HAY RIVER - Communities in the NWT are looking for ways to better preserve the territory's past.

Representatives from community museums - along with several people hoping to establish museums - gathered in Hay River from Oct. 15 to 17 for the first territorial meeting of museums.

Peter Osted, co-chair of the Hay River Museum Society, and Boris Atamanenko, community programs manager with the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, listen to comments at a conference on NWT community museums held Oct. 15 to 17 in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"It brought a pretty diverse group together, actually," said Vicky Latour, co-chair of the Hay River Museum Society.

Along with the host community, there were representatives from the Hay River Reserve, Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Aklavik and Ulukhaktok.

For Robert Buckle, an artist from Aklavik, the conference was an opportunity to learn more about creating a small museum.

"We're thinking about starting a historical society," he said. "So we need to know the methodology and the steps to take to do that."

An old building has already been identified in Aklavik for a museum and it currently holds artifacts.

It's very important for communities to have their own museums, he said.

"It's often a reflection of our way to preserve culture and heritage, and we have more than one culture in Aklavik," he said, adding the community is an amalgamation of Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Metis and non-aboriginals.

Buckle said a museum would also help attract visitors.

Ulukhaktok beginning to think about creating a community museum, said Emily Kudlak, a language officer with the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre.

"It's important for people to have their traditional tools and artifacts in proper storage for preserving the language, the culture, the heritage and the history for people to see and for kids to learn

about," said Kudlak, who attended the Hay River conference.

She said Ulukhaktok had a small museum in the past, but the building was torn down and the artifacts, such as clothing and traditional tools, were moved.

Some are showcased at a school, while Kudlak is trying to locate the other artifacts.

She hopes the information she gathered at the Hay River conference will help spark interest in Ulukhaktok about creating a museum.

In all, about 10 people attended from various communities, and were joined by representatives of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

Latour said the issues included how to obtain funding and how to properly store and conserve artifacts.

Another issue was how to attract public support and participation in museums, she said. "Some have a good deal of interest from their communities."

The group decided against creating a formal association, Latour said. "We've decided to hold off within the next 12-month period."

The conference grew out of a meeting in Yellowknife in April with the Canadian Museums Association.

"The folks that got together felt we needed more opportunities to talk shop. Hay River spoke up and said, 'Hey, we'd like to invite everybody for a conference,'" said Boris Atamanenko, manager of community programs at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

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