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ARCTIC IQ
Arviat Archaeology & Oral History Project
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Word Cloud This "Word Cloud" is a visual representation of over six years of map
work and interviews with Inuit Elders from Arviat. Words that appear more
prominently in the source text are given greater prominence in the cloud.


INTRODUCTION

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The community of Arviat, Nunavut, is located 400km north of Churchill, Manitoba,
on the west coast of Hudson Bay. It is currently home to Inuit groups
collectively referred to as the "Caribou Inuit" by outside researchers, in
deference to their primary focus on caribou subsistence during the historic
period. Inuit of this region divide themselves into a series of rather loosely
associated local or "miut" groups. Elders associated with this project have
named seven "Caribou Inuit" groups: the Paatlirmiut, Nuvurugmiut, Ahiarmiut,
Kivihiktormiut, Qainirmiut, Hauniqtuurmiut, and Harvaqtuurmiut. Among these, the
Paatlirmiut are the principal inhabitants of the Arviat area and Maguse River
drainage.


WHY DOCUMENT TRADITIONAL INUIT QAUJIMAJATUQANGIIT?

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The seeds of the Arviat Archaeology and Oral History Project were sown when
archaeologists, educators, and Paatlirmiut Elders recognized a need to document
the vast Inuit Qaujimajatuqangiit of the Arviat region, and make it available
for their children, grandchildren, and generation's forward. With this
knowledge, it is hoped that younger people may acquire the appropriate skills to
live in and negotiate the contemporary world in an Inuit way.


HOW IT ALL BEGAN...

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The project started in 2006, with a small group of dedicated Elders,
translators, and researchers from the University of Calgary. In those days,
1:250,000 map sheets were placed underneath plastic mylar sheets. Elders would
then identify important locations and write down place names on the plastic
sheets using marker pens. These sheets were then scanned and put into a
Geographic Information System (G.I.S). Over the years, this system has evolved
to include such technologies as Google Earth and Facebook, which make the
process of recording information much more rapid.

What you see here might be considered a "Wikipedia of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangiit "
for the Arviat region. It is our hope that the information it contains will
continue to grow, as Elders recurrently add new place names, activities, and
other forms of knowledge, as well as edit and revise existing entries.


WHO WE ARE

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Many people helped to make this project possible. By far, the most important
have been Donald Uluadluak, Louis Angalik, and, until his recent death, Mark
Kalluak. These three dedicated individuals work for the Nunavut Department of
Education where they help guide and structure curriculum and other educational
initiatives. Phillip Kigusiutak, and Luke Kiniksi also assisted with the
project, and are present-day residents of Arviat. All of these Elders gave
generously of their time.

Mark Kalluak was Qairngnirmiut, and spent part of his youth at an
interdenominational mission where he learned to read and write English; he is a
published author, an accomplished researcher in his own right, and a fellow of
the Order of Canada.

Donald Uluadluak, Louis Angalik, Philip Kigusiutak, and Luke Kiniksi are all
Paatlirmiut who were born on the land and have lived very traditional lives as
hunters and trappers. They each retain intimate knowledge of their traditional
social structure and organization, in addition to holding incredibly specific
knowledge about how to live, navigate, travel, trap, and subsist on the coast of
Western Hudson Bay and the adjacent Barrenlands. Having trapped, travelled, and
frequented different areas of the coast and inland of Hudson Bay, their
knowledge together extends thousands upon thousands of kilometers.

Dr. Peter Dawson is an Associate Professor of Archaeology from the University of
Calgary, and is currently Acting Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of
North America.

Dr. Natasha Lyons is a consultant who has facilitated the oral history component
of this project, with the aid and excellent interpretation skills of Joe Karetak
and Mark Kalluak.

Joe Karetak works for the Department of Education, Government of Nunavut where
he participates in the development of school curriculum for the territory


SOCIAL


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 * ©2012 Arviat Archaeology and Oral History Project