The community of AKULIVIK is so named because it evokes the shape of a kakivak (harpoon) [1] : it is located on a point between two bodies of water, so that it looks like an akulivik, the central prong of a kakivak.
Akulivik is a recent community, dating only from 1975 [2] . When they decided to return to live in this location, the Inuit transported a number of old houses from Puvirnituq using snowmobiles and boats. Faced with such determination, the government decided to build them new houses.
Akulivik is located at the site of a major migration route for Arctic char, which the Inuit fish using lines or nets. In winter, because the people of Akulivik live near the seal hunting grounds, they send seal meat and fish to the residents of Puvirnituq to help them out. The Akulivimiut still speak their traditional language. They don’t intend to lose either their language or their culture.
by Taamusi Qumaq (1992)
[1] Fish spear (or large harpoon) used for fishing, it has a central point flanked by two arcs of ivory equipped with barbs. Once the fish is impaled, the arcs on both side keep it in place.
[2] The inhabitants of the region lived on Cape Smith Island until the Hudsons Bay post there was shut down. They relocated to Puvirnituq, without actually integrating into the local population, until 1975, when they returned to their original territory.
