Expanded Nattilik Heritage Centre offers new home for Franklin artifacts

Tinted green from 168 years under water, a replica of the iconic bell from HMS Erebus has a new home within the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven.

The real bell rang every 30 minutes during the Franklin Expedition in 1845. That is, until the Erebus and HMS Terror met their fates in the sea ice off the coast of Gjoa Haven.

The 3D-printed replica holds a prominent place in Gjoa Haven’s newly expanded section of Nattilik Heritage Centre, which opened June 4.

The expansion has doubled the museum’s original size, adding 500 square metres of exhibition and community-use space to the octagonal building.

The Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven, with its original section featuring the distinctive muskox design (left) and the newly expanded wing showcasing updated artwork (right). The expansion officially opened its doors June 4, significantly increasing the centre’s exhibition and community space.(Photos by Nehaa Bimal)

The official opening featured a ribbon-cutting by Gjoa Haven Mayor Raymond Quqshuun, drum dancing in the new multipurpose room, and a community feast.

“Everyone is blown away by the space and the extra opportunity to host more cultural events and pass down Inuit knowledge,” said Campbell Cameron, owner of Four Peaks Consulting, which was contracted by the Nattilik Heritage Society in October 2021 to manage the expansion.

Momentum for this $15.4-million project grew after the discoveries of HMS Erebus in 2014 and HMS Terror in 2016. The ships were part of Franklin’s ill-fated quest to find a Northwest Passage.

The goal was to create a home for shipwreck artifacts, jointly owned by Parks Canada and the Inuit Heritage Trust.

Led by the Nattilik Heritage Society and Parks Canada, planning began in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic brought supply chain issues, labour shortages, and travel restrictions that complicated progress, Cameron said.

Parks Canada became the project’s major funder, contributing more than $7 million. Other key funders — each providing between $1 million and $2 million — were the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Additional support came from Government of Nunavut’s Heritage Facilities program, the Department of Education, Culture and Heritage, and KMN Makerspace.

The new facility includes an expanded exhibit space dedicated to the Franklin expedition, a soundproof oral history room, an art training room with sewing machines, a multipurpose room, new offices and more storage.

The oral history room was designed as a quiet space for community members to share and record their stories, said Jennifer Ullulaq, the heritage centre’s manager.

“We want to record more of the history of our elders before they’re gone, because most of them lived their lives entirely on the land,” she said. “It’s an important space for the younger generation to learn more about themselves, their elders and their home.”

The main exhibit is organized into three themes: the Franklin expedition, Arctic life during Franklin’s era, and the overlapping narratives of Inuit and European experiences.

Ullulaq was inspired by other museums with “interactive spaces for all generations,” and incorporated similar features in Gjoa Haven’s centre.

Interactive displays fill the Nattilik Heritage Centre’s newly expanded exhibit space, letting visitors try on snow goggles, stop by listening stations and practise tying naval knots.

Visitors can wear traditional Inuit snow goggles, or iggaak, to spot hidden images; try scuba gloves to mimic Parks Canada divers; and learn to tie Royal Navy and Inuit knots.

Listening stations with earpieces also allow visitors to hear the perspectives of key individuals involved in the Franklin expedition and the search for the ships.

The original gallery continues to showcase the history of the Nattilik Inuit through carvings and cultural artifacts. It was left unchanged during construction, but museum experts did recondition the casework for better preservation, Cameron said.

A newly completed corridor ramp space at the Nattilik Heritage Centre provides accessible passage between the original building and its expansion.

Designing the transition between old and new parts of the building presented challenges, said Cameron.

The solution was a new corridor, with a ramp for accessibility.

Created in partnership with Ottawa-based Origin Studios, it features ambient lighting and natural sounds to create a passageway.

Some artifacts — such as a portion of a ship’s steering wheel — are still undergoing conservation treatment in Ottawa, Cameron said.

Even more exciting is a shipment from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, expected to arrive on the next sealift.

These “Oslo items” are especially meaningful, as they include traditional Inuit objects collected in Gjoa Haven between 1903 and 1905 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.

“To have a place back in Nunavut where these items can come home — that’s really important,” Cameron said.