Copper knife blade

This large, copper knife blade has an attached bone piece, with the blade inserted into a slot at the end of the flattened bone piece and secured with a rivet. The bone is cracked along its length and appears to have been mended with one small rivet. David O'Brien, a government employee, acquired the piece from the Inuit community of Kugluktuk or Cambridge Bay between 1961 and 1967.

Evidence
This large, copper knife blade has an attached bone piece, with the blade inserted into a slot at the end of the flattened bone piece and secured with a rivet. The bone is cracked along its length and appears to have been mended with one small rivet. David O’Brien, a government employee, acquired the piece from the Inuit community of Kugluktuk or Cambridge Bay between 1961 and 1967.

Perspective
The fact that this blade was still kept by Inuit in the 1960s indicates that it remained useful and valued even when newer technology was available.

Significance
This kind of blade was known as kapuut and was used to stab caribou in the kidney area when they were being harvested at the river crossings. They were also used when hunting caribou from a blind when you were close to the animals.