I was under the impression they ceased to live in this area but after re reading the article it says many communities waned but continued to exist. I would agree that the Thule and Inuit are one in the same. As I understand at one time Pt Hope was one of the largest villages in the Arctic with close to a thousand homes and a center point for trade and commerce. Unfortunately much of the old village has eroded into the sea. 
I wonder how far inland they penetrated and the extent of the contact the Thule had with other native cultures.