank3_info = 162.5{{ref|A|A}}

| blank4_name = - Food price index

| blank4_info = 162.8{{ref|B|B}}

| website = [http://www.fortmcpherson.ca/ www.fortmcpherson.ca]

| footnotes = Sources:
Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,{{MACANT|fort-mcpherson|Fort McPherson|13 January 2014}}
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,{{cite web |url= http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/community-names/#4/65.98/-119.97 |title= Northwest Territories Official Community Names and Pronunciation Guide |website= Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre |publisher= Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories |location= Yellowknife |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160113110003/http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/community-names/ |archive-date= 13 January 2016 |url-status= live |access-date= 13 January 2016}}
Canada Flight Supplement{{CFS}}
{{note|A|A}}2018 figure based on Edmonton = 100[https://www.statsnwt.ca/community-data/Profile-PDF/Fort%20McPherson.pdf Fort McPherson - Statistical Profile]
{{note|B|B}}2019 figure based on Yellowknife = 100

{{Designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NHSC |designation1_offname=Fort McPherson National Historic Site of Canada |designation1_date=1969 }}

}}

Fort McPherson (Gwich'in: Teetł'it Zheh {{IPA|ath|tʰeː.tɬʼɪtʰ ʒɛh|}}, at the head of the waters) is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on the east bank of the Peel River and is {{Cvt|121|km}} south of Inuvik on the Dempster Highway.

The First Nations people who make up the majority are Gwichʼin (Teetł'it Gwich'in) and the two principal languages spoken are Gwichʼin and English.[http://www.fortmcpherson.ca/AboutUs Fort McPherson - A Brief History]

Originally the site of a Hudson's Bay Company post the community was named for Murdoch McPherson.

Most people have vehicles and regularly make trips to either Inuvik, or Whitehorse, Yukon.

History

Fort McPherson was the starting point of Francis Joseph Fitzgerald's famous tragic journey of "The Lost Patrol". All four men on the Patrol, including Fitzgerald, were buried at Fort McPherson on 28 March 1911. In 1938, the graves were cemented over into one large tomb (to the right of the flag pole in above image), with cement posts at the four corners connected by a chain. In the centre is a memorial to the Royal Northwest Mounted Police Patrol of 1910.

National Historic Site

In 1969, the area comprising the boundaries of the community of Fort McPherson, as it was mapped in 1898, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, in recognition of the fact that the site had served as the principal Hudson's Bay Company trading post in the MacKenzie Delta region for over 50 years, and had been the first North-West Mounted Police post in the Western Arctic.{{CRHP|1141|Fort McPherson National Historic Site of Canada|4 October 2013}}

Transportation

Fort McPherson is accessible by road all year from Dawson City and Whitehorse, Yukon, with the exception of spring break-up and fall freeze-up on the Peel River. The community also has access to Inuvik via the Dempster Highway and crosses the Mackenzie River at Tsiigehtchic.

There is also a small airport at Fort McPherson, Fort McPherson Airport, that has seasonal flights to Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport on Aklak Air when the road across the Peel is closed.{{Cite web |url=http://aklakair.ca/uploads/pdf/flight_schedule.pdf |title=Flight Schedule |access-date=13 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114025950/http://aklakair.ca/uploads/pdf/flight_schedule.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2014 |url-status=dead }} The former Fort McPherson Water Aerodrome was listed as closed in the 15 March 2007 Canada Flight Supplement.

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort McPherson had a population of 647 living in 255 of its 318 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:647-700}}|700|1}} from its 2016 population of 700. With a land area of {{cvt|53.83|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|647|53.83|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000261 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Northwest Territories | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=9 February 2022 | accessdate=18 February 2022}}

In the 2021 census 645 people identified as Indigenous, 560 as First Nations, 30 as Métis, 85 as Inuit or Inuvialuit, and 105 non-Indigenous.{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/ipp-ppa/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Fort%20McPherson&DGUID=2021A00056101015&GENDER=1&AGE=1&HP=0&HH=0 |work=Indigenous Population Profile, 2021 Census of Population |title=Fort McPherson, Hamlet [Census subdivision], Northwest Territories |access-date= 8 December 2024 |date=8 June 2023 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}

{{Historical populations

| title = Federal census population history of Fort McPherson

| type = Canada

| align = left

| width =

| state =

| shading =

| percentages =

|1976|710

|1981|623

|1986|760

|1991|759

|1996|878

|2001|773

|2006|776

|2011|792

|2016|700

|2021|647

| footnote =

| source = Statistics Canada
{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=6101015&Geo2=CD&Code2=6101&SearchText=Fort%20McPherson&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 | title=Census Profile, 2016 Census Fort McPherson, Hamlet [Census subdivision], Northwest Territories and Region 1, Region [Census division], Northwest Territories | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=8 February 2017 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS94-905-1981.pdf | title=1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=May 1992 | accessdate=1 February 2021}}{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS92-101-1987.pdf | title=1986 Census: Population - Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=September 1987 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS93-304-1992.pdf | title=91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions - Population and Dwelling Counts | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=April 1992 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/statcan/rh-hc/CS93-357-1997.pdf | title=96 Census: A National Overview - Population and Dwelling Counts | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=April 1997 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/amend.cfm | title=Population and Dwelling Count Amendments | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=4 July 2012 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=1&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=61 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Northwest Territories) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=20 August 2021 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=51&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=61 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Northwest Territories) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=25 July 2021 | accessdate=1 February 2022}}

}}

{{Historical populations

|align=none

|cols=2

|title=Annual population estimates

|1996|915

|1997|887

|1998|861

|1999|861

|2000|828

|2001|832

|2002|809

|2003|820

|2004|813

|2005|814

|2006|805

|2007|809

|2008|801

|2009|815

|2010|805

|2011|813

|2012|810

|2013|795

|2014|791

|2015|786

|2016|795

|2017|776

|2018|672

|2019|635

|footnote= Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2008 - 2019), NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001 - 2017)[https://www.statsnwt.ca/population/population-estimates/commtotals_2001-2017.xlsx Population Estimates By Community] from the GNWT

}}

Climate

Fort McPherson experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort McPherson was {{convert|35.1|C}} on 6 August 2024. The coldest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|-55.6|C}} on 14 January 1894.