Cultural Resource Inventory and Interpretive Materials,
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

For centuries, explorers, anthropologists, and government officials have come to the North and taken things—photographs, recordings, art. These items have been stored in archives and museums in “the South” for many years, far from the communities they relate to. One of the goals of this project is to centralize and share these items for the benefit of community members.

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Over 15,000 historic maps, photographs, oral histories, and artifacts have been collected in a digital inventory to preserve and share Inuit heritage.
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We travelled to 7 different communities in Nunavut to record and document Indigenous Knowledge.

Know History is working on behalf of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to create a custom cultural inventory database for Inuit communities. Our team has collected thousands of maps, photographs, and oral histories, and conducted over one hundred interviews with Inuit to record their knowledge, songs, and stories. To make it easier for community members to search, browse, and add their own materials, we prioritized user experience to design an accessible digital portal. Long term, these resources will be used to support land use planning, tourism, educational products, and more.

Over the course of this multi-year project, interpretive products—such as documentaries, posters, maps, and calendars—will be created for each community to share their individual stories and knowledge.

Know History worked with dedicated community liaisons to record interviews with Elders and Knowledge Holders for a comprehensive study of traditional knowledge and land use. These liaisons actively promoted the project using various platforms and played pivotal roles in orchestrating and leading interviews, ensuring the project’s success, and creating meaningful community connections.

In 2021, Know History also collaborated with Konek Productions to film interviews. Konek Productions is Inuit-owned and exclusively employs Inuit videographers, reflecting a commitment to local talent and community involvement. Our partnership with Konek Productions started almost thirteen years ago.