Changes in weather persistence: Insight from Inuit knowledge

Inuit living in Nunavut have harvested light geese and lived near goose colonies for generations. Inuit knowledge includes important information about light goose ecology and management that can inform co-management and enhance scientific research and monitoring. Since the 1970s, populations of light geese (Snow and Ross’ Geese; kanguit and kangunnait in Inuktut; Chen caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Chen rossii (Cassin, 1861)) have experienced significant increases in abundance which led to habitat alteration in some portions of the central and eastern Canadian Arctic. In response to concerns expressed by Inuit and wildlife managers about light goose abundance, we conducted a collaborative research project in Arviat and Salliq (Coral Harbour), Nunavut, aiming to mobilize and document Inuit knowledge about light goose ecology and management in the Kivalliq region. Here, we explore the potential of collaborative research for mobilizing Inuit knowledge to support informed and inclusive decision-making about wildlife resources. First, we describe the participatory research methods employed to explore Inuit-identified management recommendations for light geese and engage co-management partners and research contributors to explore select management options. Then, we present these light goose management recommendations and options. Lastly, we discuss opportunities and challenges around the use of collaborative research to support wildlife co-management and Inuit self-determination. Inuit nunaqaqtut Nunavuumi angunasuksimalirmata kanguqpangnik kangurniglu nunaqarvingita sanianni araagunik unuqtunnik. Inuit qaujimaningat ilaqaqpuq aturnilingnik kanguit niqinginnik mianirijauninginniklu tusaumatitaulutik qaujisarningit mianiriyaunigillu. Taimangat 1970s atuqtilugit, kanguit unirningit (kanguit amma kanguaryuit Inuktut; Chen caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758) amma Chen rossii (Cassin, 1861)) ayunganaqtukut pisimangmata unulialiqlutik amma niqiqatiarungnauqlutik Kanataup uqiuktaqtunngani. Tamana piblugu Inuit uumayuliriyillu isumaalulirmata kanguit unulualirninginnik, taima qaujisarnirmik pigialauqpugut Arvianni and Sallim (Coral Harbour), Nunavuumi, aulataulutik amma qaujisagaulutik Inuit kaujimajagit kangurnik Kivallirmi. Tavani atuqtuuluaqtunik qaujisarnirmut mianiqsinirmullu pitaqaqpuq Inuit nagminiq isumaliurlutik nirjutinut atugaksanullu. Sivullirmik, qaujisarniup qanuinninga isumagilugu kanguit mianirijauninginut. Amma suli, uqausirilirlugu kanguit mianirijauningat atugaujuuluaqtullu. Kingulirmik, uqausirilugu atuinnaujut amma ajurutaujut qaujisarniup iluanni nirjutinik amma Inuit nagminiq aulatuulualirninginnik.

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Aajiiqatigiingniq: An Inuit Consensus Methodology in Qualitative Health Research

International Journal of Qualitative Methods ◽

10.1177/1609406919894796 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

pp. 160940691989479 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Priscilla Ferrazzi ◽

Shirley Tagalik ◽

Peter Christie ◽

Joe Karetak ◽

Kukik Baker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Cultural Knowledge ◽

Narrative Discourse ◽

Consensus Methods ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Qualitative Health Research ◽

Descriptive Account ◽

Inuit Knowledge ◽

Consensus Decision Making

Indigenous knowledge and approaches to health research have historically been marginalized by Western traditions. Efforts to overcome this marginalization by recognizing Indigenous methodologies as a distinctive form of inquiry are gathering momentum. Health research that seeks to establish levels of agreement about disputed or conceptually unclear subjects frequently relies on consensus methods. Aajiiqatigiingniq is a principle of cultural knowledge and a consensus decision-making approach among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. We used group meetings and individual interviews involving Inuit elders and other senior community members in Arviat, Nunavut, to explore and describe aajiiqatigiingniq as an appropriate and ethical methodology in qualitative health research. Findings reveal a systematic but apparently informal approach focused on sustained individual and community well-being. Consensus is achieved through the successive addition of group members, respectful communication, mainly narrative discourse, subjective personal engagement, and an unhurried meeting style. While previous research has used Western consensus methods to embed Inuit knowledge in health research, this study provides a first descriptive account of a wholly Inuit consensus methodology.

