Because of repeated flooding in this area, the government developed Inuvik 63 km (39 mi) to the east.

[3] Aklavik began to develop in the early 1900s after the Hudson's Bay Company opened a trading post in 1912.

Aklavik became part of the Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System (NWT&Y) in October 1925.

A complaint was made to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) post in Aklavik and the two members attempted, unsuccessfully, to talk with him concerning trapline tampering.

A few days later, after gaining a search warrant, they tried again to talk with him, but Johnson fatally shot one of the RCMP and fled.

These events are considered to have been the catalyst for introducing the airplane and communications radio as tools to help track a person.

Museums dedicated to Albert Johnson can be found in Aklavik and in Fort Smith.

In 1949, the Royal Canadian Navy established a signals intelligence station in Aklavik.

Due to the flooding, the Federal Government built a new community at what is now Inuvik, and intended to close Aklavik.

[9] The community has a three-person RCMP detachment, a health centre with four nurses, a Canada Post outlet, the Aklavik Lodge and the Aklavik Inn (Bessie's Boarding House) for visitor accommodation, and two taxi companies.

[7] The community is served only by air, via the Aklavik/Freddie Carmichael Airport, and by winter ice road directly from Inuvik across the streams of the Mackenzie Delta.

When the river is open, usually June to September,[10] the Aklavik Water Aerodrome is available for float planes.

They are descendants of the Nunamiut, Inupiat people who migrated from Alaska in the early 20th century.

Aklavik has a subarctic climate (Dfc), typical of Canada's Arctic, with mild summers and cold winters lasting most of the year with highs regularly below zero.