A Nineteenth-Century Mackenzie Inuit Site near Inuvik, Northwest Territories

Author(s): Charles D. Arnold

Source: Arctic , Mar., 1986, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Mar., 1986), pp. 8-14
Published by: Arctic Institute of North America

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 ARCTIC
VOL 39, NO. 1 (MARCH 1986) P. 8-14

A Nineteenth-Century Mackenzie Inuit

Site near Inuvik, Northwest Territories
CHARLES D. ARNOLD1

(Received 7 June 1984; accepted in revised form 24 April 1985)

ABSTRACT. A small collection of artifacts obtained from an aboriginal Mackenzie Inuit grave eroded by the Mackenzie River is described. The site
appears to date to within the second half of the 19th century, following European contact but before acculturative processes and population decline,
which brought about the extinction of traditional Mackenzie Inuit culture.
Key words: Inuit, archaeology, Mackenzie delta, nineteenth century, artifacts, erosion

RÉSUMÉ. L'article décrit une petite collection d'artefacts recueillis d'une tombe aborigène d 'Inuit du Mackenzie à la suite de l'érosion de cette dernière
par le fleuve Mackenzie. Le site semble dater de la deuxième moitié du 19e siècle, après le premier contact européen mais avant le début des processus
d'acculturation et du déclin de la population qui menèrent à l'extinction de la culture traditionnelle des Inuit du Mackenzie.
Mots clés: Inuit, archéologie, delta du Mackenzie, 19e siècle, artefacts, érosion
Traduit pour le journal par Maurice Guibord.

INTRODUCTION
level. These in situ materials were capped by logs rangi
upward to 40 cm in diameter. The logs in turn were overlain
Late in September 1982, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage
about 30 cm of alluvial silt in which an alder thicket had taken
Centre was notified that human bones had been seen eroding
root. Initially, it seemed that human skeletal materials protruded
from the bank of Oniak Channel, a branch of the Mackenzie
from two discrete areas about 2.5 m apart. Without excavating it
River that flows near Inuvik, N.W.T. Due to the onset of
could not be determined whether two separate graves were
winter, only a brief inspection of the site (hereinafter referred to
represented, or whether bank erosion had exposed two sections
as the Bombardier Channel site) was possible that year. The area
of a single burial. By the following summer, however, most of
was revisited early the following summer, by which time most
the feature had slumped down the face of the bank and it was
of the site had been washed out of the river bank. By the end of
then apparent that there had been only one grave containing the
the summer all traces of the site were erased. Thus, in less than
remains of several individuals (Fig. 2).
one year a small but significant archaeological site was first These circumstances made it difficult to determine the con-
exposed and then completely obliterated through the action of
figuration of the grave as it must have appeared in its original
the Mackenzie River eroding its banks. The site is significant
because of its location and historical context and also because state. Fortunately, others that have been reported in the area
provide helpful clues (cf. Osborne, 1952). It is likely that the
artifacts obtained add to the scant knowledge we have of the
bodies had been laid out on the ground within a rectangular
material culture of 19th-century Mackenzie Inuit.
It should be stressed that the Prince of Wales Northern frame of logs. Additional poles then were laid over the log
frame, covering the bodies. The silt overburden probably accu-
Heritage Centre, which is the agency of the Government of the
mulated as a result of natural depositional processes.
Northwest Territories responsible for the protection of archaeo-
logical sites, does not normally encourage or undertake the
excavation of burials. We did not excavate at this site, but Description
did of Artifacts
remove human bones for reburial. We also obtained a small
Forty-nine artifacts were recovered by the author from the
collection of artifacts, and others reportedly picked up at the
Bombardier Channel site. A few of these were found in situ in
same location by a local trapper were sent to the author for
the erosional face of the river bank, but most either were
examination. These artifacts are described in the following
section.
obtained from slump blocks that had fallen from the bank or
were picked up from the beach immediately below the grave.
Although the assemblage is small, at least 20 categories of
THE BOMBARDIER CHANNEL SITE
artifacts are represented.
Site Description Arrowheads: Seven unilaterally barbed bone and antler arrow-
heads were found, as well as the base of an eighth specimen of
undetermined
The Bombardier Channel site (designated NdTs-1 in the form.
National Inventory of Prehistoric Sites) is situated at the
Thejuncture
proximal ends of two of the arrowheads have been carved
of Oniak and Bombardier channels in the Mackenzie delta,
to form sharp tips. One of these, which has been fashioned from
approximately 70 km south of the treeline (Fig. 1). aWhen
cariboufirst
metapodial, has two barbs and a conical tang (Fig. 3a).
The other
visited, bones and cultural material were observed eroding from self-tipped specimen is made from antler, has three
barbs
the river bank at about 4 m above a typical late-season and is broken at the base.
low-water

