“The Government of Nunavut shall seek agreements, contracts and treaties with governments, self-government authorities and land claim organizations in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Nunavik, Labrador and the Inuvialuit Settlement Area to co-operate on matters of language policy with an aim to promoting and strengthening the status of Inuktitut as a language of communication among regions of the circumpolar world.” Recommendations regarding changes to the Official anguagesL Act. Submitted to the Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly reviewing the Official anguagesL Act, January 18, 2002. Office fo the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut, Eva Aariak Iqaluktuuq Project Project Summary During the summer of 2002, The Kitikmeot Heritage Society (KHS) will begin its third year of oral history recording at Iqaluktuuq. The recording will occur in conjunction with the archaeological work of Dr. Max Friesen, University of Toronto. The KHS will work with the Elders and a co-researcher to record the oral traditions of the Elders during an approximately five day period at the Iqaluktuuq site. This information will be used to construct the history and prehistory of the Inuit who used the Iqaluktuuq site. It will also give us a very detailed glimpse into the lives of the Copper Inuit, whose culture until now, has been poorly documented. Students will be hired to work with the Elders and researchers. This will give the students the opportunity to take part in an Inuinnaqtun language immersion experience and will allow them to learn traditional skills. Students will also see how Inuit traditional knowledge can be married with modern scientific archaeology to produce richer and more accurate research results. This part of the project allows students to take part in a true Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit experience. Project Goal To research, reconstruct and preserve the history and prehistory of the Ikaluktuurmiut. Samples kNK7u sco}mEs6nJk5 ttCEs6nJk5 vtmp5 99 Iqaluktuuq Project Objectives 1. To set up a field esearr ch camp on Ferguson Lake adjacent to the mouth of the Ekalluk River. 2. To record the recollections, stories, legends and traditional knowledge of the Elders and other participants involved using digital videotape and/or audiotape and carefully written notes. 3. To record traditional place names, using topographical maps. 4. To enhance the archaeological research by combining it with the oral history and traditional knowledge of the Elders. 5. To visit archaeological features and significant sites and ot record Elders’ observations in regard to these sites. 6. To chronicle the fieldwork using a 35mm camera and digital video camera. 7. To provide Cambridge Bay youth with job experience. 8. To create a language immersion experience for all participants. Outcomes 1. Elder’s oral histories will be preserved in perpetuity. 2. Elder’s recollections and knowledge of the area will enhance and enrich the information being gathered by the archaeologists. 3. Participants’ fluency in Inuinnaqtun will be improved. 4. Youth will have increased respect and awareness for the Elders and for traditional knowledge. 5. Inuit culture will be promoted. 6. Materials developed will be used to promote and encourage the use of Inuinnaqtun. 7. Teaching materials in Inuinnaqtun will be developed for the elementary schools, the high schools and communities of the Kitikmeot Region. Nunavut Literacy Council 100 Iqaluktuuq Project Background In September of 1999 the KHS carried out an oral history project at Iqaluktuuq, an area around the Ekalluk River approximately 30 miles west northwest of Cambridge Bay. Based on information gathered through the interviews, the Elders invited Dr. Friesen of the University of Toronto up to look at the site and to see if an archaeological study would be feasible. This site was initially chosen by the Elders due to its proximity to the community, its diversity, uniqueness and the significance it has ot the people of Iqaluktuuttiaq. In October of 1991, the KHS Board of Directors met to discuss the results of the site inquiry done at Iqaluktuuq in September with Dr. Friesen. Dr. Friesen felt that the site was extremely important and that the University of Toronto would indeed be very interested in working with the KHS on the project. The Board of Directors agreed that a partnership with the University of Toronto would be beneficial ot the whole community. Research was conducted at the Iqaluktuuq site in the summer of 2000. The outcome of this was an agreement between the KHS and the University of Toronto to undertake a long-term research project at the site. In 2001, Elders returned to the site to work with students and archaeologists. Important information was gathered – information that has benefited the community as well as the archaeologists who are working at the site. The direction and information provided by the Elders has vastly enriched the research being conducted and has served to answer many questions that