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The Kitikmeot Heritage Society, one of the first organizations of its kind in Canada, was established along with The May Hakongak Community Library and Cultural Centre in May 2002, in the Kiilinik High School. The Cultural Centre exhibits a fully integrated school/public library, museum, art gallery, and archives.

The Kitikmeot Heritage Society is a non-profit organization under Nunavut Societies Act #SOC 1236. It is a volunteer-run charitable organization with an elected board of directors and executive from the community of Cambridge Bay. Board membership consists primarily of elders from the community. The cultural centre was built to ensure the survival of the Inuit culture and tradition.

Since the Cultural Centre is integrated with the library and high school, this shared space allows the younger generation and their elders to gather together under one roof. Here, they can exchange knowledge and values that reflect Inuit traditional society, as well as their language.

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Kiilinik High School
2005
Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Nunavut

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Grand opening ceremony of KHS exhibit
2002
Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Nunavut

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It was one of the biggest events in town in 2002 when the Cultural Centre had its grand opening, including new exhibits. We were honoured to have the Governor General with us during this celebration of culture.

The KHS preserves, promotes, and celebrates the history, culture, language, and diversity of the people of the Kitikmeot region. And we continue to do so by collecting and archiving the oral histories of the elders; preserving archaeological sites through oral history and archaeological study; using the information collected to promote and preserve Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun; develop educational and learning materials; and celebrate the cultures and traditions of the people.

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Making the display case for the exhibit
2002
Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Nunavut

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KHS hires conservators for the preparation of new exhibits, because all artifacts have to be treated very cautiously. Artifacts are very unique and fragile, so we have to consider the temperature, and make sure they are not treated with any chemicals that will damage them. After carefully placing the artifacts into the display cases, the conservators have to adjust the case to the appropriate temperature and humidity.

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Kitikmeot Heritage Society
2002
Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Nunavut

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The Kitikmeot Heritage Society is hoping to expand its work in the near future. Preserving Inuit culture and knowledge, as well as language, is a crucially important issue right now. Statistic shows that the number of fluent speakers of Inuinnaqtun in Cambridge Bay is declining, as is knowledge of traditional Inuit culture. Language is central to a people's identity, and if language disappears this can only lead to a loss of other aspects of culture. For this reason, the KHS is doing its best to promote the language, not only to the younger generation but to travelers as well.