Compiled and edited by Shelley Crouch, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
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The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC), a Division of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories, is responsible for managing and protecting the archaeological resources of the NWT. 

Representing a continuous human occupation stretching back over 7000 years, archaeological sites are fragile and non-renewable and are protected from disturbance by legislation, regulation, and policy in the NWT. There are currently about 6000 archaeological sites recorded in the NWT, though this number represents only a small fraction of the actual number of existing sites as large areas remain unexplored for archaeological resources. A large part of our work at the PWNHC involves reviewing land use and development permit applications. We currently review, on average, 300 permits per year, providing advice to 9 land management authorities.

Twenty-two archaeological research permits were issued to 14 archaeologists for work in the NWT in 2009. Of these, four were cancelled at the request of the permit holder and no work was conducted. Of the 18 permits remaining, twelve were for projects related to resource development impact assessment and infrastructure projects, four were part of ongoing traditional knowledge and research projects, and two were part of remediation projects.