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Augmenting Inuit knowledge for safe sea-ice travel — The SmartICE information system

2014 Oceans - St. John's ◽

10.1109/oceans.2014.7003290 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Trevor Bell ◽

Robert Briggs ◽

Ralf Bachmayer ◽

Shuo Li

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Inuit Knowledge

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At-sea observations of ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea) in the eastern Canadian high Arctic in 1993 and 2002 indicate a population decline

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247404003821 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 355-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

John W. Chardine ◽

Alain J. Fontaine ◽

Hans Blokpoel ◽

Mark Mallory ◽

Theo Hofmann

Keyword(s):

Polar Bear ◽

Population Decline ◽

High Arctic ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Rissa Tridactyla ◽

Ice Coverage ◽

Canadian Population ◽

The Status ◽

Inuit Knowledge ◽

Lines Of Evidence

Evidence from colony surveys and local Inuit knowledge strongly suggest that the Canadian population of ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea) has declined dramatically. The observations of ivory gulls at sea presented here are consistent with this. Ivory gulls were observed during two cruises on the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov in the eastern Canadian high Arctic in August 1993 and 2002. Ivory gulls were seen 3.5 times more often in 1993 (n = 176) than in 2002 (n = 149), and, corrected for observation effort, four times more ivory gulls were seen in 1993 than in 2002. Ivory gulls are scavengers: they were never observed feeding on fish behind the vessel while ice-breaking, although black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) often were seen feeding in this way. Ivory gulls were observed scavenging around polar-bear (Ursus maritimus) kills in 1993 but not in 2002. By far the largest number of ivory gulls was seen near Grise Fiord in 1993. There, opportunities for them to scavenge were likely good at the community landfill as well as at Inuit and polar-bear kills due to complete ice coverage of the surrounding marine area. No ivory gulls were seen there in 2002. Observations of four individuals in 1993 and five individuals in 2002 near the southern end of Eureka Sound and in Norwegian Bay, 150 km from the nearest known breeding colonies, suggest that as yet undiscovered colonies might exist in this area. With three lines of evidence (colony surveys, local Inuit knowledge, at-sea surveys) now indicating population decline, urgent reassessment of the status of ivory gulls in Canada needs to take place.

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Human geographies of sea ice: freeze/thaw processes around Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247407007061 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 51-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Gita J. Laidler ◽

Pootoogoo Elee

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Open Water ◽

Current Strength ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Future Research ◽

Baffin Island ◽

Freeze Thaw ◽

Ice Conditions ◽

Inuit Knowledge

ABSTRACTSea ice has been, and continues to be, an integral component of life in the Inuit community of Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Located on an island of the same name off the southwestern coast of Baffin Island, the strong Hudson Strait currents prevent extensive ice formation around the community. Nevertheless, sea ice remains an important travel and hunting platform, enabling access to Baffin Island, hunting and fishing grounds, and nearby communities. With the combined importance, dynamism, and continuous use of this frozen ocean environment, local Inuit elders and hunters have developed a detailed and nuanced understanding of sea ice conditions, freeze/thaw processes, and the influences of winds and currents on ice conditions. Working collaboratively with the community of Cape Dorset since October, 2003, we present the results of 30 semi-directed interviews, 5 sea ice trips, and 2 focus groups to provide a baseline understanding of local freezing processes (near-shore, open water, sea ice thickening, landfast ice, floe edge, and tidal cracks), melting processes (snow melt, water accumulation and drainage, break-up, and cracks/leads), wind influences on sea ice (wind direction and strength affecting sea ice formation, and movement), and current influences on sea ice (tidal variations and current strength affecting sea ice formation, movement, and polynya size/location). Strong emphasis is placed on Inuktitut terminology and spatial delineations of localised ice conditions and features. Therefore, this paper provides insights into local scale ice conditions and dynamics around Cape Dorset that are not captured in regional scale studies of Hudson Bay and/or Hudson Strait. Results have the potential to inform future research efforts on local/regional sea ice monitoring, the relationship between Inuit knowledge, language, and the environment, and addressing community interests through targeted studies.

