AbstractInuit of the Mackenzie Delta region, Northwest Territories, relied on a wide range of subsistence resources, however they are best known as the consummate hunters of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). This species represented a focal resource for the two regional groups centred on the East Channel of the Mackenzie River, but was available much less frequently and reliably to adjacent groups, who relied to a greater degree on alternative resources such as caribou, fish, seals, and bowhead whales. In this paper, we compare archaeofaunas from sites located in the “core” beluga whaling zone of the Mackenzie River East Channel with other sites to the east and west for which direct access to beluga whales was either reduced or non‐existent. Bone frequencies are compared both in terms of proportional species representation in site archaeofaunas, and in terms of differential element representation. These comparisons are then interpreted within a framework emphasizing regional economic patterns, as well as local variability in patterns of beluga acquisition, storage, transport, and disposal. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.