Aklavik – "Place of the Barrenland Grizzly"

On the west side of the Mackenzie Delta, Aklavik was once the trading centre of the Western Arctic and a stopping off point for the first aerial pioneers. The community figured in several world news stories connected with aviation and one event continues to attract curiosity to this day – the story of the Mad Trapper of Rat River. The subject of the first aerial manhunt, the Mad Trapper was eventually killed and is buried at Aklavik.

Aklavik was prone to flooding and had little room to grow so a new community was designed to replace it, called Inuvik. But Aklavik refused to die and the community remains a centre for fishing, hunting and trapping. There's bed and breakfast accommodation and scheduled fights from Inuvik five days a week.

Tell me more about the Gwich’in in Aklavik

Tell me more about Aklavik

Tell me about Aklavik History

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