the archaeologists have had. Need As research at the Iqaluktuuq site continues, it becomes more and more apparent that the site is much more significant than earlier thought. The Ekalluk River is the site of a seasonal char fishery and muskox harvest, which is very important to our community. These harvests have been carried out respectfully and with little disruption to the archaeological sites. However, because of the proximity to town, the Elders are concerned about others using the site and unknowingly damaging Samples kNK7u sco}mEs6nJk5 ttCEs6nJk5 vtmp5 101 Iqaluktuuq Project features or removing artifacts. The importance of this site and the information contained therein cannot be overstated. Elder Frank Analok stated that the area is one of the oldest traditional sites that he knows of. In keeping with the goals of the Society, as well as Dr. Friesen’s perception of the importance of this regional archaeological sequence, the primary contribution to knowledge of this research program will be in the expansion and refinement of the culture history of Iqaluktuuq. Relatively speaking, there has been very little published research on the area of the Copper Inuit.1 Combined with the oral history research, the information published will provide an insight into the culture that is richer and more in depth than most research papers. Of equal importance to the presence of these archaeological sites is the fact that Inuit Elders living in Cambridge Bay retain detailed knowledge of past activities in the area. Within the lifetimes of some Elders, caribou were still hunted from skin qajaks, and winters were spent living in snow houses on the sea ice, hunting seals at their breathing holes. These direct memories provide an unparalleled opportunity to compare first-hand knowledge of past Inuit life with the archaeological traces, which they left behind. “The various sites around Ekalluk contain an archaeological record at least 4,000 years long – by far the longest in the region, and even in the earliest time periods there is good preservation of delicate materials such as animal bone, antler, and ivory. Also, the caribou drive system at Ekalluk is one of the largest and most complex in the Central Arctic, and is itself worthy of research. When all of this archaeology is combined with Elders’ traditional knowledge of the area, I think we will be able to produce a particularly detailed picture of past life ways in the Ekalluk River area.” Dr. Max Friesen, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto 1 The Iqaluktuuq Project: Community-Based Research into Long-Term Inuit Culture History – 2001 Field Season. Dr. Max Friesen. University of Toronto, 2001 Nunavut Literacy Council 102 Iqaluktuuq Project These memories are fast disappearing and it is more important than ever to ensure that they are recorded and preserved in perpetuity. The stories, memories and legends collected will make up an important part of the cultural centre. They will be used in the schools and in the community to learn about the history of the area and as a relevant tool to revitalize the Inuinnaqtun language, which is fast disappearing. Work Plan Dr. Friesen and his team have applied for a multi-year research grant and an archaeology license through the Nunavut Research Institute. The KHS has also applied for an oral history research license through the Nunavut Research Institute. Two all-terrain vehicles will be brought out to Iqaluktuuq by snowmobile and sled prior to the field season. The Elders found it very helpful to have the ATV’s on-site last year. The vehicles gave them more mobility and allowed them to visit more archaeological sites. The KHS will contract a cultural geographer to work with KHS staff. The cultural geographer will look at all relevant historical, ethnographic and archaeological literature, as well as the oral history and archaeological documents thus far produced through the Iqaluktuuq Project. Based on this review, an interview guide will be written to direct the oral traditions research at Iqaluktuuq. On-site, the geographer will conduct individual and group interviews along with the co-researcher who will be hired from the community. He will also work closely with the archaeologist to ensure that the oral traditions work is supporting and illuminating the archaeological work, and that archaeological findings are being considered in the interviewing. All geographical information will be collected on maps and included in a final eport.r After the fieldwork is completed the resultant tapes will be transcribed and translated by the co-researcher, and transcripts will be forwarded to the geographer. Based on the transcripts, field notes, and the background research, the geographer will produce a final eportr that synthesizes the information and gives recommendations for future topics of research. This final eportr will be valuable Samples kNK7u sco}mEs6nJk5 ttCEs6nJk5 vtmp5 103 Iqaluktuuq Project to the KHS and Dr. Friesen and will serve to provide us with a direction for future work at the site.