Inuit approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou: Considering language, place, and homeland toward improved co-management

Qikiqtaq (King William Island), in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, has been largely overlooked in caribou research to date. Qikiqtaq is shown as blank, or as having uncertain status, in the majority of caribou herd range maps. However, our work with Inuit Elders and hunters in Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven) on the southeastern coast of Qikiqtaq made it clear that caribou migrate on and off the island seasonally, and some remain on the island year-round. Caribou were identified as a local research priority in 2010, and we have worked together with Uqsuqtuurmiut (people of Uqsuqtuuq) from 2011 to 2016 to document and share Uqsuqtuurmiut knowledge of caribou movements, hunting, and habitat, as well as the importance of caribou for community diets, livelihoods, and cultural practices. In this process, it was important to understand appropriate Inuktitut terminology and local approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou in the region. Uqsuqtuurmiut do not generally distinguish caribou (tuktuit in Inuktitut) according to herds, in the way that biologists or wildlife managers do. Locally, people differentiate four main types of caribou: iluiliup tuktuit (inland caribou), kingailaup tuktuit (island caribou), qungniit (reindeer), and a mixture of iluiliup tuktuit and kingailaup tuktuit. Through these names, along with reviewing approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou in other Kitikmeot and Kivalliq commu

Nunamii’luni quvianaqtuq (It is a happy moment to be on the land): Feelings, freedom and the spatial political ontology of well-being in Gjoa Haven and Tikiranajuk, Nunavut

In Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven, Nunavut), we worked with Uqsuqtuurmiut (people of Uqsuqtuuq) on local priorities of caribou and well-being. We learned about the importance of relationality. In order to follow relations and their effects, we draw upon health geography concepts: therapeutic landscape and environmental dispossession. As therapeutic techniques, Uqsuqtuurmiut practice their knowledge and norms with people; animals; and the land, water and sea ice towards physical and emotional gains. They also make health discourses that can be beneficial. The social aspects of this environmental investment move beyond the individuation found in the hamlet to produce a sense of unity (or freedom) with emotional benefit. It was ultimately expressed as the happiness inherent to being ‘on the land’ and well-being. Moreover, we draw on relational materialism to illustrate not only a holistic form of well-being, but also how Uqsuqtuurmiut self-landscape encounters involve the spatialization of ontological difference. To better appreciate how this therapeutic worlding experience provides emotional gains related to self-determination, we reframe freedom from simply being the erasure of interpersonal borders to also include a sense of interdependence and collective autonomy. We further explain happiness as the therapeutic benefit of an Uqsuqtuurmiut spatial political ontology

Policies and practicalities of shipping in arctic waters: Inuit perspectives from Cape Dorset, Nunavut

Under changing climatic conditions, political and economic interest in accessing arctic waters and shipping potential is increasing, bringing forward opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed. To explore the practical implications of this from Inuit perspectives, we undertook a community-based case study in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, conducting 20 interviews between 2008 and 2009. We also examined three Nunavut Acts and Agreements, three Canadian Federal Acts, and one International Agreement to better understand the regulations and policy positions. For each we sought to understand characterizations of: community uses of the marine environment; impacts of shipping; and monitoring of ship travel. Our objective was to investigate how well (or not) Inuit experiences and observations of arctic shipping were incorporated into policy provisions governing shipping in arctic waters. A comparative analysis of Inuit and policy positions shows shared and unique priorities as well as areas of apparent disconnect related to shipping in arctic waters. Therefore, this article highlights key considerations for arctic shipping from both practical and policy perspectives. We conclude with recommendations relating to undertaking community consultations, establishing the Marine Council, improving emergency response measures, and updating existing Acts and Agreements in an effort to contribute to ameliorate the situation for mutual benefit

Uqsuqtuurmiut inuita tuktumi qaujimaningit (Inuit knowledge of caribou from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut): Collaborative research contributions to co-management efforts

