Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: Iqaluktuuttiaq Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settlement on Victoria Island. Cambridge Bay is named for Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, while the traditional Inuinnaqtun name for the area is Ikaluktutiak (old orthography) or Iqaluktuuttiaq (new orthography) meaning "good fishing place". The traditional language of the area is Inuinnaqtun and is written using the Latin alphabet rather than the syllabics of the Inuktitut writing system. Like Kugluktuk, Bathurst Inlet and Umingmaktok, syllabics are rarely seen and used mainly by the Government of Nunavut. Cambridge Bay is the largest stop for passenger and research vessels traversing the Arctic Ocean's Northwest Passage, a disputed area which the Government of Canada claims are Canadian Internal Waters, while other nations state they are either territorial waters or international waters. History The first known people to occupy the area were the Pre-Dorset people, somewhere around 1800 BCE, about 4,000 years ago, and were seal and caribou hunters. The next group to enter the area were a Paleo-Eskimo peoples known as the Dorset, who arrived approximately 500 CE. They were the first known people to have fished for the Arctic char. The last of the Paleo-Eskimo people, who appeared here about 800 CE, were the Tuniit, and evidence of their living quarters can be seen close to Cambridge Bay. The Tuniit, who were known to the Inuit as giants, were taller and stronger than the Inuit, but were easily scared off. The next group to arrive were the Thule people, ancestors of the modern Inuit, who arrived in the area around 1250 CE from present day Alaska. The Thule people built food caches and stone houses in the area and were noted for their sophisticated tools. Although there is no positive evidence it is suspected that the Thule may have interacted with the Tuniit. About 500 years ago, around 1500 CE, the modern Inuit made an appearance. Like the Thule they made use of caches, hunted caribou and fished for char. They also hunted seal from the ice in winter and returned to the land in spring. They were also known to make use of inukhuk and built igluit. Although they had no collective name, the various groups of Inuit that made use of native copper for tools have since become known as