The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been in the area for fifteen years before establishing a post at Baker Lake in 1930.

[citation needed] During the 1950s, caribou were scarce and starvation threatened, prompting the government to relocate the Inuit from their inland camps to Baker Lake.

By the mid-1960s, most of the nomadic Inuit from the Baker Lake, Kazan, Thelon, and Back River areas had settled in the community.

HBC divested this department in 1987 to The North West Company, which still operates a Northern Store at Baker Lake.

Judge Mahoney of the Federal Court of Canada, in Hamlet of Baker Lake v. Minister of Indian Affairs, recognized the existence of Aboriginal Title in Nunavut.

"[12]: 653 Videos of elders sharing oral histories have been collected by Inuit students as part of the Nunavut Teacher Education Program.

[14] In contrast to Fairbanks, Alaska on a similar parallel, May is a subfreezing month and June is chilly considering the long hours of daylight.

[29] Much of the local infrastructure and logistics-related employment is based around aiding mineral exploration and mining efforts in the wider area.

There is also potential for a uranium mine, called the Kiggavik Project, approximately 80 km to the west, which is being proposed by Orano Canada.

The community has been home to internationally exhibited artists such as Matthew Agigaaq, Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq, Luke Anguhadluq, Barnabus Arnasungaaq, David Ikutaq, Toona Iquliq, Janet Nungnik, Jessie Oonark, Ruth Qaulluaryuk, Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq, Simon Tookoome, Marion Tuu'luq, and Marie Kuunnuaq.

[35][36] The settlement is served by Baker Lake Airport, linking it to the nearby coastal town of Rankin Inlet, about 35 minutes away by air.