Yellowknife Bay Archaeology Project
Glen MacKay (NWT Archaeologist’s Permit 2013-007)
In 2013, Glen MacKay from the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre continued an archaeological survey of the Yellowknife Bay area in collaboration with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The goal of the project is to record archaeological sites in and around Yellowknife Bay, which will facilitate their protection when land use activities are proposed in the area, and to learn more about the culture history of the region. Participants in the project included Fred Sangris, Sarah Black, and Randy Freeman from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Kevin Durkee and Kaitlyn Menard, summer students at the PWNHC, and David Finch also helped with the project.
This summer we focused our survey efforts on the lower Yellowknife River and the east side of Yellowknife Bay. We recorded nearly 30 new archaeological sites, including pre-contact stone tool scatters, historic Yellowknives Dene villages, graves, tent rings, and other features. We plan to continue this work in future summers.
(Edited by Morgan Moffitt, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre)
