Ulukhaktok#Climate

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Ulukhaktok

| native_name = {{small|Ulukhaqtuuq
Uluqsaqtuuq}}

| other_name =

| settlement_type = Hamlet

| image_skyline = Ulukhaktok March2021.jpg

| image_caption = Looking at Ulukhaktok from the bluffs that give the community its name.

| pushpin_map = Canada Northwest Territories#Canada

| coordinates = {{coord|70|44|12|N|117|46|19|W|type:city_scale:30000_region:CA-NT|notes={{cite cgndb|id=LCAVX|name=Ulukhaktok|access-date=19 August 2021}}|display=inline,title}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Canada

| subdivision_type1 = Territory

| subdivision_name1 = Northwest Territories

| subdivision_type2 = Government region

| subdivision_name2 = Inuvik Region

| subdivision_type3 = Constituency

| subdivision_name3 = Nunakput

| subdivision_type4 = Census division

| subdivision_name4 = Region 1

| subdivision_type5 = Land claim

| subdivision_name5 = Inuvialuit Settlement Region

| established_title = Settled

| established_date = 1937

| established_title1 = Incorporated (hamlet)

| established_date1 = 1 April 1984{{cite web|url=http://www.jointsecretariat.ca/pdf/eisc/CCP_Ulukhaktok.pdf|title=Olokhaktomiut Community Conservation Plan|publisher=The Community of Ulukhaktok, The Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT), and the Joint Secretariat|type=PDF|page=17|date=July 2008|access-date=13 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517192131/http://www.jointsecretariat.ca/pdf/eisc/CCP_Ulukhaktok.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2013}}

| leader_title = Mayor

| leader_name = Joshua Oliktoak

| leader_title1 = Acting Senior Administrative Officer

| leader_name1 = Mary Banksland

| leader_title2 = MLA

| leader_name2 = Jackie Jacobson

| area_footnotes =

| area_land_km2 = 120.71

| elevation_m = 36

| elevation_max_m = 36

| elevation_min_m = 0

| population_footnotes =

| population_total = 408

| population_as_of = 2021

| population_density_km2 = 3.4

| timezone = MST

| utc_offset = −07:00

| timezone_DST = MDT

| utc_offset_DST = −06:00

| postal_code_type = Canadian Postal code

| postal_code = X0E 0S0

| area_code = 867

| blank_name = Telephone exchange

| blank_info = 396

| blank2_name = Prices

| blank3_name = – Living cost (2018)

| blank3_info = 192.5{{ref|A|A}}

| blank4_name = – Food price index (2019)

| blank4_info = 179.9{{ref|B|B}}

| footnotes = Sources:
Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,{{MACANT|ulukhaktok|Ulukhaktok|22 March 2022}}
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/Ulukhaktok.pdf Ulukhaktok – Statistical Profile] at the GNWT
{{note|B|B}}2019 figure based on Yellowknife = 100

}}

Ulukhaktok ((Kangiryuarmiutun (Inuit): {{lang|iu|Ulukhaqtuuq}}, {{IPA|iu|ulukhɑqtuːq̚|pron}}) and known until 1 April 2006 as Holman or Holman Island) is a small Inuvialuit Settlement Region hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Like other small traditional communities in the territories, hunting, trapping, and fishing are major sources of income, but printmaking has taken over as the primary source of income in recent years. The two principal languages in Ulukhaktok are the Kangiryuarmiutun dialect of Inuinnaqtun, which is part of the Inuvialuktun group,[https://inuvialuitdigitallibrary.ca/languages Languages] and English.

The village has the world's most northerly golf course.

The community was covered in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement as part of their land claims and is in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

History

File:Communities where Inuinnaqtun is spoken.png

The first people to settle in the area were Natkusiak and his family in 1937. Two years later, the Hudson's Bay Company relocated from Walker Bay and a Roman Catholic mission was opened the same year.

The English name, Holman, was in honour of J.R. Holman, a member of Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield's 1853 expedition in search for the Arctic explorer, John Franklin.{{cite web|url=http://www.katilvik.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30|title=Uluqsaqtuua (Holman Island) Printmaking |date=19 September 2006 |work=katilvik.com|access-date=22 February 2010}} The community was sometimes known as Holman Island. This, however, is the name of the small island outcrop to the east-southeast in the Amundsen Gulf.

In 2006, the community was renamed, Ulukhaktok, the traditional Kangiryuarmiutun name for the area, which means "the place where ulu parts are found", or "a large bluff where we used to collect raw material to make ulus".{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Holman/english/life/index.php3 |title=Life in Holman |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225070730/http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Holman/english/life/index.php3 |archive-date=2012-02-25 |website=virtualmuseum.ca}}[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ulukhaktok/ Ulukhaktok] The large bluff that overlooks Ulukhaktok was the source that provided the slate and copper used to make ulus and give the community its name. Thus, the people who live there are called Ulukhaktokmiut {{IPA|iu|ulukhɑqtuːq̚miut|}} ("people of"). Ulukhaktokmiut is a recent word as no people actually lived permanently in this area until the opening of the Hudson's Bay Company store, although people did visit the area to obtain the ulu materials and camp en route to other nomadic seasonal camp areas.

Inuit traded with mainland groups as far east as King William Island and as far south as Great Bear Lake although most commerce occurred with the Inuvialuit and Copper Inuit populations indigenous to the Coppermine River watershed and Bernard Harbour seasonal areas on the mainland. The majority of Ulukhaktokmiut come from a varied background, with family ties extending mainly to the Coppermine River community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut and the communities of the Mackenzie River Delta and Beaufort Sea, though some families have relatives as far away as Gjoa Haven on King William Island, and along the north slope of Alaska as far as Port Clarence on the Seward Peninsula.

Some families are descendants of the Danish explorer-trader Christian Klengenberg.[http://www.kitikmeotheritage.ca/Angulalk/whaler/klenberg.htm Christian Klengenberg at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society] Others are descended from two members of the Vilhjalmur Stefansson-led Canadian Arctic Expedition. The first was Natkusiak, a friend of Stefansson, and the primary guide and lead hunter of the expedition. Originally from Port Clarence, Alaska he was later known as Billy Banksland, this name coming from his time trapping Arctic foxes on Banks Island.[http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic45-1-90.pdf Natkusiak (ca. 1885–1947)] Another member of the expedition with relatives in the area was the Alaskan Iñupiat, Ikey Bolt from Point Hope. Married to Klengenberg's daughter Etna, they lived for several years at Rymer Point before moving to Minto Inlet and eventually to Coppermine (now Kugluktuk).[http://www.kitikmeotheritage.ca/Angulalk/whaler/ednaikey/etnaikey.htm Etna and Ikey Bolt at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Ulukhaktok had a population of {{val|408|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|134|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|159|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:408-396}}|396|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|396|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|120.71|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|408|120.71|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=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=February 18, 2022}}

In 2016, 370 (96.4%) of its residents were Inuvialuit or Inuit and the rest (3.6%) were non-Indigenous. The main languages in the community are Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English.

{{Historical populations

| title = Federal census population history of Ulukhaktok

| type = Canada

| align = left

| width =

| state =

| shading =

| percentages =

|1976|264

|1981|300

|1986|303

|1991|361

|1996|423

|2001|398

|2006|398

|2011|402

|2016|396

|2021|408

| footnote =

| source = Statistics Canada
{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=61 | title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 8, 2017 | accessdate=February 1, 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=February 1, 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=February 1, 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=February 1, 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=February 1, 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-P.cfm?T=1&SR=1&S=1&O=A&PR=61 | title=Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Northwest Territories) | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=August 15, 2012 | accessdate=February 1, 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=August 20, 2021 | accessdate=February 1, 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=July 25, 2021 | accessdate=February 1, 2022}}