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Should we turn the tent? Inuit women and climate change

Études/Inuit/Studies ◽

10.7202/045409ar ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 151-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Martha Dowsley ◽

Shari Gearheard ◽

Noor Johnson ◽

Jocelyn Inksetter

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Change ◽

Social Impact ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Social Changes ◽

Secondary Effects ◽

The Social ◽

Women’S Perceptions ◽

Inuit Knowledge ◽

Women's Role

Abstract Most of the climate change literature for Arctic Canada in the social sciences has focused on men’s knowledge and experiences. Drawing on research from Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River, Nunavut, we explore Inuit women’s perspectives on recent environmental changes, many of which are often attributed to climate change by Inuit or others. We divide issues resulting from environmental change into primary and secondary effects. Primary effects are changes in environmental features that affect, for example, hunting, fishing, and travelling. Secondary effects occur in the community as a result of environmental change. These include changes in the use and condition of country products like seal skins, and the psychological and social impact of environmental changes, such as going out on the land less often due to fear of dangerous conditions. We also offer a preliminary discussion on women’s role in responses to climate change, through their often dominant economic and political roles in their communities, the territory, and various wider global governance fora. Our research indicates that gender helps shape Inuit knowledge of environmental change, as well as social responses to perceptions of change. By examining women’s perceptions of environmental change, we draw attention to the social aspects and also highlight how women can contribute to adaptation, not only to physical changes but also to the resulting social changes.

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Inuit Knowledge and Charles Francis Hall

The News at the Ends of the Earth ◽

10.1215/9781478004486-006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 209-230

Keyword(s):

Inuit Knowledge

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The Inuit as geographers: The case of Eenoolooapik

Études/Inuit/Studies ◽

10.7202/013196ar ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 57-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

H. G. Jones

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Full Length ◽

Baffin Island ◽

Geographical Knowledge ◽

History Of ◽

Cumberland Sound ◽

Inuit Knowledge ◽

Deep Bay

AbstractRecent studies reveal an increasing number of instances in which Qallunaat benefited from Inuit knowledge of the lands and waters upon which they had lived for centuries. One of the best recorded examples of Inuit geographical knowledge is found in the story of Eenoolooapik, who led to the European rediscovery of Cumberland Sound 250 years after it was first explored and named by John Davis. Taken as a young man from Baffin Island to Scotland in 1839, Eenoolooapik excited whaling captain William Penny with stories of a large, whale-rich body of water then unknown to European and American whalers. “Eenoo,” as he was popularly called, drew a map of the coastline of eastern Baffin showing a deep bay known by the Inuit as “Tenudiackbeek,” and upon their return the next summer, Penny skeptically followed Eenoolooapik’s directions into a large bay in which the Inuk had spent his childhood. Thus the youngster’s geographical knowledge of his homeland resulted in the opening to whalers of a long-lost body of water in which, in the next decade, shore stations were established that offered seasonal employment to the Inuit and dramatically changed their lives. The story of Eenoolooapik is told in a small book by Alexander M’Donald,A Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Eenoolooapik[…] published in Edinburgh in 1841. This is probably the only nineteenth-century full-length biography of an Inuk published during the subject’s lifetime; and because copies of the book are exceedingly rare, the following article provides a synopsis as a means of portraying more fully the geographical contributions of Eenoolooapik.

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