The research project was a great opportunity for me to study parts of history in pre-confederation Canada that I have an intense interest in, and that I haven’t been able to explore in the past. Early arctic exploration has always been interesting to me and the incredible things that early explorers accomplished are certainly worth remembering. One of the most interesting parts of this project for me was the fact that most of the information we have about the expedition is archaeological, and historians have to use information from past explorations and from the human remains that have been found, along with indigenous oral histories to determine what happened to the ships of John Franklin’s expedition. I have never used archaeological evidence while studying history in other courses and have also rarely used oral histories so this was an intriguing way to study history for me. Many different ideas also exist about the reasons for the disappearance of the expedition and it was very interesting sifting through the various possibilities to come to a conclusion of my own.

Sir John Franklin’s Final Expedition