Tsiigehtchic

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”). 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. == Demographics ==

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 from its 2016 population of 172. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. 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. == Transportation ==

The Dempster Highway, NWT Highway 8, crosses the Mackenzie River at Tsiigehtchic. 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. , 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. == Services ==

Tsiigehtchic has a health centre. Royal Canadian Mounted Police services are provided through Fort McPherson. ==See also==