Senior Archaeologist, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, N.W.T. , Canada XI A 2L9
©The Arctic Institute of North America

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 1 9th-CENTURY MACKENZIE INUIT SITE 9

I Legend _ ^J

mS&hr'mPf Y í'

hg. l. Location of the Bombardier Channel site (indicated by arrow).

The remaining five more-or-less complete arrowheads hadshowing that they had been fitted with iron tips. Their proximal
once been tipped with separate points. All are made from antler,ends have been further modified by cutting a wide, shallow
have 3-8 barbs, and have had thin slots cut into their proximal groove around the circumference to form a bed for lashing,
ends. The slots on several of these arrowheads contain rust,which held the metal tip in place. Each of these five arrowheads

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 10 CD. ARNOLD

fig. 2. Collapsed
have fallen down

has shallow
adjacent
fig. 3. Artifacts from the Bombardier Channel siteto
(collected by the author): a t
- self-tipped arrowhead; b,c - end-bladed arrowheads; d - lance head; e -fr
extending
wrist guard; f - harpoon socket piece; g - harpoon foreshaft; h - bone wedge.
Two others h
notches have
on the
inside of the wrist. Thisother specimen consists of a thin plate of
grooves
antler with holes on two sides. The guard andwas held in place on
which the wrist of the bow allowe
arm by a strap passed through these holes.
to be Lanceidentif
head: A lance or spear head found at the site has an iron
were blade used
inserted into the slot of an antler foreshaft (Fig. 3d). The w
inferred
foreshaft is circular on cross section and is split at its in base to
(1890:33)
mate with a shaft. The base is set off from the body wh of the
Whenforeshaft by aan
shallow but sharply cut shoulder and
Esq probably
was wrapped with
animal aslashing. it fa
The hunter
Harpoon socket piece: The broken antler socket piece shown th
floating
in Figure 3f was probably fixed topast
the fore end of a harpoon
benefit of
shaft. The base of the artifact has been cut at an angle the
to form a
As a final
scarf joint for that juncture. A socket to receive a harpoon ob
finely foreshaft has been drilled into the other end.
made
self-tipped Harpoon foreshaft: A carved piece of bone, broken at one s
differences end, fits snugly into the aforementioned socket piece and is in
were fabrica
probably a detachable harpoon foreshaft (Fig. 3g). This kind of
implements. foreshaft is associated with throwing harpoons.
Wrist guard: Figure 3e is a wrist guard, which is an imple- Bone wedge: A thin, rectangular piece of rib has a wedge-
ment used by archers to prevent the bowstring from chafing the shaped end that appears to be lightly polished, perhaps as a

