Overview of the 1993 Field Season
by
Jean-Luc Pilon
NOGAP Archaeologist
Canadian Museum of Civilization

Overview of the 1993 Field Activities

On July 3rd I left the Ottawa area to begin six weeks of NOGAP fieldwork in the N.W.T. This work was to entail some archaeological excavations, but also a significant amount of video documentation as part of a documentary planned for completion next fall.

Upon arrival in Inuvik, I met with Mr.Willie Simon Modeste who would be accompanying me throughout my field season and the next day I was at the Inuvik airport to greet Mr.Michael Fylystan, a cameraman who was contracted to spend a week with us in the Tsiigehtchic area. We immediately left for Tsiigehtchic where Mr.Luc Nolin (NOGAP research associate) had been conducting excavations at the site located on the flats below the town. During the week in Tsiigehtchic, we interviewed a number of elders both in town as well as in the field. Side trips were made to "Old Arctic Red", Tchidal Tein and Vidiitshuu (Trout Lake) in order to obtain footage in authentic surroundings. Additionally, footage of a variety of town scenes were shot in Tsiigehtchic. Lastly, we also interviewed Ms.Grace Blake, a former and newly re-elected chief of the Arctic Red River Band, and Alestine Andre and Ingrid Kritsch, anthropologists conducting traditional knowledge studies of the Gwychia Gwich`in.

Following my return to Inuvik on July 10, we prepared ourselves for three weeks of excavations at Lure Lake. The crew then consisted of Mr.Willie Simon Modeste, Mr.David Link (a crew member I was obliged to kidnap from Mr.Nolin`s crew) and myself. We excavated at two sites on Lure Lake, MlTk-20 and MlTk-19. The first was a late prehistoric camp located near the narrows in the northern portion of the lake, while the second site likely dates to the early historic period and appears to be a small fish processing camp tucked away on the north side of a large embayment in one of the broadest parts of Lure Lake.

In many ways these sites produced the "usual" array of artifacts. Although this information will add to the corpus of information relating to the last five centuries of occupation of the region, no great "earth-shaking" discoveries were made.

During this three week period, I spent a considerable amount of time video taping our activities as per the needs of a script which will document the NOGAP Archaeology Project. I also obtained what might best be described as "stock" footage of the subarctic environment.

Following our return to Inuvik on the 2nd of August, a significant amount of time was spent preparing the 2.25 tons of equipment housed at the Inuvik Research Centre for shipping to the CMC`s warehouse on Laperrière Street in Ottawa. This was also the week which saw most of the crew leave for their respective homes. On Friday August 6th, I presented a talk at a "mini-Science Forum" organized at the Inuvik Research Centre. The main audience of this gathering was a group of European and American students in Inuvik to study arctic ecology. It is with some satisfaction that natural scientists appear to consider human populations as elements of the natural world.

On Monday August 9th, I flew to Tuktoyaktuk in order to spend some time with Ms.Patricia Sutherland in the field on Richard`s Island. Again, the objective was to obtain video footage of the process of helicopter survey. The weather cooperated quite well and we spent a very profitable day revisiting Kittigazuit and the area surrounding Yaya Lake in southern Richard`s Island.

While in Inuvik, I also obtained video footage in the Campbell Lake area, was interviewed for two segments of a morning show and spent some time discussing common GIS problems and approaches with Mr.Bart Kreps of the Gwich`in Tribal Council. I left Inuvik on August 12 and arrived home in Aylmer, Québec on the next day, not having suffered terribly from flying on a Friday the 13th.

In some ways, the archaeological work per se was somewhat disappointing, given that this was the final season of work as part of NOGAP. On the other hand, had I made some remarkable discoveries which begged a return visit, I would have been sorely disappointed at not being able to do just that. The sites yielded what we knew they would and no more; they fulfilled our real expectations. Such is probably a more appropriate note to end on.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank David Link and Willlie Simon Modeste for having ably assisted me at Lure Lake. They maintained a remarkable degree of enthousiasm during the excavations; a testimony to their good spirits! I am grateful to Hyacinthe Andre as well as Alestine Andre and Ingrid Kritsch for information on the region and for kindly agreeing to come out to Vidiitshuu. Luc Nolin and his crew provided us with a most hospitable reception while in Tsiigehtchic. Michael Fylystan obtained wonderful video footage which we can only hope to do justice to. The Inuvik Research Laboratory graciously provided logistic support, equipment and housing while in Inuvik. Such a fine facility and, more importantly, such helpful and friendly people as Alan Fehr and Les Kutny are an asset for researchers of inestimable value. Not only has this facility allowed us to use our funds to extend our research, but they have also allowed us to better employ our human resources as well. I would also like to thank the Polar Continental Shelf Project for use of its base in Tuktoyaktuk; Pat Sutherland for allowing me to tag along for a day and for putting up with the requirements of the video shoot; Arctic Wings and Rotors for their ever-pleasant charter service.