People have been living in the Yukon region for almost 30 000 years and their history can be separated into several epochs: Pre-Dorset, Dorset, Thule, Historic and Contemporary.

Pre-Dorset

This epoch emerged from the migrations of people from Siberia who crossed the Bering Strait around 2000 BC and lasted for approximately 1000 years. While few art objects exist from Dorset culture, carefully made objects such as harpoon points and lances made of stone suggest something of their culture. The deliberate craftsmanship of these objects suggest that Dorset culture’s ideas of hunting magic emerged from Dorset culture.

Dorset Culture

Around 700 and 500 BC, what is now called Dorset Culture (c. 600 B.C.-1,000 A.D.) began to emerge. People within Dorset culture were the first to produce significant number of figurative art objects; they used bone, ivory, and wood and created small objects such as birds, bears and other animals, human figures, face clusters, masks and maskettes. Experts believe that these objects were magico-religious and either worn as amulets or used in religious rituals. Most of the objects from the Dorset culture are small enough to fit in the palm of the hand; these small objects could easily be carried by the nomadic culture.

The most famous Dorset object is the Tyara maskette which has been dated to before 600 BC although there is some controversy about its precise date.

Thule Culture

The Thule Culture begins around 1000 AD when people migrated from what is Northern Alaska to the Canadian Arctic and on to eastern Greenland which was reached by 1200. Thule culture either drove out or eliminated Dorset culture and today’s Inuit are the ancestors of the Thule.

Around this time, the Norse were sailing eastward from Greenland. The Norse traveled as far as the coast of Baffin Island and Labrador and established a settlement at what we now call L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Norse sagas describe meeting people they called the Skraeling; we now believe the Skraeling were the Thule.

The Thule were whale hunters and built homes of stone and whalebone; remains of these dwellings still stand in the region. The art that remains from the Thule includes everday objects such as harpoons or goggles which had elegant incised patterns. Of all the Arctic cultures, the Thule are the most uniform. The most recurrent forms of Thule art are combs, needle cases, harpoon toggles and "swimming figurines" of bird, animal or human forms. Generally, Thule art was decorated utilitarian objects which appear not to have had religious significance. Thule art also has a distinctively feminine element in both the form and content.

The Historical Period

This period is marked by several occurences: the demise of Thule culture, a climatic change wherein weather was increasingly cold, the disappearance of the whales and the arrival of the white man in the 16th century. Around 1800, the various carvings, dolls, and toys were being traded with the whalers, sailors and explorers who were making increasingly frequent visits in the area. Trade art often was more detailed and exquisite than non-trade art of the time. By the early twentieth century, trade art had lost the magico-religious element and some areas even produced European objects such as Roman Catholic figurines, cigarette boxes, and cribbage boards. Increasingly, Inuit art forms were suited toward Europeans.

In 1896, gold was discovered in the region and by 1898, the gold rush had begun. More than 100 000 prospectors would flood the Yukon region.

The Contemporary Period

The contemporary period of Inuit art emerged after WWII with a gradual "opening up" of the North. This period marks an unprecedented amount of contact between North and South Canada and many Inuit communities were leaving behind the nomadic life and becoming more "modern." The Canadian federal government believed that interest in Inuit art, especially sculpture, could offer them some potential economic benefits and encouraged its development and promotion. James A. Houston, from Toronto, was particularly active and
influential in promoting Inuit Art.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Inuit-owned cooperatives were emerging in many Arctic communities and were supported through marketing initiatives in Southern Canada. Not only were the sculptures contributing to Arctic villages’ incomes, they were also creating an international interest and helped to establish Inuit sculpture as a major form of art.

In 1957-1958, Houston introduced printmaking into Cape Dorset sparking another significant genre of Inuit art making.