Hunters and researchers: Inuit knowledge counters climate change | COP15
On a canvas, in the chapter introduction, the ice map is transmitted from a projector. Students are alert and reflective, because the subject preoccupies them. Some frown while others take notes and listen intently.
Let’s try to find something that will not be affected by climate change in the North
They challenge their mentor and program director, Jason Carpenter.
A long silence ensues, a sign that the question is more difficult than it appears. Then, finally, a shy hand rises.
rocks?
wonders demanded loudly.
Clearly unconvinced by her answer, another student took the opportunity to grab the ball on the fly: Instead of just being covered in ice and snow, the rocks will often be exposed to water and various erosive processes, which can lead to rapid erosion.
she answers.
The group uses these moving exchanges. Students report on their observations in the field, their realities, and their concerns. Outside of school hours, many of them are seasoned hunters.
I chose this program because I go out regularly in the area [pour] Hunting and fish
explains Ian McDonald, a sophomore from Iqaluit.
Ian McDonald (left), 22, has been fishing for ten years.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mattiss Harvey
The program began in Iqaluit in 1987, before Nunavut was even formed a territory, and today has more than 230 alumni. The latter are generally functions of the Earth that revolve around wildlife conservation, natural resource management, and environmental protection.
Some of the first graduates […] They now find themselves in positions of authority, either as leaders or managers [ou] Assistant Deputy Ministers
says Jason Carpenter, who has followed the program himself.
” I believe that the more people are informed about climate change, the more they will be able to bring up different issues in discussions in their communities, whether around the dining table or in their workplace. »
Among those former students is Andrew Kim, a Northwest native from Fort Smith who moved to Iqaluit in 1990 to train.
The day after his arrival, when he was in the tundra during his first field lesson, he remembers naively asking his classmates where to find wood for a fire. Everyone started laughing at me
recalls the person who, at that time, was not familiar with the tundra.
” From photography to mapping, including lake science, we’ve done it all. This was the time when I had to use a compass instead of a GPS. It was really fun. »
Thirty years later, the accredited Nunavimmiut has not left the territory and is serving as the regional director of water resources for Canada’s Ministry of Crown, Aboriginal, and Northern Affairs..
Andrew Kim (far right) and colleagues during a field course in Peterhead Inlet, west of Iqaluit, in the spring of 1993.
Photo: Submitted by Andrew Kim
The environment is in danger
Over the years, climate change has forced itself into the daily lives of the students, first in their living environment, and then in their class discussions, crystallizing their sense of anxiety, but also of urgency.
Whether it’s seals in summer, snow geese in spring or pheasants in winter, Ian MacDonald has been chasing for the seasons since he was 12 years old. Within ten years of hunting […] I found the icing to be faster and change in thickness
He said. The issue of security is the biggest concern of fishermen. I care. The lives of people who go out on the ice are in constant danger.
Photographed by Ian MacDonald hunting a seal in June.
Photo: provided by Ian MacDonald
Climate change is hitting hardest in the Arctic, where warming has occurred Almost four times faster than the rest of the world over the past 40 years.
One of the factors driving this trend is the effect of Arctic amplification, a phenomenon that occurs when sea ice and snow, which naturally reflect the sun’s heat, melts into seawater, and the latter then absorbs more radiation, warming the sun.
Extended ice-free season, unpredictable weather conditions, warming waters: the resulting consequences are being felt, by rebound, at all levels at all levels of food chains in the Arctic ecosystem.
Canada’s northernmost point, Grise Fiord, in October 2020
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mattiss Harvey
living from the territory
Inuit culture is one of the accidental victims of climate change, mainly because the territory is closely associated with language, food, traditional knowledge, and way of life.
If wildlife fails to adapt quickly enough to the changes that are taking place, we will begin to lose them.
says student Alana Alurot, of Coral Harbor in central Nunavut, adding that this is her biggest fear. If we lose it, we lose a part of our culture.
The student also fears that this cultural erosion will be passed on to future generations of Inuit.
Alannah Allurut is a sophomore in the Environmental Technology program at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mattiss Harvey
At the same time, the The amazing cost of living On both sides of northern Canada Endangering food security.
” Here, we depend on the environment much more than we do in the South. For many people, hunting is a necessity. »
Combining two schools of thought
Climate change in northern Canada attracts a large number of researchers each year, particularly in the summer, which is a season conducive to fieldwork. In recent years, more scholars are incorporating the traditional knowledge of the Inuit, called Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
(IQ) in Inuktitut, in their research process.
There is a lot of effort being made in collaboration, sharing and discussion with the local communities
says Jason Carpenter.
Jason Carpenter completed a post-secondary program in 1998, before becoming a teacher and then principal a few years later.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mattiss Harvey
Contrary to popular belief, the teacher believes that Western science and traditional Inuit knowledge are not They completely opposed that they were allowed to appear
.
Science relies on observations, information, and measurements to answer questions
He said. And I think the Inuit made many observations as well […] Based on their experiences in this field.
Jason Carpenter believes that the key to harmonious collaboration lies in the involvement of the Inuit communities from the earliest stages of the research process.
Be sure to ask an Inuit-related question, says the teacher. Make sure you follow a methodology that they understand and accept, but also find credible. Hence, include community members throughout the research and collection [sur le terrain et] to interpret the data.
L’I.Q It is the lens through which science must be studied
Completed by Andrew Kim. According to him, these two schools of thought have their strengths and should be closely linked.
But even if collaboration between southern and Inuit scholars is important, it may not be the best solution, Alana Alorot stresses. If there were more Inuit scholars, they would be able to master both sides: Western science and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
The student has not yet fully completed the program, but is already working for the Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada. She is particularly interested in migratory birds and hopes to become a biologist one day.
The [programme] You explain it to us, it takes us out of our comfort zone, deepens our knowledge and builds our self-confidence. I hope we can aspire to be the leaders of the future and be inspired.
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