View east of proposed location of the Brown Lake repeater station.

In 2006, Points West Heritage Consulting Ltd. conducted archaeological investigations directed toward determining the archaeological potential of four proposed NorthwesTel repeater stations located between Yellowknife and the diamond mines in the Slave Geological Province. The four stations were given names based on nearby lakes: Paterson, Brown, Mackay and Courageous. The archaeological investigations were directed by Jean Bussey, who was assisted by Kim Banner, a resident of Yellowknife and member of the Metis community. The archaeological work was conducted concurrently with habitat assessment undertaken by EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.

All four proposed repeater stations were examined from the air and via a series of foot traverses. The terrain characteristics and amount of surface exposure evident at each location determined how many traverses were walked and their spacing. There are no archaeological concerns at three of the proposed repeater station locations: Paterson, Brown and Mackay. No further archaeological investigation is required at these locations provided there are no changes to the development plan and all construction activities are within the identified footprint.

View south of new archaeological site at Courageous Lake repeater station.

An archaeological site was discovered at the proposed Courageous repeater station. A small lithic scatter was discovered near the northern portion of the footprint. It is approximately 10 m by 10 m in area and consisted of around 10 flakes of quartz. Since the site is avoidable and no archaeological material was found in areas adjoining the station footprint, it was recommended that the development be relocated slightly to ensure a substantial buffer zone between the site and any activity.