Gendered Inuinnait (Copper Inuit) landscapes of Banks Island’s northern interior, Arctic Canada, 17th–20th centuries a.d.

Abstract

Archaeological survey data from the northern interior of Banks Island in Canada’s western Arctic builds upon traditional interpretations of past land use to explore the ways in which this landscape was perceived by different groups. The data confirm earlier archaeological, ethnographic, and oral history work which suggest that the area was occupied primarily in the summer months at two separate times in the past: the Palaeoeskimo period and the Inuinnait (Copper Inuit) period. The earlier occupation was less intensive than the latter and both were focused on muskox hunting. Drawing on ethnographic studies of the Inuit in both the early and late 20th centuries, and on the distribution of archaeological camp sites versus hunting sites, a reconstruction is made of the different ways in which men and women experienced and understood the survey area during Inuinnait times. It suggests that the main drainages formed important travel routes, and that while women’s knowledge of the region was concentrated along these corridors and in favorite camping places, men’s knowledge extended into hunting areas beyond their peripheries.

Keywords:

• Arctic
• pedestrian survey
• landscape archaeology
• land use
• gendered landscapes

I am very grateful to the 2008 and 2009 field crews: Henry Cary, Lindsay Cary, Ed Eastaugh, John Lucas, Pierre Marchand, John Moody, and Tom Porawski. Many people in the Parks Canada Western Arctic Field Unit helped make this project happen: Jean-Francois Bisaillon, Christian Bucher, Melinda Gillis, Denis Hache, David Haogak, Ed McLean, Seth Oldham, Ifan Thomas, and especially Lindsay Cary. Thanks also to Margaret Bertulli, Jennifer Hamilton, and Paul Downie in the Parks Canada Winnipeg Service Centre. At the University of Western Ontario, Edward Eastaugh provided invaluable assistance in compiling the project archive, producing the maps, and commenting on several drafts of this paper. Previous archaeological work on Banks Island appears largely in unpublished reports on file at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Parks Canada and Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. I owe a great debt to the authors of those many reports: Chuck Arnold, William Barr, Clifford Hickey, Peter Schledermann, Christopher Shank, Steven Toews, and Deborah Webster. I am also grateful to Murielle Nagy for providing me with a copy of her Aulavik Oral History Project Report (cited throughout this paper as personal communication, 1999) and for her valuable comments on an early draft of this paper. Helpful comments were also provided by Bob McGhee and two anonymous reviewers. Naturally, I take full responsibility for any shortcomings that remain. This work would not have been possible without the support of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Sachs Harbour Community Corporation and the Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee. Financial and logistical support were provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Parks Canada, the Polar Continental Shelf Program and the Northern Scientific Training Program. Support during the writing of this manuscript was provided by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, both at Cambridge University, and by a Visiting Fellowship from the British Academy.

Lisa M. Hodgetts (Ph.D. 2000, Durham University) is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on the cultural dynamics of northern hunter-gatherers, particularly as seen through zooarchaeology and human interactions with the broader landscape. She has worked in England, northern Norway, and Arctic and Subarctic Canada.