Applying a Community-Archaeology Approach in Nunatsiavut - Lisa K. Rankin, Laura Kelvin, Marjorie Flowers & Charlotte Wolfrey

The SSHRC funded Tradition and Transition Research Partnership between Memorial University and the Nunatsiavut Government aims to conduct research requested by Nunatsiavummiut, while also creating academic content and training a new generation of community-minded scholars who will work to support Inuit–driven research throughout the north. Archaeology has played a central role in the partnership. Two of the primary initiatives include the excavation of the Double Mer Point site near Rigolet and the Avigtok site located in Hopedale. However, conducting community archaeology requires much more than simply excavating sites. The goal is to assist communities to undertake research they find particularly significant and disseminate the research in a meaningful, culturally- appropriate manner. As a result, each community-archaeology project is essentially unique. This paper compares and contrasts our experiences working in collaboration with the communities of Rigolet and Hopedale, demonstrating that no single approach or strategy could have maximized our research potential in either situation. Nevertheless, we believe that there are benefits in comparing these strategies in order to identify best practices.