Preservation of Archaeological Sites-Canada— Jenness 65 



futile to threaten a lawbreaker with penalties unless you have 

 the force to back up your threats and are prepared to use it. 

 The force behind the Canadian archaeological ordinance is the 

 Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which has established its out- 

 posts far and wide throughout the Arctic. The men who have 

 manned these outposts have been— until recently at least— hand- 

 picked individuals, adventure-loving and ambitious, who have 

 found in the north land their readiest avenue to rapid promo- 

 tion. Their duties are many and varied; but since the popula- 

 tion of the territory is very small— only about half that of north- 

 ern Alaska— they have little difficulty in keeping close watch on 

 the movements and activities of every person within the bound- 

 aries of the Canadian Arctic. 



Alaska lacks this close supervision by a federal police, and 

 the strict enforcement of its Antiquities Act has proved quite 

 impossible. I have sometimes wondered, therefore, whether it 

 would be possible (and profitable) to enlist the help of the 

 educational authorities, and to circulate among Alaskan Eskimo 

 schools a small brochure outlining what we have already learned 

 about the archaeology of northern Alaska, explaining that only 

 the most painstaking excavations under skilled direction can 

 throw any further light on Eskimo prehistory, and asking the 

 Eskimos themselves to cooperate in protecting the sites that still 

 remain undamaged. It would be helpful, also, if the same or a 

 similar brochure, strengthened by a foreword from some high 

 military official, were circulated among Alaskan military estab- 

 lishments, and would-be archaeologists in those establishments 

 recommended to write to the University of Alaska or the Smith- 

 sonian Institution for advice and guidance. 



