"Daniel Weetaluktuk (1951-1982) of Inukjuak (east coast of Hudson Bay) made increasingly important contributions to arctic anthropology between 1976 and 1982. His interests in archaeology, traditional Inuit lifeways, cultural resources, and natural history bridged native and scientific perspectives. Daniel participated in government-sponsored excavations in 1976 and 1977, and began investigating northern Quebec archaeological sites thereafter. Working through the Makivik Corporation, he clearly expressed the need of greater Inuit influence in cultural affairs, on the one hand, and of training and science education on the other. His attempts to improve Inuit-southern Canadian relations and awareness stand as a model for our time." (Allen P. McCartney, 1984, Études/Inuit/Studies 8(10):103)

click here to read Daniel's bibliography

click here to read Daniel's 1978 CAA paper "Canadian Inuit and Archaeology"

To honour Daniel and his work, the Canadian Archaeological Association instituted the Daniel Weetaluktuk Memorial Scholarship in 1983 at the Annual General Meeting in Halifax. Its initial purpose was to "assist Native students from anywhere in Canada who wish to study archaeology on any level" (CAA Newsletter 3(2):5).

Subsequently, the name was changed to the Weetaluktuk Student Prize Competition in 1984 (CAA Newsletter 4(2):12). In 1993, the prize was expanded to provide for separate undergraduate and graduate prizes.

Two prizes are awarded annually, one each to an undergraduate and a graduate student for written work on a topic related to Canadian archaeology. Students must be CAA members and either be attending a Canadian University or be a Canadian citizen attending a foreign university.

Prizes are available for:

• Best Undergraduate Student Paper
• Best Graduate Research Paper

The winners for each category will each receive $250. Those papers deemed excellent and of publication quality will be forwarded by the awards committee to the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Archaeology for the opportunity to have the paper published.

Applicants must be CAA members and be attending a Canadian university, or be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident attending a foreign university. Co-authored papers are eligible if all authors meet the criteria above.

Deadline for submissions: June 15 of each year

The submission package should include:

• Proof of place of study and year of study (for all authors) and
• The paper, in either official language and not exceeding 20 double-spaced pages (excluding references), in word or PDF format. The paper needs to respect the Canadian Journal of Archaeology formatting guidelines for the submission to be considered.