Being on Land and Sea in Troubled Times: Climate Change and Food Sovereignty in Nunavut

Abstract

Climate change driven food insecurity has emerged as a topic of special concern in the Canadian Arctic. Inuit communities in this region rely heavily on subsistence; however, access to traditional food sources may have been compromised due to climate change. Drawing from a total of 25 interviews among Inuit elders and experienced hunters from Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk in Nunavut, Canada, this research examines how climate change is impacting food sovereignty and health. Our results show that reports of food insecurity were more pronounced in Kugluktuk than Cambridge Bay. Participants in Kugluktuk consistently noted declining availability of preferred fish and game species (e.g., caribou, Arctic char), a decline in participation of sharing networks, and overall increased difficulty accessing traditional foods. Respondents in both communities presented a consistent picture of climate change compounding existing socio-economic (e.g., poverty, disconnect between elders and youth) and health stressors affecting multiple aspects of food sovereignty. This article presents a situated understanding of how climate change as well as other sociocultural factors are eroding food sovereignty at the community-scale in the Arctic. We argue that a communal focus is required to address resilience and adaptation at the local level through programs that protect the local cultural knowledge, traditional ways of life, and indigenous sovereignty to reduce the severities of food insecurity in the Arctic stemming from climate change.

Building adaptive capacity in a changing Arctic by use of technology

“…Furthermore, whereas residents found technology is positive for enhancing capacity to adapt to change, many participants also emphasized the downsides of technologies, including the reduction in knowledge transfer due to the loss of youth interest in subsistence. These responses are similar to a study of communities in Nunavut where residents reported concerns that youth are more interested in jobs, money, and technology than subsistence, thereby threating transmission of traditional knowledge (Panikkar and Lemmond 2020). The generic capacity to address economic development in the three https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss4/art1/ communities were considered more important than the need to increase income, employment, improve education, and strengthen cultural identity.…”

“…The concern about cultural continuity, intergenerational transfer of knowledge and skills and youth participation in subsistence activities is not unique to the three communities in our study. Time spent outdoors has been declining over the past decades (Louv 2008), including among Indigenous youth of the Canadian Arctic (Pearce et al 2011, Holen et al 2012, Tremblay 2018, Panikkar and Lemmond 2020. Participants in our study noted the diminishing capacity to respond to climate threats and environmental adversities by use of traditional ecological knowledge.…”

Climate change and Indigenous mental health in the Circumpolar North: A systematic review to inform clinical practice

“…Inuit and Inupiat individuals from 11 studies perceived that the integrity of their connection to the land is essential for their mental health and resilience (Boulanger-Lapointe et al, 2019;Cunsolo Willox et al, 2012, 2013a, 2013bHarper et al, 2015;Ostapchuk et al, 2012;Petrasek MacDonald et al, 2013Sansoulet et al, 2020;Sawatzky et al, 2020;Wolsko & Marino, 2016). Eight of the studies found that for many Inuit, going outside the community (i.e., travelling or performing activities on the land) is an important way of dealing with the stress and problems of daily life (Boulanger-Lapointe et al, 2019;Bunce et al, 2016;Cunsolo Willox et al, 2012, 2013a, 2013bDurkalec et al, 2015;Panikkar & Lemmond, 2020;Petrasek MacDonald et al, 2015). In Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and Nunavut, Inuit participants of 10 studies reported feeling more relaxed, calm, and peaceful, as well as healthier and happier, when on the land (Boulanger-Lapointe et al, 2019;Bunce et al, 2016;Cunsolo Willox et al, 2012, 2013a, 2013bDurkalec et al, 2015;Harper et al, 2015;Middleton et al, 2020a;Petrasek MacDonald et al, 2015;Sawatzky et al, 2020).…”

Reconnecting with Nature through Good Governance: Inclusive Policy across Scales

“…Writing of his experience on a mission to Canada, former Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter, highlighted the impacts and consequences on food security from climate change in relation to Indigenous communities and access to traditional food systems [28]. Nearly 10 years later, communities across Canada-part of the area known to many Indigenous nations as Turtle Island, which encompasses the region of North America [29]-continue to struggle with the growing and potential effects of climate change [30], as well as the impacts of settler economic systems, environmental disruption, and other pressures, on accessing traditional foods [31].…”