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 19th-CENTURY MACKENZIE INUIT SITE 1 1

have served as a needle case, a battered bear canine with

extensive surface polish, and a miscellaneous piece of cut bone.
Labrets: Three hat-shaped labrets were recovered (Fig. 4f , g).
They vary somewhat in size and shape and appear to have been
made from various grades of soft white limestone. Up until the
early part of this century Inuit males of the western Arctic
commonly wore labrets in incisions cut through the cheek,
slightly below each corner of the mouth.
Lamp: Part of the body and rim of an oil-burning lamp carved
from siltstone was found. It would have been quite large when
complete - at least 50 cm long, and based on the proportions of
other lamps of this type perhaps was even twice that length.
Net sinkers: Two fist-sized boulder spalls with notches
chipped into two opposite edges probably were used as net
weights (Fig. 4d). In addition, two split cobbles found might
have been used for the same purpose. Cobbles otherwise are
scarce in the river-deposited silts in the vicinity of the site.
Effigy: A small, finely chipped piece of dark green chert has
been fashioned into the form of a beluga whale (Fig. 4e). The
surface just forward of the tail flukes appears to be slightly
polished, indicating that it may once have had a thong attached
at that point. This suggests that it might have been used as a
pendant.
Other stone artifacts: Two fragments of flake cores and three
small flakes were found on the beach immediately below the
burial area. One of each is chert and the others are slate. Also
found were a tabular piece of slate and a milky quartz crystal.
Neither showed evidence of having been worked, but both
appeared to be out of place on the silt beach.
Miscellaneous metal: An iron strap and two scraps of copper
are included in the assemblage. The copper pieces have a
consistent thickness of 0.5 mm and thus are likely to be of
European origin rather than native copper. The iron clearly is
non-meteoric and therefore was also derived from a European
source.

Bead: A sky-blue glass bead found at the site is rou

section and flattened at both ends. It is 8 mm wide by
fig. 4. Artifacts from
and has a hole 3 mm in diameter drilled through it.
the Bombardier Channel site (c
edging; b - sled shoe; c Wood box: A small wood
- edging; d - box
nethas been fashioned
sinker;
labrets. ing out a rectangular block of wood and fitting it
Containers of this kind commonly are referred to
result of use (Fig. boxes The
3h). (McGhee,function
1974:74). of this
determined. Boat-shaped container: A bowl or dish had been pr
Sled shoes: Two narrow carving a block(ca. of wood30-40 cm) sl
into a shape resembling a bo
rib have been drilled at either
for end, and with sides sloping
pegging to to thea flat bottom
bot
(Fig. 4b). Mask: Figure 5 is a poorly preserved wooden mask
Edging or mounting: Several bone and antler pieces have represent a human face. From the forehead the
been shaped in a manner suggesting that they might have been sharply to the orbits and then curves gently toward
used as edging in the construction of a boat, sled or some other The area where the nose should be is missing. A
large composite artifact. Figure 4a is a narrow section of whale indicated by an elliptical pattern of holes, one of w
rib with a v-shaped notch cut into one edge. It is broken at both canine tooth of a small animal inserted into it. Parts of the
ends, and one of these breaks occurred at the site of a second surface, and especially the forehead, are stained a dark reddish-
notch. Six holes have been drilled through it, and five of these brown colour, and it appears that a pigment was applied to the
still retain parts of wood dowels. The surface shown is flat and mask.
slightly polished; the opposite face is rough and has three Shaped timber: A piece of timber with a rectangular cross
transverse grooves cut into it. Three similar pieces, two of section may have been part of the runner of a komatik, a
whale rib and the other of antler, also were found. common form of Inuit sled that has cross pieces lashed directly
Shown in Figure 4c is a thin section of antler of a slightly to the top of the runners.
different configuration. It, too, has been drilled and presumably Wood stake: A willow branch sharpened at one end found on
was originally pegged to some other part of a composite artifact. the beach below may be incidental to the burial. It is better
Other bone and antler artifacts: Other hard organic artifacts preserved than the other wooden artifacts and possibly was
not shown include a short section of hollow bird bone that might carried to that location by the river.

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 12 CD. ARNOLD

is some doubt attached to association of all these materials.

However, the tight areal concentration of the finds is a strong
indication that all pertain to the same event.

fig. 6. Other artifacts from the Bombardier Channel site: a - fish hook shank;
b - drill shaft; c,d - dolls; e - labret.

