IGLULIGAARJUK/CHESTERFIELD INLET - There's no time like the present to preserve the past, the hamlet of Chesterfield Inlet has decided.

The hamlet of Chesterfield Inlet is conducting interviews with elders to hear stories passed down regarding cultural heritage sites – such as these RCMP barracks, which date back to the turn of the 20th century – with an eye towards possible developing a historical walking or boating tour in the years to come. - photo courtesy of David Kattegatsiak

In a race against time, the tiny community of approximately 366 residents has begun a project collecting data on heritage sites in and outside the town.

While the hamlet's website is already rife with historical information about the community's roots, it's hoped that the recollections of surviving elders will help unearth new sites of cultural relevance and, possibly, equip the hamlet to provide historical walking or boating tours in the years to come, said David Kattegatsiak, Chesterfield Inlet's community economic development officer.

"It's mainly to preserve Inuit history and traditional knowledge with respect to local elders that are still around," said Kattegatsiak. "I guess the concern is based on (the fact that) while all the locals are still around, we wanted to initiate the project."

Expected to take between three and four years to complete, the hamlet's plan first calls for it to interview as many elders as possible to gather information about previously-known and yet-to-be-discovered sites of historical significance – the relics of long-abandoned kayak stands, the remains of decade-old fox traps.

Iqaluit-based Aarluk Consulting, which has aided Gjoa Haven and Kugaaruk with similar past projects, has been hired to assist the hamlet.

"David and I have done one set of interviews already with local elders," said Chris Grosset, a staffer at Aarluk. "Basically we bring big maps of the area. In this case, we're looking at sites that are close to the community within the municipal boundary that are known archeological sites or graveyard sites that we're asking questions about just to find out if the community still has their traditional knowledge of those sites.

"In some cases, they do. In some cases, there are sites that are much older or that are a different culture than the elders are aware of."

The hamlet already has a walking map of the community on its website, but the landmarks listed say more about the past European presence in the community than it does of its aboriginal ancestors.

A new map "will be updating additional information" on Chesterfield Inlet's Inuit population, said Kattegatsiak.

"The very next step is to prepare a draft map of what we found and show it to the community for them to proof," said Grosset.

This spring, Kattegatsiak and Grosset will travel to Rankin Inlet to interview elders with past ties to Chesterfield Inlet.

Once enough information is amassed, discussions will begin on whether it's feasible to offer walking or boating tours of the community.

"The territorial legislation around archeological sites applies, so prior to any future plans in terms of visiting those sites or developing them in any way for economic development purposes, we'll have to engage in discussion with the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth to find out what the rules and regulations would be," said Grosset.

"That's the longer-term part; at this point we want to make sure we document the traditional knowledge of the elders while we can."

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