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During the 2009 field season, Avataq Cultural Institute conducted a field school for high school students on the Nuvuk Island archipelago (Nuvuup Qikirtangit), near Ivujvik. 12 high school students participated in this training: Lydia Audlaluk, Tumasi Audlaluk, Moses Idlout, Maina Iyaituk, Levina Kanarjuak, Megan Kasudluak, Roxanne Kristensen, Lucassie Matt Mark, Makusie Naluiyak, Johnny Padlayat, Siaja Paningajak, and Lukasi Qavavauk. 5 of these high school students had previous experience from Avataq excavations – 3 from Ivujivik, and 2 from Inukjuak. As the 2009 field school was part of a Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) project, a number of graduate students representing the participation of Université Laval (Sarah Aubé-Michaud, Félix Gagné, Daphné Marquis, Andrée-Anne Pharand) and Université de Montréal (Andrea Thompson) were also involved. In addition, Elsa Censig, Tommy Weetaluktuk (both Avataq archaeologists) and Jessica Giraud (post-doctoral researcher with Avataq) spent time surveying the area of the Nuvuk Islands and adjacent mainland, recording many new sites. With all of these people we needed a very big camp, and this was maintained through the employment of 3 hunter-guides (Kevin Kristensen, James Kristensen, and Adamie Tarkiasuk) and 2 cooks (Annie Kristensen and Nipisa Nauya) from Ivujivik. The field school has provided field training for many students – both high school and university, and has supplied the data for two Master’s projects and one undergraduate Honour’s project.

The site under investigation was believed to be of mixed cultural affiliation, with both Dorset and Thule Inuit components present. 2-3 large semi-subterranean houses were merged together through the activity of looters and possibly early unrecorded archaeological interest (excavations had taken place at nearby sites during the 1930’s and 1950’s); our excavations inside and in front of these houses revealed only a Late Dorset occupation. The site also consists of 4 shallow semi-subterranean houses, and the partial excavation of one (also clearly disturbed) yielded a mixture of Thule and historic Inuit artifacts and only a very minimal quantity of Dorset material. Most of the efforts focused upon the midden (garbage area) associated with the large semi-subterranean houses, which proved very rich and yielded an abundance of animal bone, many lithic tools and debitage, and a good number of harpoon heads, harpoon head fragments, some miniature harpoon heads, and one particularly unique find: a small carved ivory face incised with an x-ray motif.