The Bombardier Channel site is located in an area used both

by Dene and Inuit in the recent past. However, the assemblage
from the site is clearly Inuit in origin. This is demonstrated by
the parts of a harpoon, the whalebone sled shoes and the
fragment of an oil lamp, all of which are widespread Inuit traits.
The labrets and the ownership marks on arrowheads are charac-
teristics of the western branch of Inuit, and a few other traits
seem to be specific to the Mackenzie Inuit, who form part ofthat
branch. These include the self-pointed arrowheads, similar in a
fig. 5. general way to specimens found
Mask in sites in the delta farther
carved
around toward the
the coastmouth.
(MacNeish, 1956: PL 5a; McGhee, 1974: PL
18d) and comparing even better to arrowheads found at Fort
As McPherson and Fort Good Hope (MacNeish,
already men 195 3: PL
loaned
IV:12,13).
to
Morrison (1984:205)
the
has suggested that the Fortau
them from the Bombardier Channel site. Six arrowheads are Good Hope and Fort McPherson arrowheads were made by
Loucheux Indians, but those are locations to which Mackenzie
similar to those already described, while one other is distinctive
Inuit travelled to trade starting in the latter half of the 19th
as it has bilateral barbs. All are finely made, probably with the
use of metal-edged tools. Other artifacts include a shank for century,
a and in my opinion they are more likely to be Inuit
artifacts. The end-bladed arrowheads appear to be similar to
composite fish hook (Fig. 6a), a drill shaft (Fig. 6b), two wooden
dolls (Fig. 6c,d) and a labret (Fig. 6e). The dolls are highly specimens Petitot (1887:541) saw in use among the Inuit of the
Mackenzie delta area during the late 1800s. They also compare
stylized anthropomorphic representations lacking any evidence
of facial features, lower arms, hands or feet. closely with specimens found by Osborne (1952: Fig. 3 1 :4-6) in
historic period Mackenzie Inuit graves near the Blow River in
northern Yukon. The log tomb grave, too, is in the style of the
Interpretation of the Site
Mackenzie Inuit, as is the practice of leaving artifacts with the
The most prominent feature at the Bombardier Channel sitedead (Osborne, 1952;Stefansson, 1914:193). Fish hook shanks,
was the grave. Preliminary analysis of the human skeletal amulet boxes and chipped stone are also found in other archaeo-
materials indicates that at least four bodies had been laid out in logical sites in the Mackenzie Inuit area (cf. McGhee, 1974;
the log tomb. Partial skeletons of a child approximately 8-9 Osborne, 1952).
years of age, a female 15-18 years old, a 17-20-year-old male, Other artifacts provide new information about the Mackenzie
and another male who was in his early 30s at the time of deathInuit. Dolls are common in assemblages from Inuit archaeologi-
were recovered. The cause of their deaths was not apparent. cal sites; however, the particular style of the Bombardier
Channel specimens appears to be unique. Also previously
Bones of several animals, including moose, caribou, dog or
wolf, muskrat and fish, were found in the slumping bank and on unreported as items of Mackenzie Inuit material culture are the
the beach. Cut marks on some of the animal bones show that composite lancehead with a split base, the wrist guard -
they were butchered, evidence that a camp had been established although it is known from adjacent regions both to the west
there. Due to the erosion that ultimately destroyed the site, there (Murdoch, 1892:210) and east (Jenness, 1945: Fig. 170) - the

