Etah was once the most-northerly populated settlement in the world, while Annoatok, located approximately to the north, was only a seasonally-occupied hunting camp. The village was abandoned with the Inuit moving south to Pituffik due to the harsh climate. In 1984, a group of Greenlanders from Qaanaaq moved to Etah in an attempt to repopulate the village. The attempt failed, with the hunters unable to support themselves and their families with income from animal hides, as well as unable to sever connections with the settled life and the amenities of Qaanaaq.