The Inuvialuit Rise Again
Almost completely obliterated by disease in the early 1900's, the Inuvialuit of the northern Mackenzie Delta communities of Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk have regained the population of about 3,000 people that pre-dated the arrival of European explorers and American whalers.

Prior to their measles-riddled introduction to the outside world, the aboriginal Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic had enjoyed a life which - in contrast to the extreme harshness and scarcity of their Central Arctic neighbours - was relatively prosperous. The land offered caribou and small game; the sea and Delta waters provided fish, seals, whales, and a plentiful supply of driftwood from which homes, boats, sleds, tools and fuel could be manufactured. Inuvialuit communities featured permanent winter houses and ceremonial halls, built from logs and sod, and a well-defined social structure dominated by powerful chiefs.

Catastrophic Contact: When Alexander Mackenzie made his famous voyage north in 1789, his Dene guides were careful to steer him away from the East Channel camps of their feared Inuvialuit enemies. Previous contact between the two cultures had been limited, but confrontational. Similarly, the Inuvialuit looked upon their Central Arctic Inuit neighbours with disdain.

Eventually, however, the Inuvialuit began to trade with others, first at Fort McPherson to the south, and then with American bowhead whalers at Herschel Island to the west. They rapidly acquired modern comforts, but there were few people left to enjoy them: by 1910, after two tragic measles epidemics, there were only about 100 original Inuvialuit still alive. To add insult to injury, the Americans had harvested most of the bowhead whales that, along with belugas, had been a mainstay of the Inuvialuit lifestyle.

Alaskan Alliance: As the Inuvialuit population reached its lowest ebb, Alaskan Inuit began to resettle in the Mackenzie Delta. Facing a decline of caribou in their own land, and lured by employment opportunities in the whaling industry, the Alaskan immigrants moved east and became known as the "Nunatmuit" (or "Uummarmuit"), the "people of the green trees." At first, they faced hostility from the indigenous Inuvialuit, but eventually the two cultures blended through intermarriage. Today, in the Delta communities of Inuvik and Aklavik, many Inuvialuit trace their heritage from both the original and Alaskan Inuit, speaking a dialect known as "Uummarmiutan." In Tuktoyaktuk, to the north, the "Siglitun" dialect reflects the language spoken by the indigenous Inuvialuit.

Contemporary Control: In 1984, the Inuvialuit reached a landmark land claim agreement with the Canadian federal government, establishing aboriginal control of the areas of Sachs Harbour, Holman, Paulatuk, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik and Inuvik.

Gwich'in: People of the Caribou
Above the Arctic Circle, in the boreal forests of the upper Mackenzie Delta, the most northerly of the Athapaskan-speaking nations continues to rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd for food, clothing and a cultural link to the past.

The Gwich'in Nation includes 11 major bands stretching from the Mackenzie River to Alaska. In the community of Tsiigehtchic (Arctic Red River), where the Artic Red River meets the Mackenzie, the Gwichya Gwich'in are traditionally associated with territory that extends into the Mackenzie Delta, then follows the treeline south into the Mackenzie Mountains and up the Arctic Red River. Further west, at Tetlit Zhe (For McPherson), Tetlin Gwich'in lands stretched west to the Richardson Mountains and south, up the Peel River, to the Mackenzie Mountains.

Caribou Consistency: Traditionally, the Gwich'in were nomadic hunters, building moss houses in winter, and erecting caribou skin and bark-covered tents in summer. Contact with Europeans occurred as early as 1805 in Fort Good Hope, but was not continuous until 1840, when they began to trade at Fort McPherson. Although the Gwich'in participated in the fur trade, often acting as intermediaries between the white traders and the Inuvialuit of the north, caribou hunting continued to be central to their economy and their culture

In the 1900's, people of Gwich'in heritage also gravitated to the Arctic administrative communities, first to Aklavik, and then to Inuvik, where they joined their Inuvialuit neighbours. In 1992, the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Canadian federal government signed a Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement related to the Mackenzie Delta area. The Porcupine River Caribou Herd is protected by federal-provincial Management Agreements and a Canadian-U.S. International Protection Agreement.

Land of the Dene
Among the Dene-Métis tribal groups associated with the Northwest Territories (including the Chipewyan, Dogrib, and Yellowknife of the lands surrounding Great Slave Lake), both the Sahtu and the Deh Cho oversee territorial lands that include communities situated on the Mackenzie River:

· Sahtu Dene: The territory of the Sahtu Dene covers a broad span of territory across the northern Mackenzie Valley, from the Mackenzie Mountains east to Great Bear Lake, and includes the Mackenzie River communities of Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells. Bearing the Slavey Dene name for Great Bear Lake, the North Slavey-speaking people of the Sahtu have hunted and fished in the Deh Cho (Mackenzie River) region for centuries.
· Deh Cho: Occupying the mid-to-upper lands of the Mackenzie Valley, east to Great Slave Lake and south to the Liard River, the South Slavey-speaking Deh Cho Dene are the traditional people of the Mackenzie River, hunting moose more frequently than caribou. Mackenzie River communities within the territory of the Deh Cho are Wrigley, Jean Marie River, and Fort Simpson, the oldest trading post on the Mackenzie River.