Project to preserve traditional knowledge sparks memories at Bathurst Inlet

A group of 10people withties to Bathurst Inlet travelled there to collect oral history stories, traditional knowledge, myths, legends, and Inuinnaqtun phrases.

The trip in late July was part of a five-year traditional knowledge preservation project spearheaded by the Kitikmeot Heritage Society and Max Friesen, an archeaologist and professor with the University of Toronto's anthropology department.

The group of participants, who rangedfrom 20to 87years old, travelled to various locations in the Bathurst Inlet area by foot, boat or helicopter to look at archaeological sites where Inuit resided before moving into communities.

"It was so beautiful to see them remembering and recalling stories as we were going to various locations," said Kitikmeot Heritage Society executive director Pamela Gross, who helped lead the trip.

"Every day we had new stories and new information that was recorded It was so incredible to see [elders] hiking over various terrain and just feeling the magic of being at that site."

Gross said when the elders visited a new location it sparked memories and allowed them to share more information about what life was like when they were younger and living in that area.

An example Gross gave was a site where people would store caribou for the winter.

Rich history in the area

Gross said the Bathurst Inlet area is "rich" in history.

"It's a place that I know was occupied for a long time," she said. "There's also old remnants of many different layers of history from Dorset, to Thule to recent Inuit sites."

The Kitikmeot Heritage Society has also brought Inuit to other sites in the Kitikmeot region to spark memories about their childhood.

Gross said it's a great way to transfer knowledge from one generation to another.

"I hope that we can do more of these projects," Gross said. "It's so important to collect our elders' stories now and preserve them, document them while we have that capability and transfer them to the younger generation for our culture to be kept alive."

Gross said that, in the Arctic, there are gaps in research and archaeology. Research collected during the project will be used to preserve traditional knowledge for future generations.

It will be up to Friesen, the professor, to decide which archaeological sites should be excavated in the coming years in order to look for tools and to learn more about where Inuit lived.