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 lÇth-CENTURY MACKENZIE INUIT SITE 13

chipped stone the Kopugmiut. Botheffigy

beluga had a primary dependence onand beluga the
most commonly whales, which were obtained in sufficient quantity that the
representations of bo
in other areas, winters could
and the be passed in large, permanent villages situated in
specimen from
site probably is athe outer delta. Other subsistence pursuits also were of
reflection important, the re
beluga. Masks areand for much of the spring, summer over
known and fall, apart from the
most of
area of Alaska, where
whale hunting period, theythey are
dispersed into small groups to hunt associ
ceremonies and and fish (McGhee, also
were 1974:18-24). used as grav
393-415; Murdoch, Because 1892),
of their large population, pressure
and on available
the Bom
suggests that resources in the vicinity
similar of the winter villages probably caused
practices were ca
Inuit area. some of the Kittegaryumiut and Kopugmiut to move into the
The presence of inner delta area to fish copper
iron, and hunt. Alexander Mackenzie, while
and the
the occupation attravelling
the through the delta
site by canoe in 1789, at
occurred almost every wi
which in the stop encountered the remains of temporary
Mackenzie delta camps that his Indian
begins
zie's explorations informants
in identified1789. as having been occupied
As by Inuit (cf.
discussed
date for the siteMackenzie,
can 1970:197-199). The next recorded exploration of be
probably nar
within the last the delta took
half of place inthe
1825 and 1826,19th
when Captain Johncentur
dier Channel site Franklin
may and LieutenantbeRichardson led parties
considered along separate to
in archaeological branches of the Mackenzieit
terms, River. They, too, noted deserted
relates to a p
Mackenzie Inuit about which little is known. camps long before reaching the coast, and at least some of these
appear to have been Inuit fishing camps (cf. Franklin, 1828:30,
Historical Context 31,97, 188-189).
A desire to trade probably prompted some of these upstream
The Mackenzie Inuit - or Siglit, as they referred to them-forays. Even during the prehistoric period there appears to have
selves - probably were the most numerous of the aboriginal been some exchange of goods with the Indians to the south
peoples in the Canadian Arctic at the beginning of the historic(Mackenzie, 1970:92). Opportunities for trade increased fol-
era. Population estimates for the people included in that regionallowing the establishment of the first of several fur trading posts
group range upward to 4000 (Stefansson, 1913:452), althoughto be known as Fort Good Hope in the lower Mackenzie valley
2500 may be a more realistic number (Usher, 197 la: 171).in 1804, and with Peel's River Post (later known as Fort
Paradoxically, they are among the least known of the CanadianMcPherson) even closer to the delta in 1840 (Usher, 1971b).
Inuit. This is due in part to their aggressiveness, which discour-However, those Mackenzie Inuit who maintained a pattern of
aged the first Europeans in the area from interacting closely seasonal dispersal from the outer delta to upstream localities
with them, and also to massive reductions in population thatprobably did so primarily because of the need for the fish and
occurred during the late 1 800s and early 1 900s due to introducedgame available in those areas, although quite likely they added
diseases. There are reports of outbreaks of scarlet fever occur-trading to their other subsistence pursuits when the opportunity
ring in the area in 1865, followed during the next severalarose. Krech (1979: 108) notes an occasion in 1826 when a single
decades by epidemics of influenza, smallpox and measles party consisting of several hundred Inuit males travelled by boat
(McGhee, 1974:5), and so hard hit were the Mackenzie Inuit that to the head of the delta to trade with - and perhaps raid -
by the early years of the 20th century their numbers had beenLoucheux (Kutchin) Indians who had set themselves up as
reduced to fewer than 10% of the pre-contact levels (Jenness,middlemen in the local fur trade. This probably was an excep-
1964:14). In addition, the period following 1890 witnessed a tional situation motivated by curiosity about the foreign items
demographic restructuring throughout the Mackenzie delta asbecoming available, and also by the need for defence due to the
large numbers of Alaskan Inupiat moved east. Some came in hostility between the two groups. It is more likely that the
search of richer lands following the over-exploitation of game intypical upstream camp consisted of only a few families.
their home territories . Others were brought in to hunt caribou for This pattern probably continued through most of the 1800s,
the crews of American whaling ships, which by that time werealthough upstream travel specifically for the purposes of trade is
over- wintering in the eastern Beaufort Sea. The combined likely to have increased after about 1850, when the Mackenzie
effects of these events were devastating. Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Inuit gained direct access to the Mackenzie valley trading posts.
who undertook the first anthropological investigations in theBy 1890, however, major disruptions to the settlement pattern
delta beginning in 1906, found even then that local narrative were taking place. American whalers had begun to frequent the
histories and memories of traditional ways were attenuated; ineastern Beaufort Sea, and the Mackenzie Inuit found it more
effect, Mackenzie Inuit culture no longer existed. convenient to trade with them at coastal locations. By that time,
Despite the limitations of the scant and often distorted datapopulation declines due to introduced disease may have reduced
gleaned from explorers', traders' and missionaries' journals, the pressure on the resources available near the coast, negating
attempts have been made to reconstruct ethnographic details of the need to travel to hunting and fishing camps at upstream
the Mackenzie Inuit (Usher, 1971a; McGhee, 1974; Krech,locations. At any rate, fewer trips were made to the Mackenzie
1979). Some aspects of these reconstructions provide a contextRiver trading posts, and the inner delta may have been effec-
for assessing further the significance of the Bombardier Channeltively abandoned for a short period until Alaskan Inuit trappers
find. settled into the area around the turn of the century (Krech,
The aboriginal Mackenzie Inuit comprised at least five terri- 1979:103).
torial groups distributed between the Alaskan- Yukon border There are a few clues that can be used to place the Bombardier
and Cape Bathurst. The delta of the Mackenzie River appears to Channel site within the foregoing reconstruction. The juncture
have been used by two of these groups, the Kittegaryumiut and of Bombardier and Oniak channels is well suited for a fishing

