Warm Season Dwellings

During summer and fall the traditional Inuvialuit dwellings were tents. Several types of tents were used:

Qalurvik

The rounded tents that can be seen in the background in this photograph, dated circa 1900, is a qalurvik, a simple tent made by bending and tying saplings together and covering them with skins (C.W. Mathers/PA13582).

Tupiq

The tupiq was made by arranging five or six long driftwood poles in a conical shape and covering them with caribou skins (A.L. Fleming/NWT Archives/N79-050-0871).

Saigu

A saigu is a multi-family tent used by Inuvialuit once large canvas wall tents became available through trade with Europeans. At the centre is a large canvas-covered conical tent or tupiq that was used as a common area, with a hearth, seating areas and drying racks for fish and other items. Canvas wall tents were attached to the tupiq to serve as separate sleeping areas. This drawing of a saigu based on recollections of Inuvialuit elders Emmanuel Felix and Mary Avik (T. Pamplin/Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre).

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