Partnering Organizations
HMS Investigator, McClure’s Cache and Paleoeskimo Site Surveys
Parks Canada Agency
The McClure’s Cache site is located within the boundaries of Aulavik National Park, while the wreck of HMS Investigator is located off-shore in the waters of Mercy Bay, just outside park boundaries. In 2010, Parks Canada led both terrestrial and marine surveys to search for the wreck, document the land sites and evaluate the potential for future archaeological excavations of their findings. In 2011, the same team of Parks Canada staff members will return to Aulavik National Park to further document the land sites and dive the wreck of HMS Investigator.
Inuvialuit Community Members
The HMS Investigator story holds special significance in Inuvialuit history, specifically to the communities of Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour, whose ancestors travelled to the land and wreck site during the second half of the 19th Century. In keeping with their cultural traditions, the Inuvialuit residents have been guaranteed the right of continued subsistence trapping, hunting and fishing within the national park boundaries. The survey team includes four Inuvialuit members, whom will play a pivotal role in the project’s planning and completion, as they did for the 2010 survey season.
Polar Continental Shelf Project
Aircraft logistics support to transport the archaeological teams to Aulavik National Park and Mercy Bay is being provided by the Polar Continental Shelf Program, a division of Natural Resources Canada.
The sheer remoteness of the Canadian Arctic can make it an impenetrable and dangerous place in which to conduct research. Over the past 50 years, Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) has been making that task easier for hundreds of scientists from around the world. Each year, Polar Shelf provides ground and air support services to approximately 130 scientific groups from more than 40 Canadian and international universities or government agencies. Scientific projects using PCSP's services cover every discipline, from archaeology to space science to zoology. The support offered by PCSP includes, transportation, communications, accommodation, field equipment and related services
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee
Parks Canada has engaged the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee for their support through community consultations and presentations.
The origin of the Inuvialuit Corporate Group, composed of Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) and its subsidiary corporations, began with the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement on June 5, 1984, between the Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit - Inuit of Canada's Western Arctic. The basic goals of the IFA as expressed by the Inuvialuit and recognized by Canada are to: preserve Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within a changing northern society; Enable Inuvialuit to be equal and meaningful participants in the northern and national economy and society; and, Protect and preserve the Arctic wildlife, IRC was established with the overall responsibility of managing the affairs of the Settlement as outlined in the IFA. Its mandate is to continually improve the economic, social and cultural well-being of the Inuvialuit through implementation of the IFA and by all other available means.
Inuvialuit hunters and trappers are represented by a Hunters and Trappers Committee (HTC) in each of the six communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The HTCs are involved in a variety of business activities in the various Inuvialuit communities.
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) is the Government of the Northwest Territories’ museum and archives. The PWNHC acquires and manages objects and archival materials that represent the cultures and history of the Northwest Territories (NWT), plays a primary role in documenting and providing information about the cultures and history of the NWT, and provides professional museum, archives and cultural resource management services to partner organizations.
The PWNHC holds in trust for the public a large collection of objects that represent the peoples and cultures of the NWT, and produces exhibitions that tell stories about the land, people and history of the NWT. However, the PWNHC is "more than a museum". In addition to its exhibits, collections and conservation programs, the PWNHC houses the NWT Archives, provides technical, logistic and financial support to individuals and organizations involved in cultural activities and the arts, and authorizes archaeological studies in the NWT.
The underwater survey to be conducted in 2011 is subject to a NWT Archaeologists permit, administered by the PWNHC, the approval of which has been obtained.