Abstract

In 1990 a proposal for archaeological studies at the Kodlunarn Island site in outer Frobisher Bay, the site of Martin Frobisher's 'gold' mines of 1576-78, initiated the development of a large research programme on the history, remains and consequences of Frobisher's voyages and mines in the New World. In addition to archaeology, the project included Inuit oral history, archival studies, environmental sciences and geology. This paper deals with community aspects of the MIP project: local interest, permissions, educational values, research training, museum issues, publicity, tourism and economic impacts, and residual effects. Although organized as a research project, perspectives from the MIP may be useful in thinking about the role of research as a component of large-scale development and mining programmes elsewhere in the North, and their impacts on local communities.