Connecting understandings of weather and climate: steps towards co-production of knowledge and collaborative environmental management in Inuit Nunangat

Abstract

Inuit hunters and meteorologists alike pay close attention to weather and weather changes, with deep understandings. This paper describes a long-time research project based in Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut, where a research team of Inuit and visiting scientists have combined information and knowledge from a community-based weather station network, on-going interviews and discussions, and extensive travel (both Arctic fieldwork and visits to southern universities) to co-produce knowledge related to human-weather relationships and weather information needs and uses in one Nunavut community. The project uses the concept of “HREVs”, human-relevant environmental variables – complex, synthesis variables that, used in conjunction with a host of social variables, assist in informing safe land travel and activities. This work, including linking Inuit knowledge and environmental modeling, can be expanded to not only understand human-weather relationships more broadly and in other locations, but also provide insights into the process of building diverse research teams and knowledge co-production.

Indigenous participation in peer review publications and the editorial process: reflections from a workshop

“…Determining effective processes for joint validation is an ongoing area of research (Gratani et al 2011;Wilson et al 2020;Worden et al 2020). These processes will likely vary on a case-by-case basis, but could include research teams composed of both science and IK experts; defining problems, goals, conceptual models, questions, and methods collaboratively; working on data collection and analysis; communicating results on a regular basis; consulting regularly with experts as part of the research team; and providing regular opportunities for feedback and input (Gearheard and Shirley 2007;Reed 2008;Pearce et al 2009;Grimwood et al 2012;Tengö et al 2014;Gérin-Lajoie et al 2018;Fox et al 2020;Pedersen et al 2020;Wilson et al 2020). When researchers engage in an iterative process to validate research findings with IK holders, this process effectively becomes a peer review by Indigenous experts in the field.…”

“…In 2018, the national organization representing Inuit in Canada, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), released the National Inuit Strategy for Research that calls for a paradigm shift in the research process, policy and governance, and the development of equitable partnerships whereby Inuit are included from start to finish in research programs and projects (ITK 2018). Strong collaborative, participatory research between scientists, Indigenous organizations, communities, and peoples has demonstrated numerous benefits including new knowledge production, applied findings at local levels, and impacts on policy (Pearce et al 2009;Danielsen et al 2010;Etiendem et al 2020;Fox et al 2020;Henri et al 2020;Pettitt-Wade et al 2020). However, despite calls to action on participatory research in the Arctic, a multi-decadal analysis revealed only a slight increase in the involvement Indigenous Peoples in research from 1965 to 2010 (Brunet et al 2014).…”

Making a Difference: Planning for Engaged Participation in Environmental Research

“…Outcomes for the non-Inuit researchers were primarily conceptual : a much-improved understanding of Inuit terminology, perception of weather, and other factors involved in local weather-related decisions that allowed them to ask more sophisticated questions and identify important parameters for modeling that would not otherwise have occurred to them. This deeper understanding allowed the academics to develop the concept of “human-relevant environmental variables” that combine different meteorological, geographical, seasonal, and social factors (Fox et al 2020 ), a concept underlying a more recent iteration of the project.…”

“When We’re on the Ice, All We Have is Our Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit”: Mobilizing Inuit Knowledge as a Sea Ice Safety Adaptation Strategy in Mittimatalik, Nunavut

“…Technological adaptation tools include access to weather, tide, and marine information, along with satellite imagery, GPS, and community-based sea ice monitoring (Table 1: columns 1 to 3). Community-based monitoring activities vary across the Arctic, but include the use of time-lapse photography, webcams, and coastal radar systems to monitor sea ice breakup, and equipment to measure local weather, sea ice, snow, and oceanographic conditions (Mahoney and Gearheard, 2008;Mahoney et al, 2009;Druckenmiller et al, 2010Druckenmiller et al, , 2013Bell et al, 2014;Aqqiumavvik, 2020;Arctic Eider Society, 2020;Dufour-Beauséjour et al, 2020;Fox et al, 2020;Segal et al, 2020a Satellite imagery and their derived products are another adaptation tool that Inuit are regularly consulting (Pearce et al, 2010(Pearce et al, , 2015Laidler et al, 2011;Segal et al, 2020a) from websites such as SIKU (Arctic Eider Society, 2020) and Polar View (2019) (Table 1). Satellite imagery can benefit Inuit by providing an overhead view of the sea ice destinations farther from the community to help identify routes for safe sea ice travel (Meier et al, 2006;.…”

“…The literature also has several examples of documenting and mapping Inuit sea ice IQ to preserve IQ (Heyes, 2011;Krupnik, 2011;Weyapuk and Krupnik, 2012), understand local sea ice processes (Laidler and Elee, 2008;Laidler and Ikummaq, 2008;Heyes, 2011;Krupnik, 2011;Weyapuk and Krupnik, 2012), characterize conditions for wildlife migration (Ljubicic et al, 2018;Henri et al, 2020); undertake environmental assessments (Manseau, 2006;Knight Piésold Consulting, 2015), and develop Arctic shipping policy (Carter et al, 2018). However, there are only a few examples in which the documentation of sea ice IQ was done to improve safe sea ice travel (Tremblay et al, 2008;Arctic Eider Society, 2020;Fox et al, 2020;Nunavut Arctic College Media, 2020). METHODS Katherine Wilson, the lead author of this paper, is a PhD candidate with Memorial University of Newfoundland and an employee of the Government of Canada for over 25 years, with the CIS (17 years in total), Environment and Climate Change Canada, and currently on interchange with SmartICE.…”