Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

A group of Yellowknifers first imagined a territorial museum in the early 1950s. Its predecessor, the Museum of the North, opened downtown in July 1963 after several years of planning and construction, and it was run by volunteers of the Yellowknife Museum Society until 1970, when the territorial government took over its artifacts. In 1972 the government approved a program of museum services across the territory. Construction of the current building began in 1975, and it was officially opened in April 1979 with Prince Charles in attendance. For its 40th anniversary in June 2019, the centre held a community day with music, jigging, storytelling and its first director, Dr. Bob Janes, scheduled to speak.

Beyond exhibitions, the centre looks after objects and archival records that represent NWT cultures and history, supports cultural and arts activity, and authorizes archaeological studies in the territory under the NWT Archaeological Sites Regulations. Its mandate also derives from the NWT Archives Act and the NWT Historical Resources Act, and it is affiliated with bodies such as the Canadian Museums Association, the Canadian Heritage Information Network and the Virtual Museum of Canada. It is home to the NWT Archives, which collects, preserves and provides access to records documenting the territory's history, including government records and those of private individuals and organizations; the Archives offer an online catalogue and accept donations of records. Visitor guides cite about 75,000 objects and 350,000 photographs, maps and rare books, but those are third-party figures, so ask the centre for current numbers.

Visitor guides describe displays on natural history, European exploration, northern aviation, gold and diamond mining, and, above all, Dene and Inuit history and culture. A 2011 Windspeaker report described a beluga exhibit with a life-sized model of an adult female and a week-old calf, covering the Beaufort Sea population and its importance to the Inuvialuit, as well as Kuukpak, a display of more than 200 Inuvialuit artifacts from excavations by centre staff that show how people lived about 500 years ago. The same report described an exhibit on Yamoria, the legendary Dene traveller and lawmaker, with stories from six Dene groups, and a listening tipi where elders from Behchoko and Tulita tell stories in the Tlicho and North Slavey languages. Exhibits come and go, so treat these as examples of past displays.

In 2015 the Government of the Northwest Territories announced the exhibit This Land Is Our Home, Wiilideh Yellowknives Dene, developed with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Elders guided the content and named traditional places, community curator Fred Sangris worked with museum staff, and artifacts, clothing, tools and photographs documented life around Yellowknife Bay and the Yellowknife River over thousands of years. The notice said it would be shown for three years, so confirm whether it is still on view.

We Took Care of Them: Special Constables in the NWT opened in August 2017 and honours Indigenous northerners who served as special constables with the RCMP, along with seamstresses, guides and interpreters who supported police. Cabin Radio reported in 2019 that the Canadian Museums Association gave the centre an outstanding achievement award for it, calling it nationally significant. Six interactive travelling versions were made for other communities, and it was also made available online in the territory's official languages.

A Mezzanine Gallery hosts rotating art and photography shows, chosen through an art selection committee, so what is on view changes. Some descriptions online are dated, so confirm the current line-up with the centre.

• Plan an hour or two, and check the centre or its website for current hours, admission and exhibits before you go.
• The location beside Frame Lake and close to the Legislative Assembly makes it an easy pairing with a drive past downtown Yellowknife.
• Voyzo private tours include a private vehicle and driver with door-to-door pickup, so you can fit the museum into a city day without worrying about parking or timing.

Frame Lake trails run beside the centre, and Old Town and the Bush Pilots Monument are a short drive away, giving a good sense of how the city grew from the gold-rush waterfront.