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61 4 Practice and the Inuvialuit Archaeology Partnership A critical and reflexive perspective asks us to name our circumstances and motivations at the outset of research (Leone 2003, 2010; Wilson 2008:10). I have chosen to work in partnership with the Inuvialuit community to help bring aspects of their respective histories to light. I am a third-generation Canadian who claims no Aboriginal ancestry. I entered the field of Anthropology, and later Archaeology, with a clear conscience about doing cross-cultural work. Yet I have always felt a tension between the guilt engendered in being a non-Aboriginal person implicated in the Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee narrative of Aboriginal history (Brown 1970) and, alternatively, in celebrating being a part of the richness of Canadian culture and society. I have subsequently come to understand the power politics that resonate through the anthropological disciplines and mark our relationships with cultural others. In light of a constant weighing of the issues, however, I still feel that it is possible to ask critical questions, place them in context, conduct dialogue about them, try to understand their implications, and carry on with the work at hand. I have chosen a life as an independent heritage consultant with close ties to academic colleagues but latitude to pursue contracts with First Nations and Inuit communities, industry, and government. Research-oriented consulting in archaeology is still unusual in Canada, but it is certainly gaining recognition and attention (see Kelley 2008). The Inuvialuit are the traditional inhabitants of the Mackenzie Delta and adjacent coastline and islands. Today, there are approximately 5000 Inuvialuit residing in the six communities of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, in addition to those living in southern Canada and throughout the world (see figure FM.1; Inuvialuit Regional Corporation n.d.). The Inuvialuit have lived alongside the Gwich’in since their move into the delta in the midtwentieth century and are closely intermarried with this community (Lyons 62 chapter 4 2009). Although the nature and form of Inuvialuit life has changed significantly over the last century, many Inuvialuit still spend much time on the land harvesting traditional foods. Gas and equipment are exceedingly expensive in the north, but the land remains their main sustenance, in both a physical and ideological sense. Inuvialuit families welcome each new season and the resources it brings: waterfowl and musk ox in the spring and fall; beluga whale, herring, whitefish, char, and other fish in summer; and caribou in the fall and winter (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation n.d.). Contemporary Inuvialuit culture has a rather emergent character. The land claim united six communities within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region that retain distinct and separate histories (Inuvialuit Final Agreement 1984). The term Inuvialuit began to be used in the 1960s as a way to recognize the shared heritage of several local groups who historically used their own dialects —including Uummarmiut, Siglit, and Kangiryuarmiut—and occasionally feuded with one another (Alunik et al. 2003:15–16; Condon et al. 1996:xix; Dahl 1988; Stefansson 1919:24, 171). Since the signing of the claim, cultural programming has recognized the regional differences among Inuvialuit but promoted a sense of unity (Lyons 2009:71–72). Historical processes have similarly worked to differentiate local populations : many residents of Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok (Holman) are closely related to Inuinnait communities farther east, and speak Inuinnaqtun, a central Arctic dialect, in addition to Kangiyuarmiut (Lowe 1983:xv). Many residents of Aklavik and Inuvik speak Uummarmiut and are heavily influenced by Inupiat culture. Siglitun, considered by some to be the original Inuvialuit language, is largely used by speakers in Tuktoyaktuk and Paulatuk . All three dialects of the Inuvialuktun language, however, are generally threatened and little spoken by younger generations, due to the early sustained contact between Inuvialuit and Westerners, and the legacy of residential schools. Language reclamation and curriculum development is a primary focus of the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (Lyons 2009:73). I first met many of the Inuvialuit partners in the present work during my time as a Parks Canada archaeologist. These individuals, who became involved in the project through personal interest and self-selection (table 4.1), represent Inuvialuit who are educated, literate, and engaged with traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, whaling, land travel, sewing, and drum dancing. My long-term research partner, Mervin Joe, is a Parks Canada resource management specialist who has hunted and traveled throughout the Western Arctic, and whose family is from Aklavik (figure 4.1). Mervin has been involved in archaeology since...

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