Public archaeology for the 21st century: Collaboration with an Arctic community

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: knowledge transfer, traditional knowledge, archaeology, oral history

Principal Investigator: Lyons, Natasha L. (4)
Licence Number: 13955
Organization: Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary
Licensed Year(s): 2006 2005
Issued: Mar 30, 2006

Project Description: Archaeologists are increasingly aware that engaging aboriginal peoples in research is essential. Public archaeology emphasizes community outreach and involvement, and this study aims to develop a program of public archaeology in collaboration with the Inuvialuit communities of Aklavik and Inuvik. The communities recognize that elders' knowledge is being lost at an unprecedented rate and this has spurred their interest in documenting oral histories. The aim of this year’s work is to verify information collected last year through interviews with twenty-five elders from Aklavik and Inuvik on traditional artefacts and life. The significance of this research lies in the process of capacity building towards archaeological heritage needs in the Inuvialuit communities of Aklavik and Inuvik. The study will also serve as a pilot project in public archaeology that will provide a set of best practices for archaeologists working with ... Show moreaboriginal communities across the North. Verification sessions will be taped and possibly video-recorded. The twenty-five Inuvialuit elders as well as other knowledgeable participants interviewed in 2005 will be involved in verifying the information gathered through this research. During the sessions, portions of interviews will be played and each participant will be asked to check the accuracy of the information they had given last year. Additional questions that have arisen from the analysis of interview data will also be posed to the elders. The results of this study will be communicated to individuals and communities through a number of channels. By the end of the study, all of the interviews will have been compiled onto CDs and into transcripts, copies of which will be distributed to the Aklavik Community Corporation, Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre and Parks Canada, Inuvik. Each interview participant will receive copies of their interview transcripts as well as copies of photographs taken of them. Plain language reports of the research will also be circulated to the study communities. Verification meetings will be held within the municipal bounds of Aklavik and Inuvik from April 3 to May 6, 2006. Show less