Compiled and edited by Tom Andrews, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, a Division of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories, is responsible for managing the public's interest in the protection of archaeological resources in the NWT.   Archaeological sites, representing a continuous human occupation stretching back over 7000 years in the NWT, are fragile and non-renewable and are protected from disturbance by legislation, regulation, and policy.

Fifteen archaeological research permits were issued for work in the NWT in 2003.   Of the 15 permits issued, 11 were for projects related to resource development impact assessment.    Oil and gas development in the Mackenzie Delta, the Liard valley, and along the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline route, along with ongoing diamond exploration in the region north and east of Yellowknife continue to be dominant factors in driving archaeological research in the NWT.

This year the PWNHC took steps to improve the positional accuracy of recorded archaeological sites by developing guidelines for the use Global Positioning System receivers, and making their use requirement under permit. We have also implemented a long-term program to revisit archaeological sites in the NWT to obtain GPS coordinates.   Over the course of the next decade we hope to make major advances in improving the record of positional accuracy of archaeological site data.

Next year we will take steps to improve the accessibility of the archive of permit reports currently housed in the NWT.   All permits issued next year will require the submission of a paper copy and pdf copy of reports.   The electronic version will allow us to provide access to reports via the Internet.   Over the course of the next decade we will scan existing paper copies of reports and convert them to pdf format.