Inuvialuit is a modern political identity that brings together Sallirmiut with two other distinct Inuit groups, Ummarmiut and Kangiryurmiut.
During the land claims process for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, the Committee For Original People's Entitlement understood the importance of collective bargaining power and encouraged those from these three Inuit groups to recognize their similarities and fight for a land claim together.
In this dialect, the name Sallirmiut means "the people located farthest along the coastline", referring to their historical occupation of regions around the Mackenzie Delta.
The Sallirmiut are the original Inuit group who lived in this region prior to European contact.
When Europeans arrived, the Sallirmiut were likely living in five socioterritorial groups, each specialized in an area or resource:[2] Europeans called the Sallirmiut the Siglit or Tchiglit,[3] which was likely a misinterpretation of salliq, a term that means “Coastal People”.