Sachs Harbour

Community Name:                Sachs Harbour
Traditional/Former Name:     Ikaahuk (where you go across to)
Land Claim Area:                  Inuvialuit
Electoral District:                       Nunakput
Member of the Legislative Assembly:  Jackie Jacobson
Member of Parliament:             Dennis Bevington
Senator:                                        Nick G. Sibbeston
Community Leader:  Mayor Robert Eldridge
                              Hamlet of Sachs Harbour
                              General Delivery 
                              Sachs Harbour, NT  X0E 0Z0
                              Phone:  867-690-4351

Location:  Sachs Harbour is located on the southwestern shore of Banks Island at 71'59N latitude and 125'14'W longitude. The most northerly community in the new Northwest Territories, Sachs Harbour is 523 km northeast of Inuvik.

Population:  120 (2004 Census)

Languages:  Inuvialuktun, English

Access:  The community is accessible by air from Inuvik year round and bulk supplies and food are barged in during the summer months.

History:  Sachs Harbour was named after the ship 'Mary Sachs' of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913. In 1929 a permanent settlement was established when three Inuit families settled here to trap. In 1953 the RCMP set up a detachment post and people lived a very traditional lifestyle hunting muskox, caribou and polar bear.

Today the community's economy is based primarily on hunting and trapping and to a lesser degree on tourism. Oil and gas exploration continues in the Beaufort Sea and local businesses include retail and food sales, supporting mostly the local needs.