}}

{{Historical populations

|align=none

|cols=2

|title=Annual population estimates

|1996|443

|1997|450

|1998|438

|1999|435

|2000|422

|2001|416

|2002|413

|2003|425

|2004|414

|2005|426

|2006|412

|2007|424

|2008|429

|2009|418

|2010|432

|2011|407

|2012|408

|2013|411

|2014|420

|2015|419

|2016|419

|2017|420

|2018|461

|2019|476

|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

}}

Economy

The hamlet has seen both sides of the rush for mineral exploration and has regained an appreciation for its wild places and culturally sensitive areas where long-gone relatives once survived and lived with the ice and snow. Some private concerns have witnessed the zeal with which these locals defend their competing interests for the same tracts of land and resources. Other companies have learned to work with residents and this has produced some hope for mineral development around traditional lands and other cultural areas of these Inuvialuit and their fellow Inuit brethren. Arts and crafts are also another source of income with international recognition of local artisans. Occasionally some residents travel to such places as San Francisco, California or Melbourne, Australia, but more often to other regional centres across the north.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Ulukhaktok is home to the Holman Eskimo Co-op founded in 1961{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/backstory-sealskin-parka-found-thrift-shop-1.5421366|title=Here's the backstory on this Inuvialuit parka left at an Edmonton thrift shop|last=Kyle|first=Kate|date=January 10, 2020|website=CBD|access-date=January 10, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://ulukhaktok.com/about/history-print-making-northwest-territories/|title=History of Print Making in the Northwest Territories|website=Ulukhaktok Arts Centre|language=en|access-date=2020-01-10}} by the residents of the community with the help of Roman Catholic priest, Father Henri Tardy. The Co-op was formed to provide income to the residents of the community by producing arts and crafts, and is famous for the production of prints. Formally Holman Prints, artists in the community sell their art though the Ulukhaktok Arts Centre. Famous artists who have produced prints for the Holman Eskimo Co-op include Mary K. Okheena and Helen Kalvak. The local school, Helen Kalvak Elihakvik is named after her.{{cite web|url=https://helen-kalvak.beaufortdeltadec.ca/about-us-8 |title=Helen Kalvak School - About Us|access-date=25 February 2024}}

In the 1960s and 1970s Holman Eskimo Co-operative also created a number of sealskin products for southern markets, including parkas, tapestries and stuffed animals. The sealskin parkas were made to last and still show up on the market.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/sealskin-coat-goodwill-thrift-1.5417898|title=Goodwill plans to preserve sealskin coat donated to Edmonton thrift store|last=McEwan|first=Travis|date=January 7, 2020|work=Canadian Broadcasting Company|access-date=January 10, 2020}} The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife also has a parka in their collection.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ulukhaktok-sealskin-coat-1.4908938|title=One-of-a-kind parka comes back home to N.W.T., thanks to Ontario couple|last=Blake|first=Emily|date=November 30, 2018|work=Canadian Broadcasting Company|access-date=January 10, 2020}}

In 2001 the Winnipeg Art Gallery curated an exhibition "Holman: Forty Years of Graphic Art/Quarante Ans D'Art Graphique " which produced an exhibition catalogue{{Cite book|title=Holman: forty years of graphic art|last=Wight|first=Darlene Coward|last2=Glenbow Museum|last3=Musée canadien des civilisations|last4=Winnipeg Art Gallery|date=2001|publisher=Winnipeg Art Gallery|isbn=978-0-88915-206-9|location=Winnipeg|oclc=46624329}} authored by Winnipeg Art Gallery Curator Darlene Coward Wight.

The Holman Eskimo Co-op is now involved in arts and crafts, retailing, the hotel business, and cable television. It operates both a Canada Post outlet, and the fuel delivery contract, and is the local Aklak Air agent.

Ulukhaktok is also the location of the world's most northern golf course and hosts the "Billy Joss Open Celebrity Golf Tournament" every summer. Over the years they have managed to attract players from the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Eskimos (now the Elks), as well as golfers from other countries. This tournament is growing and features excursions to traditional areas where Arctic char and Northern Lake trout are harvested for subsistence as well as limited commercial fishing and hunting.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}