Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in community-based monitoring of ecological changes in Igluligaarjuk (Chesterfield Inlet)
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Date
2024-08-27
Authors
B K, Suresh
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Abstract
Studies have shown that climate change and other anthropogenic activities like infrastructure developments, shipping, and mining have changed the Arctic ecosystem. Such changes have cumulative impacts on the social and ecological system related to the Inuit. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Community-based monitoring (CBM) are crucial in monitoring the changes and their impacts. This research identifies the ecological changes and their impacts on the Chesterfield community. It documents how the community uses Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) indicators to monitor the changes. Next, it discusses the challenges and implications of knowledge integration during CBM. Community-based qualitative research was used as a methodology including interviews with fifteen Inuit hunters, Elders, and knowledge holders, and two workshops. Recommendations from Indigenous research frameworks and tools were incorporated throughout the research. This research finds that the community has observed changes in sea ice, rivers, lakes, land, animals, and marine ecosystems. Climate change, shipping, and mining in Baker Lake are the primary reasons for the changes. These stressors have impacted the social, cultural, economic, and ecological aspects of the community. Some of these impacts (for example, a decrease in the abundance of seals) are tangible whereas others (for example, impact on knowledge) are intangible. Changes in the sea ice and increasing shipping are the main concerns of the community.
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Keywords
Knowledge integration, Cumulative impacts, Social ecological system