Akulivik is located in the northern portion of the Hudson Bay and takes its name from the surrounding geography, a peninsula jutting into the bay and that is shaped like a kakivak, a traditional trident-shaped harpoon used for fishing. The Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post on the site of Akulivik in 1922 and Inuit gradually began to settle close to it. The post was closed in 1952 and sedentary groups were forced to move to Puvirnituq (neighbouring post). The displaced people never forgot the land and in 1973 one family moved back to the area. The following year, many other families followed and built the village of Akulivik. The community was incorporated as a Northern Village in 1976 and today,  there are approximately 411 people living here (Makivik Corporation, 2005).

International Polar Year Project - Floe Edge Service