Pond Inlet (Sep 13/04) - Two important pieces of area history have found a new resting place.

The graves of fur traders Robert S. Janes and Hector Pitchforth sat quietly two kilometres to the west of the community, near Salmon Creek, for about 80 years.

Community volunteers Lorna Kilukishak and Shelly Elverum assist with the excavation. - photo courtesy of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, Government of Nunavut

According to the book Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923, by Dr. Shelagh Grant, Janes was murdered, while Pitchforth likely died of starvation.

Since their passing, the shoreline adjacent to their resting place eroded with each fall storm.

"We'd been watching this and knew something should be done, but we didn't quite know how to go about it," said Philippa Ootoowak, a member of the Pond Inlet library board, which helped initiate the project.

Over the past year, the library board began working to contact surviving family members of the two men to obtain permission to move the sites.

On Aug. 19, the department of Culture Language, Elders and Youth brought in a team of archaeologists to move the remains into new caskets at a site about 175 metres away from their previous resting place, said Douglas Stenton, director of culture and heritage with CLEY. Work on the project took about three days.

Lorna Kilukishak is a Pond Inlet resident who helped move the remains to the new site.

"It was a very good experience for me," said Kilukishak, who is interested in doing more archaeological work in the future. The community was told what was happening and the two new caskets and grave markers were locally manufactured.

"We made sure people that needed to know about our plans were made aware and were in agreement with them," Stenton said. "We're pleased to be able to communicate with the communities."

Salmon Creek is often used for fishing, Stenton said, and there was a trail near the old burial site.

Out of danger

The graves should not be affected by human activity because "they're now in an area that's away from the trails and well away from the shoreline," Stenton said.

The stories of Janes and Pitchforth interest those outside the community as well.

"A lot of tourists were coming to the town and asking where the graves were," Ootoowak said.

"I don't know if they would come particularly to see that, but they would ask about it after seeing the book in the library."