Selawik is located at the mouth of the Selawik River, near the
Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in the
Northwest Arctic Borough. Selawik is an Eskimo name for a species of fish. The village has continued to grow, and has now expanded across the Selawik River onto three banks which are linked by bridges.
Inhabitants of Selawik subsist mainly on whitefish, sheefish, caribou, ptarmigan, moose, and berries.