Tsiigehtchic

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
Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic
The Church in Tsiigehtchic with the Arctic Red River and Mackenzie River in the background
Tsiigehtchic Show map of Northwest Territories Tsiigehtchic Show map of Canada
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 (8/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Postal code	X0E 0B0
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

Large letters spelling out "Tsiigehtchic," visible from the Dempster Highway

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

Federal census population history of Tsiigehtchic

Year	Pop.	±%
1976	121	—
1981	120	−0.8%
1986	108	−10.0%
1991	144	+33.3%
1996	162	+12.5%
2001	195	+20.4%
2006	175	−10.3%
2011	143	−18.3%
2016	172	+20.3%
2021	138	−19.8%
Source: Statistics Canada [4][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Annual population estimates

Year Pop. ±% 1996 168 —     1997 169 +0.6% 1998 165 −2.4% 1999 188 +13.9% 2000 192 +2.1% 2001 195 +1.6% 2002 213 +9.2% 2003 209 −1.9% 2004 202 −3.3% 2005 190 −5.9% 2006 181 −4.7%	Year Pop. ±% 2007 177 −2.2% 2008 159 −10.2% 2009 154 −3.1% 2010 154 +0.0% 2011 152 −1.3% 2012 150 −1.3% 2013 162 +8.0% 2014 167 +3.1% 2015 167 +0.0% 2016 170 +1.8% 2017 179 +5.3%
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.

Tsiigehtchic from the Dempster Highway, looking towards Inuvik

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.

See also

• Arctic Red River Water Aerodrome