Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Northern Material Culture through International Polar Year Collections, Then and Now: In the Footsteps of Murdoch and Turner  (Northern Material Culture, Then and Now)

Outline
Perhaps the most lasting product of the scientific output from the 1st International Polar Year (IPY) are the encyclopedic ethnological reports resulting from expeditions to Pt. Barrow, Alaska and Fort Chimo in the Ungava District (now northern Quebec). Together, John Murdoch’s Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition (1892) and Turner’s Ethnology of the Ungava District (1894) form the intellectual bedrock of northern native studies in their respected regions. These publications are likely the only research results from the original IPY which still are consulted routinely by researchers. The volumes have limitations as ethnological studies; they provide a comprehensive and valuable review of the material culture of Barrow’s Inupiat residents and the Inuit and Innu of the Quebec-Labrador peninsula at the time of the first IPY. Both books are highly regarded by contemporary northern native community members across Alaska’s North Slope and throughout the Eastern Canadian Arctic. We propose a modern version of these ethnological collecting projects. Using the categories developed by Murdoch and Turner, with a few additions (e.g. communications equipment, navigation devices), the project will document modern equivalents of the items Murdoch collected and their uses. Photographic (digital) and written documentation will require modest expenditures. It is possible that much of the documentation can be accomplished as part of the school curriculum, involving students with Elders, or as part of a summer/after school program. It could also provide excellent material for science fair projects. If there is interest on the part of a museum (e.g. the Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow or the Smithsonian Institution where the original IPY collections are held) and funding is obtained for conservation and curation costs, then in addition to documentation, the new project could collect examples of reasonably sized items (i.e. no airplanes or front-end loaders). Small teaching collections for classroom use will be obtained. The project also will attempt to duplicate photographs, ethnographic and otherwise, taken by the 1st IPY expedition in the Barrow area and in Kujjuaqq. Sturm and his colleagues (2001), as well as many others, have demonstrated that comparative analyses of photographs taken at the same locations over periods of generations are productive in assessing long-term landscape changes.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Project documentation will provide a valuable resource for studies of Iñupiat material culture change. The project’s value will be enduring and will grow through time, as happened with the material collected during the 1st IPY, leaving a legacy for future researchers. In addition to contributions to archaeology, ethnography, material culture studies, and formal and informal educational activities, the project will highlight the history of the IPYs, and the history of science in Barrow in particular. It will complement an exhibit on the 1st IPY expedition to Barrow planned for the UIC Science Center at the former Naval Arctic Research Laboratory.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The project will establish an international research network. It will be broad in scope and is expected to attract further international interests. At present, the project has US and Canadian partners.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Barrow, Alaska; Labrador & Quebec, Canada; Similar programs could be carried out elsewhere. There are reportedly some collections & photographs from other original IPY sites. However, this program need not be limited to those locations. It can be undertaken in any interested Northern community.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 03/2007-03/2009            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Costs for data collection equipment should be modest (equipment may be available at many locations).

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Not major physical infrastructure. The databases and teaching collections (and the museum collections, if funded) will be legacies.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Own national polar operator
Another national polar operator
Own support
Other sources of support

In Barrow: Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, UIC Science Center.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Not yet.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New

How will the project be organised and managed?
The development of the category framework (starting with that used by Murdoch and Turner) with additions for new types if technology, will be carried out in Barrow. Data collection forms will be designed to assist in the documentation process and to enhance data comparability. These will be made available to any community or group which wishes to participate, and communities can add categories which they feel are important. Each group will manage their data collection as best suits their situation. Data archiving, Web hosting and other bandwidth- and technology-intensive aspects of the project will be carried out at more central locations.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
The project will provide curriculum development material, both for North Slope Borough School District (NSBSD) and schools in Arctic Quebec and adjacent Labrador with circumpolar implications. Both the NSBSD and Avataq Cultural Institute (Quebec) already use ethnographic materials in curriculum development. The information can be used in informal science education.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
Data archiving, Web hosting and other bandwidth- and technology-intensive aspects of the project will be carried out at more central locations, as these functions are prohibitively expensive for remote Northern communities.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding will be sought at a viaety of levels. The local efforts should be extremely low cost, and require little outside funding.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Anne Jensen
UIC Science Division
PO Box 577
Barrow, AK
99723
USA

Tel: 907-852-3050
Mobile: 907-367-3818
Fax: 907-852-2632
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information