NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: social sciences, climate change, tourism

Objective(s): To study how climate change is affecting community tourism development in Tuktoyaktuk, from the perspective of the Inuvialuit.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.4598. The purpose of this case study is to bridge the knowledge gap between western ways of knowing and Inuvialuit ways of knowing of climate change, mitigation, vulnerability, adaptation, and resiliency and how this correlates with community tourism development as a strategy for economic diversification. The research question this study specifically seeks to answer is “how is climate change affecting community tourism development in Tuktoyaktuk, NT from the perspective of the Inuvialuit?” This research will be conducted in the community of Tuktoyaktuk, within the Beaufort Delta region of the Northwest Territories and within the borders of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Community members will be asked to participate in this study via two focus groups, conducted during a one-week period. In order to protect their people and ensure research was undertaken appropriately, the National Inuit Strategy on Research (2018) identified 5 priority areas for research conducted with Inuit communities and peoples: •Advance Inuit Governance in Research •Enhance the ethical conduct of research •Align funding with Inuit researchers •Ensure Inuit access, ownership, and control over data and information •Build capacity in Inuit Nunangat research In order to meet these priorities, this research will use an Indigenist approach to collecting, analyzing, and presenting the research findings. The word, Indigenist refers to an approach to research that is mindful and respectful of Indigenous ontologies (realities) and epistemologies (ways of knowing). This research is a qualitative inquiry with emphasis on participatory and/or community-based approaches; whereas, the efforts to answering the research question become a collaborative effort between the researcher and community participants. The Principal Investigator (PI) will use a snowball sampling method to recruiting participants for the two focus groups. In order to achieve well-rounded and valid research results, the PI will utilize one primary and two secondary methods of data collection. The PI will be facilitating two focus groups as the primary source of information. As secondary methods for collecting the data the PI will employ a participant observation method as well as conduct a thorough and complete literature review. To analyze the collected data, the PI will be using grounded theory or thematic coding. Grounded theory is an approach to research within the social sciences that seeks to build upon the data to generate theories based on patterns. Thematic coding is the process in which identifies these patterns and will connect and categorize them into to support theory. Lastly, an extensive literature review of relevant journal articles and documents concerned with climate change, tourism development, and the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing will provide an overview of the current state of knowledge in these key areas. A literature review consists of thoroughly examining the work of fellow researchers in a similar area of study; in this case, tourism development and climate change. Literature reviews are integral to informing the researcher on what has already been done, what needs to be done, and provides direction to addressing shortfalls of existing research. The PI has sent emails to various contacts within the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk to ensure the community is aware and accepting of the research proposal. Reports will be prepared for the community and stakeholders. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from January 17, 2020 to October 31, 2020.