Community Review of the New Inuvialuit Living History Website
Principal Investigator: Hodgetts, Lisa (1)
Licence Number: 17573
Organization: Western University
Licensed Year(s): 2024
Issued: Jul 18, 2024
Project Team: Natasha Lyons, Ethel-Jean Gruben, Lena Kotokak, Letitia Pokiak

Objective(s): To visit Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktuyaktok to seek community feedback on the draft version of the new Inuvialuit Living History website (ready July 2024) so that any necessary changes can be made before formally launching the site. Similar community visits are planned for Paulatuk in 2025 and Ikaahuk and Ulukhaktok in 2026.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5980. The draft version of the new Inuvialuit Living History website will be ready in July of 2024. In August 2024, the team will visit Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktuyaktok to seek community feedback on the website so that they can make any necessary changes before formally launching the site. Similar community visits are planned for Paulatuk in 2025 and Ikaahuk and Ulukhaktok in 2026, wanting to make sure that Inuvialuit control the way they and their history are being represented on the site. In each community the team will host a community feast and meeting ("community gathering") with door prizes. It will give a brief presentation explaining the history of the project and how the new website was developed while showing the draft version of the new website on a screen and going through the pages of the site, asking for feedback on the content and design. The team will record audio and video of the meeting so that it will have a record that can be returned to for guidance as the website is updated, also taking photographs to document the meeting. The team will also reach out to local Community Corporations for a list of names of people in each community who are important knowledge holders and should be invited to give feedback on the website. It will invite these people to participate in individual or small group feedback sessions on the website. These sessions will involve meeting with team members and looking through the website on a laptop. Participants will be invited to offer suggestions for improvement. These sessions will be audio and video recorded for the same reasons as the community gatherings. With permission, the team may also take photographs. The team plans to provide regular updates via the project Facebook page and through IRC social media channels (facilitated by the Cultural Centre). Team members will make themselves available to local media outlets while in the north and give a presentation at the Aurora Research Centre. When it launches in 2026, the final project website will share all project results with the community. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: August 11 - August 30, 2024