The Canadian Museum of Civilization has been running an archaeological program in the Western Arctic since 1985. This program is funded through the Northern Oil and Gas Action Plan, administered by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Our goal is to understand the history and prehistory of the area, where archaeological sites are located and what kinds of sites we expect in different areas, so that these sites can be protected.
Archaeological sites represent the cultural heritage of many people, particularly native people.
One reason why they are priceless is that they cannot be replaced after they have been ripped out to make harbor facilities or torn up by bulldozers. We must also consider natural destruction due to the rapid coastal subsidence along the Beaufort Sea. Up to 50 feet a year is lost in some areas due to coastal erosion, destroying innumerable archaeological sites. On the Yukon coast there is almost nothing left older than about a hundred years. For example, Tent Island, on the western edge of the Delta, supported a large Inuvialuit village in 1826.