Kugluktuk (Qurluqtuq, ;
The area's traditional language is Inuinnaqtun, which is written in the Latin alphabet, rather than the syllabics of the Inuktitut writing system. Like Cambridge Bay, Bathurst Inlet, and Umingmaktok, syllabics are rarely seen and are used mainly by the Government of Nunavut.
History
Prior to European contact,
Dene travelled to the area and interacted acrimoniously with nearby
Thule people and
Inuit, sometimes ending in deadly raids against each other (see Bloody Falls massacre). In July 1821, the British Coppermine expedition team reached the mouth of the Coppermine River, just next to the present day community of Kugluktuk.
Arctic explorers Peter Warren Dease and Thomas Simpson reached this area in 1838 to survey from
Coronation Gulf at the mouth of Coppermine River to southern Boothia Peninsula. Dease noted that while his group camped near Bloody Falls, the Copper Inuit would flee when his party approached their camps. Between 1913 and 1916, anthropologist
Diamond Jenness studied and recorded the traditional lifestyle of Inuit around Kugluktuk. Danish fur trader Christian Klengenberg constructed a trading post in 1916 which formed a permanent year-round community known as Fort Hearne. The Hudson Bay Company established a trading post at this community in 1927. Fort Hearne was renamed to Coppermine in 1930. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police built a police station in 1932. The former name of the community, Coppermine, was named after its namesake Coppermine River.
An Indian federal day school (Federal Tent Hostel at Coppermine) opened in 1951 and closed in 1959.
In 1982, a division plebiscite was held. About 80% of the population in what is now Nunavut voted in favour of division; Coppermine was one of only two communities to vote against it, Cambridge Bay was the other.
In 1996, a healing ceremony between Dene and Inuit took place to reconcile for historical grievances. The community also changed its name from Coppermine to Kugluktuk on January 1, 1996.
Demographics
As a census subdivision in the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Kugluktuk had a population of 1,382 living in 397 of its 438 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,491. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
As a designated place in the 2021 census, Kugluktuk had a population of 956 living in 265 of its 296 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,057. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Infrastructure
The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by
SSi Canada. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.
Education
Kugluktuk's two schools are Kugluktuk High School and Jimmy Hikok Ilihakvik.
Geography
Kugluktuk is on the shore of the
Arctic Ocean. The surrounding landscape is dominated by the rocky and often barren
Canadian Shield. The region has a subarctic climate, but barely so, with July having an average of . It has cold, dry winters, and moderate snowfall that is relatively high for its latitude. Trees do exist in the region due to
microclimate,
but they are dwarfed and extremely sparse.
Flora
Plant growth in the region during the summer includes small shrubs, grass, moss, lichens, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, various flowers, and dwarf willow and birch trees.
Climate
Kugluktuk features a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification:
Dfc); like most of mainland
Nunavut; with wet summers and dry winters. It is in the transitional zone to a cold tundra climate (
ET), but falls outside of it, since its warmest month of July surpasses the isotherm, averaging .
The highest temperature ever recorded in Kugluktuk was on 15 July 1989.
Notable people
Gallery
File:Kugluktuk NT.jpg|Kugluktuk NU
File:Lifeguard Station at Kugluktuk.jpg|A lifeguard is stationed at the beach on hot days
File:Coppermine 1980s.jpg|Inuit women preparing to make bannock at Kugluktuk
File:Wildflowers, Kugluktuk, Nunavut (2008).jpg|Wildflowers in Kugluktuk
File:Kugluktuk High School.jpg|Grades 6 to 12 with a student population of about 150
File:Kugluktuk RC Church.jpg|The Roman Catholic Church at Kugluktuk
See also
-
List of municipalities in Nunavut
-
Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park
-
Bloody Falls
-
Kugluktuk Airport
Notes
Further reading
-
Dredge, L. A. Where the river meets the sea geology and landforms of the lower Coppermine River Valley and Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 2001.
-
Pedersen, Lena, and Donna Stephania. Crime Prevention in Kugluktuk. Ottawa: Caledon Institute of Social Policy, 1999.
