NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Objective(s): To support Inuvialuit leaders seeking to influence decisions about the impacts of shipping on tuktu-siku interactions.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5587. The overall aim of the collaborative research is to support Inuvialuit leaders seeking to influence decisions about the impacts of shipping on tuktu-siku interactions. The research methods comply with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and First Nations Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP). 1. Review of the Literature (April 2023-December 2023): I will review the research that has already been done about Peary caribou – sea ice to identify the kinds of knowledges that may/may not matter to Inuvialuit communities in their efforts to manage shipping and its impacts in the region. 2. Interviews on Risk Perception (December 2023-April 2024): I hope to interview different people from Inuvialuit communities, universities, and government departments to better understand perceptions of risk that differ depending on culture, location and community knowledge. We will use the following methods: • mentorship of a local community researcher (e.g., youth from Paulatuk). • semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping to document Inuvialuit and other knowledge about Peary caribou-sea ice interactions and perceived risks associated with shipping. This will include 10-15 Inuvialuit community members, Inuvialuit government and co-management board representatives as well as other resource persons with knowledge about Peary caribou-sea ice interactions. 3. Mapping Workshop (May 2024): The researchers will host a workshop at the University of Alberta to support Inuvialuit access to relevant knowledge including mapping, monitoring and regulatory information. The researchers will use a tool called Nunaliit, available through a research partnership with Carlton University Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC). Nunaliit is “an innovative open-source technology that facilitates participatory atlas creation and it offers the means to tell stories and present research using maps as a central way to connect and interact with the data, highlighting relationships between many different forms of information from a variety of sources” (http://nunaliit.org/). The outcome of the workshop will be a summary report and set of training tools that could be used by Inuvialuit youth seeking to be more involved in research and monitoring. • invite community members from the Inuvialuit region to co-host a workshop in Edmonton (or Inuvik) • identify relevant materials and information (e.g., spatial data). • facilitate communication and mentorship opportunities between Inuvialuit and Inuit youth from the ISR and other parts of the Arctic (e.g., Clyde River). • co-design a training activities that support Inuvialuit access to data / resources about Peary caribou-sea ice interactions. • develop a final report that highlights opportunities and challenges of data access and use for improved governance of shipping and its impacts on sea ice – Peary Caribou. 4. Reporting to the community (June 2024-October 2024): By the end of the project, products will include: • Plain language summary of what has been documented on sea ice, shipping, caribou/wildlife, Indigenous ontology, contamination/heath, climate grief • Shipping governance network map and list of actors • Transcripts of community interviews • A story and photos from research and workshop • Printed maps • GIS spatial data • Minutes and summary from workshop • Nunaliit database All of this will be returned to the PHTC and applications of the data will be discussed and consent will be revisited. Researchers will receive informed consent before additional uses and sharing of the data. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: February 01 - December 15, 2024