A Guide to Nunavut Archaeology and Artifacts for Northern Heritage Workers Acknowledgments Writing by: Brendan Griebel Design by: Brendan Griebel Project management by: Torsten Diesel, Inuit Heritage Trust The Inuit Heritage Trust would like to extend its thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to the Nunavut Archaeology and Artifacts booklet series: • Curriculum and School Services, Nunavut Department of Education • Government of Nunavut Department of Culture and Heritage • Tourism and Cultural Industries, Nunavut Department of Economic Development and Transportation. • Nunavut Tourism • Parks Canada, Nunavut Field Unit • Krista Zawadski • Luke Suluk • Kevin Kelly • Nick Amautinuar • Joanasie Qappiq • David Aglukkaq • William Beveridge • Ralph Kownak • Sharon Thomson • Ken Beardsale • Sue Ball • Sylvie LeBlanc • Max Friesen © 2014 Inuit Heritage Trust A Guide to Nunavut Archaeology and Artifacts for Northern Heritage Workers Explaining this Guidebook 2-5 Inuit in the Canadian Arctic: An Overview 6-9 Archaeology: Uncovering the Past 10-13 Archaeological Artifacts and Nunavummiut 14-18 Archaeological Sites and Nunavummiut 19-23 Heritage Centres in Nunavut 24-27 Artifacts and Heritage Centres 28-33 Sample Heritage Centre Loan Agreement Form 34 Sample Heritage Centre Deed of Gift Form 35 Creating the Right Environment 36-39 Caring for Collections: Archaeological Artifacts 40-53 Archives and Archive Materials 54-60 Sample Archive Deed of Gift Form 61 Sample Archive Loan Agreement Form 62 Creating Exhibits from Artifact 63-71 Notes and Comments 72-73 References and Resources 74-75 Explaining this Guidebook Why was this booklet artifacts should be respected written? and preserved. In Nunavut, guidelines and Nunavut is a territory deep with regulations have been put in tradition and history. For the place to help keep artifacts last five thousand years, the safe and accessible to future Canadian Arctic has been home generations. Many of these to different cultural groups regulations were created by who have not just survived Inuit during the process of from the land, but developed Nunavut’s land claim settlement rich lifestyles to celebrate their and its formation of a new worlds through art, religion and Canadian territory. They have storytelling. Traces of these past specifically been written for lives can still be seen in the form Nunavummiut so that they of old tools and sites scattered can help preserve Nunavut’s across the landscape. These old history. These regulations make materials, often called ‘artifacts,’ sure that artifacts from the past can also be found in homes and are respectfully documented museums, where Nunavummiut and studied by the field of use them to help remember and archaeology. They also apply learn about the past. to a special line of work called heritage management, which Artifacts have a special ability to exists to make sure that artifacts communicate stories about the and the stories they tell are lives of people who once made protected and made accessible them. As tools previously used to the public. by Inuit ancestors, and tools used by modern populations to learn about these ancestors, 2 Explaining this Guidebook This booklet was designed • Someone who works in a to outline best practices for museum, cultural centre or managing material artifacts heritage centre; in Nunavut heritage centres. • Someone who works in It will help Nunavut heritage a tourist centre, or gives workers become aware of their guided tours to visitors; own roles and responsibilities • Someone who takes part in in caring for Nunavut’s artifacts archaeology projects; and history. Heritage workers • Someone who works in an throughout the territory have archive; a special obligation to protect • Someone who organizes and preserve historical artifacts cultural or historical on behalf of their communities programs for their and culture. As people who community. work with artifacts on a daily basis, heritage workers also The information in these have a responsibility to educate booklets is designed to provide the public about the history of heritage workers with a broad artifacts and their own role in overview of best practices for caring for these materials. working with archaeological and ethnographic artifacts. It is hoped heritage workers will Who is this booklet apply this information in their written for? workplaces and use it to educate others. This booklet was written specifically for heritage workers in Nunavut. A heritage worker can include: 3 Explaning this Guidebook What will this booklet This booklet will address the talk about? following topics and questions: This booklet will attempt to 1. Archaeological artifacts provide answers for some of and sites the more commonly asked questions about archaeological • What are archaeological artifacts and heritage centres artifacts and sites? in Nunavut. Heritage • What is the history of Inuit management is a job that people in Nunavut? often requires professional • How does archaeology equipment and highly trained uncover old artifacts? staff, and