NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: social sciences, traditional knowledge, aboriginal youth, prevention programs, travel safety

Objective(s): To study how on-the-land programming strengthen Sahtu residents’ ability to avoid the need for search and rescue (SAR) and their chances of survival if SAR is needed.

Project Description: The research question is "how can on-the-land programming strengthen Sahtu residents’ ability to avoid the need for search and rescue (SAR) and their chances of survival if SAR is needed?" The main objectives of this project are five-fold: i) to provide youth with the opportunity to experience life on-the-land in a safe and controlled environment; ii) to share traditional knowledge from elders to youth concerning safety and to avoid the need for search and rescue; iii) to ensure future generations have the education, skills, and knowledge needed for survival on the land if they ever require search and rescue; iv) to have select outside experts share information about mainstream safety and survival practices with youth and elders and to collaboratively translate this knowledge into culturally appropriate resources that can be shared throughout the Sahtú Region; and v) to develop objectives and a scope for future SAR prevention work in the Sahtú Region. The main method of data collection for this project is semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to focus on the participants’ perspectives and experiences in relation to the research question. Youth and elder participants (those who participated in the on-the-land camp in the summer of 2017) will participate in the audio-recorded semi-structured interviews over the phone. The interviews will mainly be conducted in English; however, an interpreter will be available if needed. The inclusion critiera are that participatns must be over the age of 18 and will have participated in SRRB's on-the-land program in summer 2017. During the camp, the participants took photos of what safety and survival meant to them and these were made into digital stories. For the semi-structured interviews, the participants will be asked to reflect on the digital stories that they created of the SRRB's on-the-land camp, if the camp changed their knowledge about safety and survival and how, what they learned in the camp, and their feelings about learning on the land. With the permission of participants, the digital stories will be shared with others throughout the Sahtu Region and will be used in the youth’s presentations back to their communities. The interviews will take about 1-1.5 hours and will be held over the phone at a time that is convenient for the participant. The participants will be asked to review their interview transcripts, which will take about 30 minutes. There are numerous opportunities for local involvement. The main participants who will be participating, the youth and the elders, will be from communities in the Sahtú Region. The program will be planned with guidance and approval from the SRRB Board Members and Special Advisors, and in collaboration with the five Renewable Resource Councils from Sahtú communities. The youth will give presentations on what they learned at the camp in their home communities now that they have participated in it. Community presentations in each Sahtú community will include a poster, a digital story (if the youth wish to share them), public presentation and school activities designed at the camp, and reviewed by the Sahtú Environmental Research and Monitoring Forum as well as local Renewable Resource Councils. Facebook posts and a webpage will also be prepared drawing upon and complementing the other materials. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from August 15, 2018 to December 31, 2018.