An Extraordinary Woman, An Extraordinary Life: Excavating Mikak’s House to Explore the Status of
Women & the Effects of Colonialism in 18th Century Labrador.
Amelia Fay, PhD Candidate
My PhD research has two primary objectives: 1) to examine the effects of colonialism on 18th century
Inuit socio-economic relationships through the excavation of a dwelling on Black Island, Labrador; 2) to
explore gender relations, in particular how the lives of Inuit women were affected by increased
European interaction and the shift from a predominately subsistence-based to a mixed hunting/trading
economy by comparing data from Black Island to similar data from contact period collections.
The fieldwork component of this project focused on the excavation of an 18th century sod house on
Black Island, Labrador. According to a 1776 Moravian census an Inuit woman named Mikak lived in this
dwelling on Black Island. Her life story is significant as she was heavily involved in the coastal baleen
trade network and very influential in the granting of British land to the Moravian missionaries who
established their first mission in Nain in 1771. The unique historical and archaeological value of her
home on Black Island make it the ideal location to evaluate the colonial effects on Inuit socio-economic
and gender relationships during the 18th century.
Funded in part by a research grant from the Institute of Social and Economic Research, I was able to
successfully complete the excavation of Mikak’s house on Black Island during the summer of 2011. My
initial crew consisted of three undergraduate students from Memorial University and one student from
Nain, Labrador but our crew expanded when we joined forces with a team from Université Laval after
our shipment of gear had been delayed for three weeks. Fortunately we had sufficient gear with us, and
my colleagues from Laval provided the rest, and we set out to work on their 18th century sod house
settlement on nearby Dog Island. This proved useful as I am now using this data as one of my
comparison sites for my research. Once our gear arrived and we had finished their excavations we
moved to Black Island, now as a crew of ten, and were able to complete the entire house excavation in
three weeks.
Following the success of the field project I have analysed the artifacts from Black Island and begun my
site comparison with other sites from the Nain area (including Dog Island), sites further south in
Hamilton Inlet and Sandwich Bay, and sites north of Nain around Saglek. Preliminary results from this
comparison show clear evidence for trade participation and wealth accumulation among some Inuit
families during the 18th century, including Mikak’s.
I am currently finishing my comparative analysis and writing my dissertation with a completion goal of
fall 2013. Working in remote locations is not only expensive, but has considerable logistical difficulties,
and as such none of my research would have been possible without the support from ISER.