NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: environmental monitoring, environmental stewardship, youth stewardship

Objective(s): To learn more about the benefits of youth involvement in community-led environmental stewardship.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5570. The broader hope is to learn more about the benefits of youth involvement in community-led environmental stewardship. The Beluga Whale Monitoring Program has been a successful example of co-management and stewardship which has been in place for many decades. We wish to showcase the benefits of this program to the broader research community. The researchers also want to work with and support future leaders to tell their own stories about these questions through interviews as well as by making short films about the TNMPA including their hopes and worries about the future. One future leader in each community (Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk) will be hired as research assistants to facilitate interview processes. The roles of research assistants will include: help in recruiting interview participants, transcribing interviews, communicating research objectives and benefits, and involvement in the interviews themselves. Research assistants will be compensated for their involvement and have the opportunity to learn about social science research processes. Phase 1 - Collaboration with the THTC, IHTC (May 2023) This phase is important to learn what is the best approach to engage with future leaders in the community, to determine if and how many interviews might be done, as well as design and coordinate how future leaders might be involved in the beluga camp at Hendrickson Island/ East Whitefish in 2023. We propose to develop and sign a “data sharing agreement” between the HTCs and the University of Alberta to ensure the knowledge of the individuals and communities involved in the research are protected. Phase 2 - Mentorship of Future Leaders The researchers want to engage future leaders in deciding how the research activities should happen. We would do this by meeting with a small group in May in a workshop setting where elders, and other resource persons such as HTC members, staff from the FJMC and DFO resource persons, are involved in discussion about the research and monitoring activities at Hendrickson. The questions guiding the workshop might include: - good stewardship practices at Kittigaryuit (Kugmaliut Bay – Hendrickson Island) - knowledge and skills needed for hunting - respecting others in the community and other hunters. The workshop will also create opportunities to learn more about some of the stresses currently impacting the arctic, beluga and the Inuvialuit communities including climate change, resource development contaminants, shipping and microplastics. Phase 3 - Learning from Past Experiences The researchers want to work with future leaders to interview people who have been involved in monitoring beluga whales in previous years and in related stewardship activities. We think it would be great to ask questions such as: Can you talk about how beluga are important to you, your family and community? How would you describe the health of beluga? How does the health of beluga impact on the health and well-being of people? Can you share any worries you might have about the health of beluga? Did being involved in monitoring activities of beluga increase or decrease your worries? How? How long were you in monitoring? Can you describe that experience? How did you benefit from this experience? What were some of the challenges? What would be some recommendations to improve opportunities and benefits for other future leaders? These interviews would happen between April-August 2023, Kirsten Chamberlin and Carrie Karsgaard will conduct 30-60 minute semi-structured interviews with young leaders who have previously participated in stewardship activities, community leaders involved with running the stewardship activities, and any young individuals who plan on participating in whaling camps in July 2023. Interviews will be conducted in person and will be audio recorded. Recordings will be transcribed by members of the research team (Kirsten Chamberlin, Carrie Karsgaard, and local research assistants). Phase 4 - Youth sharing their Own Stories We want to support youth sharing their own stories about stewardship in the TNMPA through video technology. For example youth could use their phones to take some video, as well as professional cameras. They could work together with a filmmaker to make short films (5 mins) or longer videos (E.g., 20-30 minutes long) depending on the guidance of the HTCs and choices of youth themselves. These stories could be shared in the region. Youth might also travel to share their films at a bigger event such as a film festival or meeting on biodiversity and climate change. Before the research license application was developed, we had multiple meetings: July, 2022 - Brenda Parlee and Kirsten Chamberlin met with The Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik HTCs about ideas for stewardship activities in the TNMPA. This meeting provided guidance about if/how to develop this research project. September - December 2022 - Brenda met several times by Teams with HTC staff from the Inuvik HTC and also had phone meetings with the THTC. January - February 2023 - Kirsten Chamberlin and Carrie Karsgaard also met with staff and members of the HTCs. During the research activities and after approval of the research license:. The researchers will meet with the HTCs at their regular meetings to report on the progress of the project according to the activities outlined in the objectives and will also be communicating with the other members of the Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk communities through the workshop proposed for May-June. Guided by the HTCs, we will also share outcomes with other Inuvialuit organizations / councils (e.g. FJMC, Community Corporations) during their regular meetings and / or as needed. To ensure communication and coordination, we will also provide any needed information on logistics with other organizations including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The researchers will be communicating with Inuvialuit members from Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk through the interview process will be working with future leaders to coordinate their engagement including filming/editing. After the research is completed in late 2023-24: The researchers hope to support future leaders to produce a long film and several short films that could be shared in Inuvik at a meeting or feast/celebration in the fall of 2023. Kirsten Chamberlin will also be working on an MSc thesis and would share it in draft with the HTCs before it is defended. An academic publication might also be developed. Workshop results, interview quotes, video etc. would only be used with the permission of individuals and the HTCs according to the terms of the data sharing agreement. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: May 01 - December 31, 2024