Tsiigehtchic
Hamlet in Northwest Territories, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tsiigehtchic (/ˈtsiːɡɛtʃɪk/ TSEE-getch-ik; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic,[3] is a Gwichʼin community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community was formerly known as Arctic Red River, until 1 April 1994. The Gwichya Gwich'in First Nation is located in Tsiigehtchic.
Tsiigehtchic
Tsiigehtshik | |
|---|---|
| Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic | |
The Church in Tsiigehtchic with the Arctic Red River and Mackenzie River in the background | |
  Tsiigehtchic  Tsiigehtchic | |
| Coordinates: 67°26′26″N 133°44′43″W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Northwest Territories |
| Region | Inuvik Region |
| Electoral district | Mackenzie Delta |
| Census division | Region 1 |
| Mission | 1868 |
| Charter Community | 21 June 1993 |
| Hamlet | 1 July 2024[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor[2] | Shawn James Roland VanLoon[3] |
| • SAO | Jolene Blake[3] |
| • MLA | Frederick Blake Jr. |
| Area (2021)[4] | |
| • Land | 47.89 km2 (18.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 138 |
| • Density | 2.9/km2 (7.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−07:00 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
| Postal code | |
| Area code | 867 |
| Telephone exchange | 953 |
| - Living cost | 167.5A |
| - Food price index | 170.3B |
| Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,[3] Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[5] Canada Flight Supplement[6] ^A 2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100[7] ^B 2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100[7] | |
History
Ancient history
Archaeology and oral history indicate that the flats below Tsiigehtchic have been used for the past 1,400 years by the Gwichyaa Gwichʼin, for various activities which were both commercial and recreational. The Gwich’in name for the flats is Łèth T’urh Kak (“on the mud flats”).[8]
Late modern period and the first European contact
The first European contact with the Gwichya Gwich’in occurred in the summer of 1789, just prior to the late modern period, when Alexander Mackenzie reached the area with his party of explorers.
Contemporary history
In 1825, John Franklin, inspired by Mackenzie's travel, reached into the area.[8]
The very first permanent settlement here began due to European intervention, with the establishment of a Catholic mission in 1868, which would then be soon followed by a Hudson's Bay Company trading post in the 1870s.[8]
In May 2023, the community of Tsiigehtchic voted to change from being a charter community to a hamlet. The change occurred in 1 July 2024 and the community finally became a hamlet with the swearing in of the mayor and councillors on 15 January 2025.[2][8]
Demographics
Annual population estimates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001 - 2017)[17] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Tsiigehtchic had a population of 138 living in 59 of its 73 total private dwellings, a change of -19.8% from its 2016 population of 172. With a land area of 47.89 km2 (18.49 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.9/km2 (7.5/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
In 2021, nobody identified as Métis or Inuit and twenty as non-Indigenous. The rest of the population (115 people) identified as First Nations. In the same census 20 people said that an Indigenous language (Gwichʼin) was their mother tongue and everybody else choose English. There were 15 people who said that Gwichʼin was the language most often used in the home.[4]
Transportation
The Dempster Highway, NWT Highway 8, crosses the Mackenzie River at Tsiigehtchic.[18] During winter, vehicle traffic is over the ice, during the rest of the year, traffic is carried by the ferry MV Louis Cardinal.
The ferry stops at Tsiigehtchic, on the eastern bank of the Arctic Red River, and on the southwestern and northeastern banks of the Mackenzie River, connecting the two legs of the Dempster Highway. The community is one of the few in the NWT not to be served by a permanent airport.
Steppe bison carcass
In early September 2007, near Tsiigehtchic, local resident Shane Van Loon discovered a carcass of a steppe bison, which was radiocarbon dated to c. 13,650 cal BP.[19] This carcass appears to represent the first Pleistocene mummified soft tissue remains from the glaciated regions of northern Canada.[19]
Services
Tsiigehtchic has a health centre. Royal Canadian Mounted Police services are provided through Fort McPherson.