• ACTUALITÉs

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Louis Gagnon, curator at Avataq, and I were finally able to visit to the Qajartalik petroglyph site near Kangiqsujuaq, Nunavik at the end of September 2007 to verify its condition. This is in response to the publication of an article by the CANWEST newspaper network over a year ago concerning the possible destruction of the Dorset petroglyphs. The news item itself was announced with an outrageous headline blaming Christians in the local Inuit community for this presumed destruction. The article should never have been published in the first place, since it was based entirely on rumour, as I mentioned in my response to CANWEST journalist Randy Boswell, published in Nunatsiaq News on September 29, 2006. Boswell was clearly informed of this fact, and despite being unable to substantiate the rumour beyond a reasonable doubt in August 2006, he nevertheless proceeded to publish the story. The news item was quickly picked up without further verification by several other papers (in print and electronic formats), including Nunatsiaq News in Iqaluit.

We are pleased to report that the site has neither been destroyed nor damaged beyond some deterioration and a small amount of graffiti that had already been noted in 2001. The visit proved that the 2006 rumours were just that: unfounded rumours. We noticed some new deterioration of the soapstone outcrops, but this is entirely due to natural causes – which should be an incentive for the Federal Government to move quickly to finally recognize the site as a place of historical and national significance. To this end, Avataq submitted a request to Parks Canada 10 years ago, but the Federal agency never acted upon the proposal despite the fact the deterioration of the petroglyphs was already easily evident. Obtaining UNESCO recognition of Qajartalik as an endangered World Heritage Site has always been considered as the first step toward its long-term protection and preservation.