these resources • Are Nunavummiut allowed are not always available to to pick up and own old Nunavut heritage centres. This artifacts? booklet will attempt to explain how Nunavut’s guidelines for 2. Nunavut heritage centres heritage centres and artifacts can be followed in a way that • What are heritage centres, is realistic, given the training and what role do they play and resources available to most in Nunavut? heritage workers in Nunavut. • What heritage programs exist in Nunavut? • What equipment and supplies should heritage centres have? 4 Explaning this Guidebook 3. Artifacts and heritage How can this booklet be centres used? • How are artifacts brought This booklet should be used into heritage centre only as a basic reference collections? guide. It often requires • Do heritage centres own both professional training artifacts? and practical experience to • How does a heritage centre’s understand how artifacts are environment affect its to be cared for. The material in artifacts? this booklet is provided only • How should artifacts be as a broad overview of rules handled and stored in a and best practice guidelines heritage centre? to help heritage workers make • How are exhibits built from informed decisions about artifacts? artifacts and heritage. There will be many questions that this 4. Archives in Nunavut booklet is not able to answer. In case you do not find the • What is an archive? information you are looking • How should the information for, other resources are listed in in archives be shared with the back of the book. A section the public? titled ‘Notes and Comments’ • What environmental has been included at the back conditions are harmful to of this booklet for you to write archival materials? in additional helpful questions, resources and information for the benefit of future readers. 5 Inuit in the Canadian Arctic: An Overview Have Inuit always lived “In the very first times in the Canadian Arctic? there was no light on earth. Everything was The origins of the Inuit people, in darkness, the lands as told through their legends, could not be seen, the belong to a time long ago when animals could not be animals, people and the Arctic seen. And still, both landscape were one. The first people and animals lived material evidence for Inuit on earth, but there was living in the Canadian Arctic no difference between has been dated by archaeologists them...They may have to around 1250 AD. These had different habits, early ancestors of the Inuit but all spoke the same are known as ‘Sivulliit,’ or ‘the tongue, lived in the same first ones.’ Archaeologists have named this group the ‘Thule,’ or kind of house, and spoke ‘Neo-Eskimo,’ people. Before and hunted in the same the arrival of the Thule, the way. That is the way they Canadian Arctic was inhabited lived here on earth in by various different cultural the very earliest times, groups who came and went times that no one can from the region starting around understand now.” 3000 B.C. While archaeologists call these early populations -From a story told to Knud ‘Paleo-Eskimo’ people, they Rasmussen in 1931 by also name and group them Naalungiaq, a Netsilingmiut according to the different ways man. in which they lived and the types of tools they used. 6 Inuit in the Canadian Arctic: An Overview When Inuit entered the • The Thule were searching for Canadian Arctic, they likely new sources of metal, which overlapped with another was one of the most valuable cultural group known to Inuit as resources at that time; the ‘Tuniit’ and to archaeologists • The Thule were escaping as the ‘Dorset’ people. Inuit from negative social stories describe them as a race conditions in Alaska, which of very strong, yet shy, people included overpopulation and who hunted with massive warfare; strength and simple tools, and • The Thule were following made their buildings with large bowhead whale migrations boulders. What happened to that moved increasingly the Tuniit when the first Inuit eastward as the climate arrived is still not fully known. became warmer. Inuit have many stories about how the two groups interacted, Regardless of their reasons for but archaeologists have never moving, Thule people soon found any material evidence found themselves in a land very of the two groups meeting or different from the driftwood living together. It is still not and whale-rich coasts of Alaska. known why the Thule people migrated into the Canadian Arctic from their previous home in northern Alaska. Various theories have been suggested as to why the Thule would leave a familiar place for a new and relatively unknown land. These theories include: 7 Inuit in the Canadian Arctic: An Overview How have Inuit people began adjusting their adjusted to the Arctic lifestyle. The High Arctic was abandoned, with populations environment? moving to less ice-locked locations. During winters, When the first Thule pioneers groups began to construct and arrived in the Canadian Arctic, live in snow houses on the sea they tried living in a similar way ice, which allowed them to to their Alaskan ancestors.