NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: traditional food, food security, country food, food systems, community freezer

Objective(s): To assess and describe the feasibility, value, barriers and supports, and overall outcomes of the implementation of community freezers in the context of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) of the Northwest Territories (NWT).

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5789. The objective of this study is to assess and describe the feasibility, value, barriers and supports, and overall outcomes of the implementation of community freezers in the context of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) of the Northwest Territories (NWT). The study aims to develop an improved understanding of how community freezers play out in the everyday context of communities’ country food systems, and the strengths and barriers to managing and sustaining such initiatives. This improved understanding will inform decision-making surrounding how communities in the ISR invest in community freezer infrastructure going forward. This study will use one-on-one semi-structured interviews, taking place in-person or via telephone/videoconference. The study will include interviews with community freezer managers from each of the 6 communities of the ISR (approximately 6-12 interviews) as well as interviews with community members who use the community freezer or who have the potential to use the freezer in their respective ISR communities (2 to 4 communities will be selected for a more in-depth case study to include community freezer user/potential user interviews, approximately 10-15 interviews per community). The research team will work with community partners such as the respective communities’ Community Corporations and Hunters and Trapper Committees, as well as hire a Community Research Lead to help recruit participants for interviews. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. In-person meetings with the Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, Paulatuk Community Corporation, and Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committees are scheduled for November 2023 to discuss this project. These in-person meetings will help to shape and inform the interview guides that will be used for semi-structured interviews with community members and freezer managers for this research. Letters will also be sent to HTCs/CCs in all 6 communities of the ISR to provide information about the project. The research team has engaged in multiple meetings with the Director of the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Organization based in Inuvik to shape and inform the project. Results from this study will be shared through public meetings in the communities, posters, and a final research report. Preliminary results will be shared with the local and regional organizations in the ISR, prior to the publication of final results. If desired by the community partners, an article will be published in the regional magazine 'Tusayaaksat' or in the territorial journal ‘Xa`gots’ee`hk’o?`’. Other dissemination methods will be determined through communication with community partners. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: February 01 - December 31, 2024