Rapid environmental change in the Arctic elicits numerous concerns for ecosystems, natural resources, and ways of life. Robust monitoring is essential to adaptation and management in light of these challenges, and community-based monitoring (CBM) projects can enhance these efforts by highlighting traditional knowledge, ensuring that questions are locally important, and informing natural resource conservation and management. Implementation of CBM projects can vary widely depending on project goals, the communities, and the partners involved, and we feel there is value in sharing CBM project examples in different contexts. Here, we describe two projects in the Gwich’in Settlement Area (GSA), Canada, and highlight the process in which local management agencies set monitoring and research priorities. Dzan (muskrat; Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766)) and łuk dagaii (broad whitefish; Coregonus nasus (Pallas, 1776)) are species of great cultural importance and are the focus of CBM projects conducted with concurrent social science research. We share challenges and lessons from our experiences, offer insights into operating CBM projects in the GSA, and present resources for researchers interested in pursuing wildlife research in this region. CBM projects provide rich opportunities for benefitting managers, communities, and external researchers, particularly when the projects are built on a foundation of careful and continuous dialogue between partners. Arctic gwinagoo’ee gwa’àn khanhts’àt ejùk t’igwinjik k’iighè’ nan kak jidìi nihàh goo’aii tthak ts’àt nits’òo tr’igwindaii geenjit gwiiyeendoo niinji’gwidhat. Ejùk t’igwinjik gwizh’it tr’igwiheendaii ts’àt guk’andehtr’ahnahtyaa geenjit gwijiinchii goo’àii ts’àt kaiik’it gwizhìt yi’eenoo nits’òo tr’igwiindài’ gwinjik guk’andehtr’ahnahtyaa k’iighè’ kaiik’it gwizhìt t’angiinch’uu geenjit guuhadahkat gwijiinchii gwihee’aa ts’àt daginuu, juudin nan ts’àt nan kak gwinahshii tthak k’aginahtii kat guuvàh gugwitaandak. Nits’òo gwitr’it gugwahahtsaa, kaiik’it kat, ts’àt diiyah gwizhìt tr’iinlii nits’òo gwihee’aa k’iighè’ nihłinehch’i’ gwinjik kaiik’it gwizhìt guk’andehtr’ahnahtyaa goo’aii geenjit diiyah gugwaandàk gwijiinchii goo’aii niidadhanh. Canada gwizhìt Gwich’in Nan Sridatr’igwijiinlik gwizhìt nits’òo gwitr’it gugwahahtsaa ts’àt guk’andehtr’ahnahtyaa ts’àt nits’òo gwizhìt tr’igwahnah’aa zhat danh geenjit diiyah gugwaandàk. Dzan ts’àt łuk dagaii, tr’igwindaii geenjit gwiiyeendoo t’atr’ijąhch’uu k’iighè’ kaiik’it gwizhìt guk’andehtr’ahnahtyaa gwijiinchii gòo’aii aii geenjit jùk nits’òo tr’igwindaii gwinjik gwizhìt tr’igwahnah’aa geenjit gwitr’it gugwahahtsah. Nikhwigwitr’it gwizhìt gwits’agwighah gwįį’è’ ts’àt dagwiidi’ìn’ geenjit diiyah gwaandàk k’iighè’, nits’òo GSA gwizhìt geenjit gwitr’it gugwahahtsaa ts’àt juudìn nan kak nin gwindaii gwizhìt gugwahnah’aa giiniindhan guuts’àt tr’ihiidandal niidadhanh. Juudìn jii geenjit gwitr’it gugwahtsii kat nihts’àt gigįįkhii k’iighè’ kaiik’it gwizhìt gwiinzii guk’andehtr’ahnahtyah, gwitr’it gwichìt kat, kaiik’it kat ts’àt uu’òk gwizhìt gugwinah’in jii k’iighè’ gwiinzii digugwitr’it gugwahahtsah.
Running head: Climate Frontline Article impact statement: Indigenous land users' experiences of global ecological change can help researchers understand variable climate impacts and adaptations. In the Arctic, the dynamic nature of climate change is directly impacting ecosystems and human communities (Bush & Lemmen 2019). Climatic changes are often reported as regional trends, but
Rapid climate change is altering Arctic ecosystems and significantly affecting the livelihoods and cultural traditions of Arctic Indigenous peoples. In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), an increase in the harvest of Pacific salmon indicates largescale changes influencing Inuvialuit fisheries. In this project we recorded and synthesized Inuvialuit knowledge of Pacific salmon. We conducted 54 interviews with Inuvialuit fishers about the history of Pacific salmon harvest, how it has changed in recent decades, and concurrent changes to local environments and fish species. Our interviews show that historic, incidental salmon harvest in the ISR ranged from infrequent to common among western communities, but was rare or unprecedented among eastern communities. Participants in all six communities reported a recent increase in salmon harvest and attributed this shift to regional environmental change. Fishers were concerned that salmon would negatively affect their cultural traditions and preferred fish species. Given uncertainty about the effects of salmon on local fisheries, research on salmon diets in the Arctic, their subsidies to Arctic freshwater systems, and the likelihood of their establishment is vital.
Collaborative and community-based research (CCBR) is well defined and discussed in the literature; however, there are few discussions about graduate students doing CCBR with Indigenous communities. This project report features insights from nine graduate students attending six universities in Canada, the United States, and Brazil. These students are a part of a multi-year research partnership grant involving fishing communities from three major watersheds, the Mackenzie River Basin, the Amazon River Basin, and the lower Mekong River Basin. Each student engaged in collaborative research around the themes of Indigenous fishing livelihoods and the role of local and traditional knowledge in river basin governance. This project report presents reflections of graduate students on developing relationships and enacting CCBR during the following three stages of research with Indigenous communities: research project design, research project implementation, and post-project engagement. Best practices have been developed from graduate student reflections on issues, challenges, and needs of graduate students doing CCBR. The findings suggest that a diversity of factors contribute to effective CCBR. This includes the needs and interests of the community partner, the quality of supervisor support, the skillset of the student, their disciplinary background, and their capacity to work in complex sociopolitical contexts.
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