Caribou (tuktuit) are embedded in northern life, and have been part of Inuit culture and seasonal rounds for generations. In Inuit Nunangat (Inuit homelands), tuktuit are the most prevalent of country foods consumed, and remain interconnected with Inuit values, beliefs and practices. Despite co-management mandates to consider Inuit and scientific knowledge equally, the intertwined colonial legacies of research and wildlife management render this challenging. In Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven, Nunavut), community members identified the importance of documenting Inuit knowledge in order to be taken more seriously by researchers and government managers. To address this priority we worked with Uqsuqtuurmiut (people of Uqsuqtuuq) to articulate which types of tuktuit are found on or near Qikiqtaq (King William Island), provide a historical perspective of tuktuit presence/absence in the region, and describe seasonal movements of tuktuit on and off the island. In reflecting on potential intersections of our work with the Government of Nunavut strategy "Working Together for Caribou", we identify several considerations in support of Qanuqtuurniq (information and knowledge acquisition): defining information needs, recognising and valuing Inuit knowledge, and developing and implementing credible research. By sharing lessons from our collaborative process we aim to contribute to broader cross-cultural research and co-management efforts in Nunavut

Cybercartography for education

As outlined in Chapter 1, many of the characteristics of Cybercartography lend themselves to improving teaching and learning in a variety of different settings. This chapter will examine the potential in both community college and high school settings in Nunavut, Canada. Education in Nunavut poses a number of challenges, especially the need to include traditional knowledge to increase the cultural relevance of the curriculum. The cybercartographic atlases being produced in cooperation with northern communities, such as the Inuit siku (sea ice) Atlas described in Chapter 14 and the earlier Arctic Bay Atlas (described in this chapter), are making a valuable contribution to the educational challenges in both a formal and informal sense. This chapter begins by looking at the theoretical relevance of Cybercartography to education using Howard Gardner's theories. This is followed by a consideration of the educational context in Nunavut, and the application of Cybercartography in both Nunavut high schools (the Inuit siku (sea ice) Atlas) and Nunavut Arctic College (the Arctic Bay Atlas) contexts. In educational terms, the processes by which these atlases were created and the active involvement of Inuit communities are of equal, if not, greater, importance than the artefacts themselves

Engaged acclimatization: Towards responsible community-based participatory research in Nunavut

In this article, we consider the formation of responsible research relationships with Inuit communities from an "outsider" researcher perspective. Cautious not to prescribe what counts as responsible, we draw on research experiences in several Nunavut communities to introduce and explain "engaged acclimatization." This neologism refers to embodied and relational methodological processes for fostering responsible research partnerships, and is inspired by the significance of preliminary fieldwork in orienting the lead author's doctoral thesis. As a complement to community-based participatory methodologies, engaged acclimatization facilitates endogenous research by enacting ethics as a lived experience, initiating and nurturing relationships as a central component of research, and centring methods on circumstances within participating communities. After we locate engaged acclimatization within resonant literature and details of interrelated research projects, our article sketches out four aspects of engaged acclimatization: crafting relations, learning, immersion, and activism. In our discussion of each, we integrate specific insight

Mapping weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information providers in Polar Regions: who are they and who do they serve?

Environmental conditions in Polar Regions are becoming more dynamic due to climate change. As sea ice melts, the range of human activities in Polar Regions are projected to increase, while weather conditions are becoming more extreme and unpredictable. Provision and use of weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information plays a key role in ensuring that polar activities are conducted as safely as possible and can contribute to a reduction of the environmental footprint of human activities. In this article, we explore the WWIC information provider landscape in a polar context, drawing on a database we compiled to characterize the diversity of providers. The database is built on available literature and on an extensive desk-based research of WWIC information provider websites. We analyse the 374 providers categorized by (a) institutional background (public vs private), (b) the position of the provider relative to activities in the WWIC information space, and (c) the users they serve. While governmental institutions have a strong presence in information provision, new types of providers are now entering the scene. Scientific actors seem to play a substantial role as users as well as major providers of WWIC information services

Characterizing polar mobilities to understand the role of weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information

The Polar Regions are undergoing rapid environmental change while simultaneously witnessing growth and diversification of human activity. These changes call for more responsive, detailed and specialized weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information services so that the risks related to human activities can be minimized. Drawn from an extensive literature review this article provides an examination of selected sectors and their uses of WWIC information services in order to offer an initial understanding of diverse environmental forecasting needs. Utilizing a mobilities perspective we provide a characterization of mobility in the Polar Regions to help contextualize current WWIC uses and needs. Using four illustrative case studies of polar mobilities (community activities; cruise tourism; shipping; and government and research operations) the article explores two broad q