Paulatuk is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located adjacent to Darnley Bay, in the Amundsen Gulf. The town was named for the coal that was found in the area in the 1920s, and the Siglitun spelling is Paulatuuq, "place of coal". The area has been inhabited by humans, including the Thule and Copper Inuit, since roughly 1000 CE. Most recently, it is part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Paulatuk was incorporated as a hamlet in 1987 and celebrated the 50th anniversary of its settlement in 2015. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Paulatuk had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 census 235 people were listed as Indigenous and all were Inuit (Inuvialuit). The two principal languages spoken in Paulatuk are Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English. Community European settlement began when the Roman Catholic Church opened a trading post. In the 1950s a Distant Early Warning Line site was built about to the northwest at Cape Parry, on the Parry Peninsula, providing a wage-based income for the community. The trading post was taken over by the local co-op and today the local store is part of The North West Company. Hunting, fishing and trapping are major economic activities, but in recent years art printmaking has played an increasing role in the local economy. The Smoking Hills which are about west on the shores of the Arctic Ocean are a scientifically interesting object, since they are diminishing the pH value of the water areas. So the buffer effect has completely disappeared. Located to the east of the community is Tuktut Nogait National Park and Parks Canada has an office in the community. Notable residents Artists Paulatuk's Inuit artists are known across Canada and around the world for dance, music, sculptures, prints, and drawings. Floyd Kuptana Floyd Kuptana was born in 1964. He studied under David Ruben Piqtoukun and began solo work in 1992. He is a carver, sculptor, and painter. Robert Kuptana Robert Kuptana was born in 1962. A carver since his youth, he studied under his brother Floyd and began professional work in 1998. The Paulatuk Moonlight Dancers The Paulatuk Moonlight Dancers are a group of traditional Inuvialuit