Tsiigehtchic

Tsiigehtchic (/ˈtsiːɡɛtʃɪk/ TSEE-getch-ik; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic,^[3] is a Gwich'in 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
Constituency	Mackenzie Delta
Census division	Region 1
Mission	1868
Charter Community	21 June 1993
Hamlet	1 July 2024[1]
Government
• Chief	Phillip Blake
• Senior Administrative Officer	Jeff Mercier
• MLA	Frederick Blake Jr.
Area [2]
• Land	48.98 km2 (18.91 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	172
• Density	3.5/km2 (9/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Canadian 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,[4] Canada Flight Supplement[5] ^A 2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100[6] ^B 2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100[6]

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 [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][2][14]

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)[15]

In the 2021 Census of Population 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.^[14]

In 2016, 130 people identified as First Nations and 10 as Inuit. However, only 5 people said that an Indigenous language (Gwich’in) was their mother tongue.^[2]

Transportation

The Dempster Highway, NWT Highway 8, crosses the Mackenzie River at Tsiigehtchic.^[16] 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

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

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.^[17] This carcass appears to represent the first Pleistocene mummified soft tissue remains from the glaciated regions of northern Canada.^[17]

See also

• Arctic Red River Water Aerodrome
• List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories

References

1. "Order Establishing the Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic" (PDF). Northwest Territories Gazette. Vol. 45, no. 6, Part 2. Yellowknife: Territorial Printer of the Northwest Territories. 28 June 2024. pp. 155–156. ISSN 2291-0417.
2. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
3. "NWT Communities - Tsiigehtchic". Government of the Northwest Territories: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
4. "Northwest Territories Official Community Names and Pronunciation Guide". Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. Yellowknife: Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
5. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
6. Tsiigehtchic - Statistical Profile at the GNWT
7. "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order" (PDF). Statistics Canada. May 1992. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
8. "1986 Census: Population - Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions" (PDF). Statistics Canada. September 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
9. "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions - Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1992. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
10. "96 Census: A National Overview - Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1997. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
11. "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. August 15, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
12. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. August 20, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
13. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. July 25, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
14. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Northwest Territories". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
15. Population Estimates By Community from the GNWT
16. "Canadian Ferry Operators Association 2006 Annual Report" (PDF). Canadian Ferry Operators Association. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22.
17. Zazula, Grant D.; MacKay, Glen; Andrews, Thomas D.; Shapiro, Beth; Letts, Brandon; Brock, Fiona (2009). "A late Pleistocene steppe bison (Bison priscus) partial carcass from Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, Canada". Quaternary Science Reviews. 28 (25–26): 2734–2742. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.06.012. ISSN 0277-3791.

Further reading

• Heine, Michael K. Gwichya Gwich'in Googwandak: The History and Stories of the Gwichya Gwich'in ; As Told by the Elders of Tsiigehtchic. Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T.: Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute, 2001. ISBN 1-896337-05-8

External links

• Tsiigehtchic at the Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute