The only community on the island is
Qikiqtarjuaq with a population of 593. It is one of only eleven islands, out of more than 36,000, in the Arctic Archipelago that are inhabited. The
Inuit residents of Qikiqtarjuaq moved there in 1963 from a
whaling station at
Kivitoo about north. Qikiqtarjuaq hosts an annual "Suicide Prevention Walk". Local participants would walk a total distance of across the tundra from
Kivitoo' Today the walk is much shorter than the original two and a half days, but it is still meant to promote hope among the community. The island was the home of
FOX-5, a
Distant Early Warning Line and now a
North Warning System site. There is also an access road that was built to Tisunaaq, also known as Ceetee Land to the Elders, and another road is in construction to
Qikiqtarjuaqruluk, or Old Broughton, an
abandoned settlement. ==Wildlife==