The Iqaluktuuq Project is a study of the cultural history of the Iqaluktuuq area near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. In July of 2003, the Kitikmeot Heritage Society (KHS), a group that includes many Elders from Cambridge Bay, began a collaborative oral history/archaeological research project with the University of Toronto. This project has been carried out annually since that time. The Iqaluktuuq Project combines the best of community-based research and a careful academic research approach to this important group of archaeological sites.
We would like to continue with the cooperative field research, which will include two parts: First, Elders will ly out to the sites with other members of the KHS, and with the archaeologists. KHS interviewers will record the oral history and traditional knowledge of the area, elaborating on information obtained last summer and asking new questions. They will also provide direction and guidance to the archaeologists and the work that they are doing. The project will record the great volume of important, undocumented traditional knowledge extant among the Elders of Cambridge Bay. Secondly, the archaeologists will:
All of the archaeological work will be performed under a Nunavut Archaeology Permit. The community of Cambridge Bay will be involved at every level and at every stage of this process.