NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: physical sciences, housing, climate change, traditional knowledge, berries

Objective(s): To learn how northern peoples can continue to adapt to changing climates by applying Elders’ knowledge e.g. healthy seasonal harvests and moss-insulated shelters.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are to: 1) Learn how northern peoples can continue to adapt to changing climates by applying Elders’ knowledge e.g. healthy seasonal harvests and moss-insulated shelters. 2) Engage First Nations young people in traditional practices such as moss houses reconstruction so the practices shared by Elders can foster climate adaptation well into the future. 3) Build capacity within northern First Nations communities through traditional knowledge sharing through documentary production. Private interviews with Elders will take one hour and will be conducted with Alestine Andre present and in a location suitable for each Elder (usually in their home village). Moss house reconstruction will involve Gwich'in people, led by Willie Simon, cutting blocks of moss in the traditional way and harvesting fallen wood from their traditional territory. Moss houses reconstruction will be led by Gwich'in Elders with high school student involvement. Supplementary information about the traditional houses will be gathered from written sources. At the same time as the moss houses are being built, Gwich'in Elders will show us how to harvest berries from under the snow in areas that were traditionally used for this purpose. This project will engage Gwich'in knowledge-holders and Elders to help reconstruct two forms of moss houses found in Gwich'in tradition. Local people will also be employed as photographers and videographers. Inuvik high school students will be involved in the reconstruction, with permission of the school and their parents. Local photographers and videographers engaged on the project will learn from a professional videographer. A local person may attend a one-week course in video editing, thereby building capacity within the community. The Gwich'in people have expressed an interest in reviving the knowledge of how to build moss houses, as one way to be able to safely obtain their country foods even as climate change makes it more treacherous to be out on the land during the fall and spring due to unexpected thaws or storms. The high school students, Elders, knowledge-holders, and research team will interact during the reconstruction and also at a community meeting in 2014. The documentary that we will produce will be distributed through on-line file sharing sites, websites, and hard copies to communities and interested schools. A booklet summarizing the research ideas will also be produced and distributed. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from February 19, 2014 to December 31, 2014.