Paulatuk

Demographics

In 2014 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 304 with an average yearly growth rate of -0.4 from 2001. At the 2011 census, Paulatuk had a population of 313, an increase of 6.5% over the 2006 Census. In the 2006 census 265 people were listed as Aboriginal and of these, 260 were Inuit (Inuvialuit). The two principal languages spoken in Paulatuk are Inuvialuktun and English.

Community

The community is situated on Letty Harbour and was settled in the 1920s. This was followed a few years later by the Roman Catholic Church which opened a trading post. In the 1950s a Distant Early Warning Line site was built about 95 km (59 mi) to the northeast at Cape Parry, on the Parry Peninsula, providing a wage based income for the community. The trading post was taken over by the local co-op and today the local store is part of The North West Company.

Hunting, fishing and trapping are major economic activities, but in recent years art printmaking has played an increasing role in the local economy.

The Smoking Hills which are about 105 km (65 mi) west on the shores of the Arctic Ocean are a scientifically interesting object, since they are diminishing the pH value of the water areas. So the buffer effect has completely disappeared. Located to the east of the community is Tuktut Nogait National Park and Parks Canada has an office in the community.

Artists

Paulatuk artists are known across Canada and around the world for dance, music, sculptures, prints, and drawings.

Floyd Kuptana

Main articles: Floyd Kuptana

Floyd Kuyptana was born in 1964. He studied under David Ruben Piqtoukun and began solo work in 1992. He is a carver, sculptor, and painter.

Robert Kuptana

Robert Kuptana was born in 1962. A carver since his youth, he studied under his brother Floyd and began professional work in 1998.

The Paulatuk Moonlight Dancers

The Paulatuk Moonlight Dancers are a group of traditional Inuvialuit dancers. They have performed in Canada, the United States, Greenland, and Germany, and are led by Michael “Nolan” Green. Green also served as a hamlet councillor and received a Canada Youth Award in 2002.

Abraham Anghik Ruben

Abraham Anghik Ruben was born south of Paulatuk in 1951 and lived on the land with his family until he was eight years old. He currently lives on Saltspring Island.

His 2001 sculpture The Last Goodbye reflects Ruben and his brothers' experiences of being separated from their family by Canada's residential school system. Ruben writes, "I clearly remember when this took place—my mother sitting with my older brother and sister, David and Martha, just before they left for the Mission school in Aklavik. David was five years old at the time and Martha was only a little older. It was a scene that was repeated later on when my other brothers and I were sent off to residential school. But this time, it was sadder for my mother, because it would be three years that David and Martha would be gone. They left in 1955 and we didn’t see them again until the latter part of 1958. Those three years had a permanent impact on my brother’s life."

Abraham Anghik Ruben became an Officer in the Order of Canada on November 17, 2016 for his artistic contributions as a sculptor and for his preservation of northern heritage.

David Ruben Piqtoukun

Main articles: David Ruben Piqtoukun

Piqtoukun was born in Paulatuk in 1950. A sculptor and print artist, he is also brother to Abraham Anghik Ruben and was a mentor to Floyd Kuptana.

Mayors

A mayor has led the hamlet since its incorporation in 1987, when the first mayor, Garrett Ruben, was elected. Ruben was also a community leader before incorporation. As a young man he worked near the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line site at Cape Parry, but the area was isolated and far from traditional hunting grounds. After leaving this work, he negotiated for the community locally and in the south and became Settlement Chair prior to serving as mayor. Ruben died in 2007 at the age of 72. The hamlet has formally recognized him for his 24 years of service. Ray Ruben, the sixth and current mayor, is his son.

Anny Illasiak

Paulatuk elder Anny Illasiak, also known as Granny Uma, died in 2012 at the age of 74. A resident of Paulatuk since the 1970s, Illasiak was a leader in training children and young people to live on the land. She also organized a community sewing group, teaching others to make traditional clothing and creating tapestries herself, and volunteered as a cook with the Paulatuk Community Kitchen. She served as the Aboriginal language teacher for the Paulatuk Aboriginal Headstart Program for 10 years and continued to assist with the program after her retirement.

Elizabeth Kuptana

Elizabeth "Liz" Kuptana, recipient of the Wallace Goose Award (given to those who have “shown beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he or she has unselfishly dedicated time, effort, and sometimes blood, sweat, and tears for the advancement and benefit of all Inuvialuit”) is a Paulatuk elder, teacher, and storyteller. She teaches children and youth about Invuialuit culture and language as well as the history of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.

The Paulatuuq Oral History Project

Paulatuuq Oral History Project: Elders Share Their Stories was published in 2004. Eight community elders, including Edward Ruben and Mary Evik Ruben, contributed to this record of the hamlet’s oral history, completing interviews transcribed by Cathy Cockney.

Services

Services include a two-member Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment and a health centre with two nurses. Phone services are provided by Northwestel with Internet by SSI Micro and their AirWare service.

The community is part of the Beaufort Delta Education Council and schooling is available up to Grade 12 at the Angik School. There is also a community learning centre operated by Aurora College.

The community is not accessible by road but there is an airport, Paulatuk (Nora Aliqatchialuk Ruben) Airport, and flights into the community are provided by Aklak Air from Inuvik three times a week. In the summer floatplanes can use the Paulatuk Water Aerodrome and an annual sealift is provided by Northern Transportation Company Limited from Hay River.