Hydrological records from High Arctic watersheds are invariably short.  Records of runoff and sediment flux, and of associated meteorological conditions are rarely longer than a few seasons, and commonly do not cover the complete melt season.  A longer-term perspective is needed. Sediment records from lakes may be helpful to assess hydrological change on multi-decadal to centennial scales.  Although there are numerous difficulties in interpreting such proxies, there are few other options.  Careful analysis, coupled with process-based studies can help to calibrate and bracket the range of changes that have occurred in the past.  Large deep lakes in the Canadian High Arctic form end-members in the spectrum of lacustrine systems in the northern hemisphere.  Lake ice cover is thick (1.5-3m) and persistent, often only melting around the margins each year. Consequently, limnological conditions are characterized by limited mixing, leading to anoxic conditions at depth, at least seasonally.  This results in minimal disturbance at the sediment-water interface, and the accumulation of annually laminated (varved) sediment. Such sediments provide an excellent chronological record.  Assuming a constant source of material to be eroded, variations in sediment accumulation reflect changes in the energy available to move sediment to the lake.   Biogenic material produced within the lake, principally diatoms, are sensitive to ice cover extent and thickness.  Thus varve thickness and grain size can be interpreted in terms of snowmelt (runoff and summer temperatures) and diatoms (total productivity and type) reflect ice cover changes (summer temperatures).  Here, we report on sedimentary records spanning the last several millennia from a network of lakes in the Canadian High Arctic, to place contemporary changes in a long-term perspective.