Grants and Contributions

This project will document caribou Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) from Elders in all Kitikmeot communities, train harvesters to record mobile-based observations on the land, develop engagement tools to support continued monitoring after project completion, and build a plan to make HTO-led monitoring sustainable across the Kitikmeot region. Resulting data in a broad range of formats will be synched to Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board's current digital IQ and mapping information management system. The engagement tools developed will strengthen engagement within and among communities in the region and support and sustain monitoring and stewardship of wildlife—caribou and others—for generations to come.

This work will complete the integration of Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project (ILUOP) data into the Naonaiyaotit Traditional Knowledge Project (NTKP) GIS database, and make its information accessible to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KitIA), Kitikmeot communities, and to all Inuit for land use planning and other decision-making tasks. NTKP centres will be established within and linked among all five communities, allowing shared decisions to be made on a unified base of Inuit Knowledge.

This project addresses fish health and water quality at select sites of community concern through the collection of concurrent Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) and western science descriptions of water and fish quality. Proposed work and the broader Inuu’tuti program are intended to characterize and monitor cumulative effects from climate change, glacial rebound, mining, and population growth on the aquatic environment. Project results will serve as a baseline dataset for community and regional decision makers to assess cumulative effects, inform project decisions and determine appropriate mitigation measures and adaptive responses.

This knowledge sharing project will take place in the communities of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL, Inukjuak, QC, and Iqaluit, NU, and extensive use of Zoom, with the intent of reaching shared understandings about polar bears amongst Inuit in different parts of the Eastern Arctic. Knowledge mobilization activities will include 1) a synthesis of traditional knowledge from the three Inuit regions; 2) communication materials and activities to inform the public about new scientific research results about polar bear habitats, abundance, and threats from all available disciplines; 3) a virtual polar bear conference; and, 4) the development of policy recommendations from a transdisciplinary working group of knowledge holders. The project will lead to enhanced understandings of, robust decision-making for, and the sustainable utilization of polar bears, for generations to come.

Traditional knowledge and science will be utilized to better understand carbiou and muskox health across Nunavut. Climate change and emerging diseases are key factors of concern.

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) is being used to identify knowledge gaps in country food activities in several communities on Baffin Island, NU. Connections to culture and training of youth will foster sustainability and decision-making.

This study will expand on training provided by the Nunavut Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (NCAMP) to include the use of In Reach satellite devices and a specially designed "Fishery Assessment App" that will assist in the monitoring, reporting and assessment of subsistence and commercial fisheries. This information will be automatically uploaded on to a Nunavut Fishery Atlas that can be accessed by web browser. The project aims to enhance local capacity in biomonitoring, data stewardship, and management for empowered participation in co-management and better preparation for the impacts of climate change on food availability, wildlife migration, and sustainable harvesting.

Population dynamics of grizzly bears in the Kitikmeot Region, NU, will be assessed and as they relate to caribou calving grounds.

East Kitikmeot communities study country food security in a changing climate and shifting sea-ice patterns. Marine mammals and caribou are of focus as high priority food sources and culturual importantance.

Hilap Aulaaniit Qanuq Atayut (The World and its Connections) is an Inuit-driven approach to environmental knowledge production that combines the resources, expertise, and passion of four Inuinnaqtun speaking communities—Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Gjoa Haven and Uluhaktok—to build and apply an environmental lexicon for the Inuinnaqtun language. This project will coalesce Inuinnaqtun’s remaining linguistic experts to document detailed Inuinnait knowledge of the natural world, while addressing the reality that Inuinnaqtun—the foundation of Inuinnait culture—has fewer than 600 fluent speakers remaining. Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society (PIKHS) will draw on an existing partnership of Inuinnait linguists and researchers to plan, coordinate, execute and evaluate a culturally-embedded approach to Inuinnaqtun environmental knowledge documentation.