NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: social sciences, climate change, traditional knowledge, beluga whale

Objective(s): To characterize Inuvialuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of beluga whale’s ecology and behaviour, hunting techniques, and food preparation; to document current stresses affecting beluga and Inuvialuit hunters and adaptive responses; and, to identify opportunities for TEK to inform beluga management and environmental decision making.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are to: 1. describe the beluga-Inuvialuit linked social-ecological system; 2. characterize Inuvialuit traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of beluga whale: ecology and behaviour, hunting techniques, and food preparation; 3. document current stresses affecting beluga and Inuvialuit hunters and adaptive responses; and, 4. identify opportunities for TEK to inform beluga management and environmental decision making. Data collection will employ various ethnographic field methods suitable for the documentation of TEK through a field season in the summer of 2016. Time spent living and engaging with communities has been identified as a key process of research in northern Canadian communities, particularly on projects that document traditional knowledge. Semi structured interview (SSI) data will be collected using audio recorders, while participant observation (PO) data will likely be written, then typed out and saved to secure it. By consulting with community members and the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committee on who is perceived to possess expertise on beluga through conversational interactions, a list will be compiled and sorted to create a ranked list of knowledge holders. This process will lead to more intentional sampling decisions than would be possible with snowball sampling techniques. However, opportunistic sampling techniques will be employed to follow new leads if they arise during the sampling process. The researcher will aim for a sample size of at least 30 community members, to a maximum of 40 if time and funding permits. The demographic of the sample will be representative of the population of Tuktoyaktuk, with 50% female and 50% male participants from various age groups. A local research assistant will be employed to assist with the research process and to accommodate language or cultural needs during the interview process. This will include an initial interview of 1-2 hours, with one or two follow-up meetings during the field season to review preliminary findings. The research is expected to have significant practical contributions to the community of Tuktoyaktuk and the broader Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR). Practical contributions at the local level may include plain language reports that can assist the transfer of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) within and between communities in the ISR. Production of a best-practice video guide for preparing beluga muktuk and meat will also occur pending securement of adequate funding. Community members in the ISR have indicated that previous TEK studies have stimulated the desire for further TEK studies on other species, and this research will hopefully contribute to this ongoing trend. Local partners will be employed throughout the duration of the field research period. In addition to providing the research partner with a substantial, albeit temporary source of income, the research assistant position will provide experience and training for the participant, contributing to capacity building in the community. The capacity to undertake TEK studies in this case may be of significant practical benefit to the community, who have expressed their interest in conducting studies of their own. Participants will be informed of dissemination plans during the 2016 field season during the initial consent procedure. During pre-research consultation, the community identified several potential research outputs that they would like to see, including a plain language summary, and a video documenting beluga preparation techniques. Results will also be shared orally through a community presentation prior to submission for thesis requirements, through a community visit in February 2017. In order to meet Master’s degree requirements, the results will also be prepared in thesis format for submission to the Department of Geography at the University of Guelph. Finally, the results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed academic journal for consideration for publication. Appropriate journals that will be considered include Human Ecology and Arctic. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from July 20, 2016 to August 3, 2016.