We call the ‘original inhabitants’ or ‘first people’ of the Arctic Sivullirmiut. Sivullirmiut inhabited Western Arctic places like Engigstciak some 10,000 years ago, followed by groups that are our direct ancestors, including Sallirmiut, or ‘coastal people’, that settled the mouth of Kuukpak (Mackenzie River). As we travel our homeland today, we see traces of ancestral Inuvialuit in the form of tent rings, sod houses, sled runners, tools, and other implements they made. Many of these belongings (“artifacts”) were removed from our lands by outsiders and are held in distant museums.

By the 1800s, at least two thousand Inuvialuit inhabited the Western Arctic coastlines and Mackenzie Delta region. Our ancestors lived in sod houses made from driftwood and whale bone for parts of the year; in iglus while traveling and hunting in the colder seasons; and in hide tents in the summer months. They traveled by foot, qajaq, umiaq (whaling boat), and dog sled. Early in the 20th century, our people lived in a sequence of named local groups that spoke regional dialects. Each group had specialized knowledge of lands, place names, histories, and social practices, as well as harvesting and preservation techniques for the plants, wildlife, and other resources in their regions. They traded and intermarried with neighbouring communities.

In 1970, Nellie Cournoyea and Agnes Semmler formed The Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement (COPE) in response to mounting social and environmental pressures and the lack of Indigenous political representation to voice their rights. The term Inuvialuit, ‘the real people’, came into being at this time. It marked the union of the Inuvialuktun-speaking communities of the lower Mackenzie Delta and surrounding coastlines and islands. We fought to restore control of our shared homeland, Inuvialuit Nunangat. Over the next decade, Inuvialuit trappers, harvesters and Elders worked to preserve our culture and direct the use of our lands and wildlife by establishing a comprehensive land claim agreement.

The Inuvialuit Settlement Region was formally recognized by the federal government on June 5, 1984 when the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) was signed between the Inuvialuit and Canada. The agreement spans an area of 906,430 km² in the Canadian Western Arctic. Its primary goals are to preserve Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within a changing northern society; to enable Inuvialuit to be equal and meaningful participants in the northern and national economy and society; and to protect and preserve the Arctic wildlife, environment and biological productivity. Each year we mark Inuvialuit Day on June 5, and celebrate our legal rights to and sovereignty over our traditional lands, waters, wildlife, cultural materials and ancestors.

Our leaders have always been strong, sharp-minded people that consider the future while seeking the wisdom that Elders have carried forward through time. In both the past and present, a leader is someone who is capable, decisive, and respected for the knowledge and authority they hold. Traditional leaders were humble and did not use their position for personal gain. They visited different households to share knowledge and listen to the needs and concerns of community members. Inuvialuit and Gwich’in leaders gathered seasonally to trade and make plans for harvesting on the land, avoiding overhunting and ensuring that land and animals were left to regenerate for the future.

Within Inuvialuit society, we have always practiced different forms of leadership and governance. Our people of all genders have always depended on each other within our families and communities, where women, men, and gender fluid people play important roles. In traditional times, umialiit (singular: umialik) were important leaders who led the whale hunts.