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 14 CD. ARNOLD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
camp, as nets
of Bombardie
I with to thank the Inuvik Scientific Resource Centre, Department of
site quite like
Indian and Northern Affairs, for logistic support; constables Barne
the Kittegary
and Johnson of the Inuvik Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mount
pean items
Police for first escorting me to the Bombardier Channel p site in 198
Russian
Frank Hansen for reporting thetrad
site; Paul Latour, formerly Renewab
Mackenzie's
Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, for arranging th
loan of artifacts from the Inuvik trapper; E. Dillon
abundance of of Inuvik fo
some contributing
of additional information
the about the site; and Ernie Walker
a
the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology,
reasonable gro University o
post- Saskatoon,
1850 for generously identifying the human pe skeletal remain
Chris Hanks, Richard Valpy and Sue Cross, all of the Prince of Wal
This chronolo
Northern Heritage Centre, each assisted at the site at various times
multiple buria
Figure 1 was drawn by Birgid Thompson, and Donna Leedham an
must Barb Dillon typed the manuscript. My thanks also be
have to Robert R. Jan
due tofor providing any
critical comments on an earlier draftof and to John
possibility.
Lobdell and another, anonymous, referee who reviewed O this pape
large number
The project was sponsored by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritag
Guns Centre.
started
kenzie delta o
ca. 1890. Also
post- 1890 er
Inupiat prese
reasonable ch
the site is
REFERENCES som
but still histo
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JENNESS, D. 1946. Material culture of the Copper Eskimo. Ottawa: Report of
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it was completely destroyed by the Mackenzie River indicates
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KRECH, S., III. 1979. Interethnic relati
location also used as a fishing-hunting camp. These events region . Arctic Anthropology 1 6(2) : 1 02-
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1 . The site provides tangible evidence of summer dispersal of Press. 133 p.
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known only through a few explorers' accounts. history and culture of the Mackenzie Delta Kittegaryumiut. Newfoundland
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traits that previously had been unreported. Perhaps most signifi- Arctic 37(3): 195-209.
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3. The blend of traditional traits with newly introduced items, NELSON, E.W. 1899. The Eskimo about Bering Strait. Bureau of American
Ethnology, Eighteenth Annual Report, 1896-7. 518 p.
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