Many of the textual records are from the Arctic Red River detachment and date from 1925 to 1954. This fonds consists of approximately 70 cm of textual material, 3 maps and 211 photographs, produced or accumulated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from 1910 to 1980. Explorers and scientists visiting the Arctic were also able to call for their assistance. They recorded earthquakes, the prevalence of biting insects and the number of wild animals in their area. In addition, they were expected to assist any northern research project. Any government department, which operated in the Territories, used the RCMP as its local agents. They controlled the use of liquor permits in the Territories and issued licenses for radio receiving sets. While on patrol they checked for cases of destitution or illness and made the necessary arrangements. The records of births, marriages and deaths were collected and marriage licenses issued by the police. The police also administered the income tax and fur export tax, collecting the revenues and issuing receipts. These included trapping, hunting, trading and trafficking, trading post and timber licenses.
On behalf of the Federal Government, the police issued licenses for many trading activities and collected the fees. Police work was limited for most of the time to registering firearms, arbitrating disputes about trap lines, and routine patrols of the district. The duties of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Northwest Territories extended far beyond normal police work. In 1920, the North-West Mounted Police was amalgamated with the Dominion Police Force to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The Arctic Red River Post closed in 1969. Eventually police posts were established at Fort McPherson in 1903, Arctic Red River in 1926, and Aklavik in 1927. In 1897, the North-West Mounted Police made its first patrol "north of sixty." From Dawson City, the patrols extended northwards to the Mackenzie Delta. It was the discovery of gold in the Yukon that led to the movement north of Edmonton. Their work was confined to the Prairies for the first quarter century because that was where most of the white population was to be found. The North-West Mounted Police (the precursor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) formed in 1873 to control Canada's newly acquired western lands.
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