The band is located in Aklavik, a mixed community of First Nations, Inuit, and non-Indigenous people.
It is conventionally believed that they have been living in the area for around 20,000 years[3] The Aklavik First Nation, along with all people of Gwich'in culture, traditionally spoke Dinjii Zhu’ Ginjik.
[5] The Aklavik Settlement is a Gwich'in reservation located east of the town, but lacks year-round road access.
[8] The Great Plains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the breeding ground for the Porcupine caribou herd, is known to the Gwich'in people as Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, or "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins".
[4] However, local retail, transportation, arts and crafts, tourism and mineral and gas extraction all contribute significantly to the economy.
[2][9] Traditionally in Aklavik First Nation Society, men would be responsible for fishing, hunting and participating in battles.
[10] Women were responsible for gathering plants, crafting goods and moving camps when the land had been exhausted.
The people of the Aklavik First Nation commonly interacted with their more northern Inuit historical neighbors.
Massive celebrations would occur on a seasonal basis with feasts, wrestling games, singing and dancing.