NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: contaminants, health, biodiversity, harvest, Inuvialuit, Indigenous knowledge, indigenous youth, Country foods, Calendar

Objective(s): This project has three main objectives: 1) To combine traditional knowledge and academic science tools to co-develop traditional knowledge and food calendars in the ISR; 2) To learn about the country foods eaten by Inuvialuit children, youth, adults and Elders in the ISR, how this has changed over time and if there are any associated health risks; and, 3) To analyze nutrients and contaminants in country foods in Ulukhaktok to understand if there are risks from eating country foods because of pollution in the environment.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 6103. This project hasthree main objectives: 1) To combine traditional knowledge and academic science tools to co-develop traditional knowledge and food calendars in the ISR; 2) To learn about the country foods eaten by Inuvialuit children, youth, adults and Elders in the ISR, how this has changed over time and if there are any associated health risks; and, 3) To analyze nutrients and contaminants in country foods in Ulukhaktok to understand if there are risks from eating country foods because of pollution in the environment (please note that the sample collection was completed in Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Tuktoyaktuk and Sachs Harbour under Country Foods for Good Health Phases One and Two, Scientific License 16690, 16969, 17202 and 17456). Methodology: The following activities will take place in all six communities of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) between February 2025 and March 31 2025 and are centered around the foods, knowledge and values held by these communities. Details on these components will be developed with the communities over the course of the project. All material use and dissemination will be treated following OCAP protocols. We will explore options for visualisation on a web portal and or social media platforms, which will include audio recordings, photographs and filming. 1) Traditional Knowledge and Seasonal Food Calendar (Seasonal Calendars): Seasonal calendars will be developed in each community that reflect harvest, preparation and diet throughout the year. The calendars will be created through community workshops, school workshops and individual engagement, with Traditional Knowledge-holders and youth (aged 13-29). School workshops will provide the opportunity for students to learn IK from local harvesters alongside western scientific knowledge about country foods. Youth may be invited to participate in the Community Workshops as co-researchers, to learn from their Elders and knowledge-holders directly. 2) Food Frequency Questionnaire (Diet Survey): The food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) will be conducted in each community using an electronic survey on Qualtrics. Adults and youth (aged 12-18) from separate households will be invited to participate in adult and youth surveys, respectively. Participants will be asked to document their country food consumption over the previous year. Parents of young children (aged 6 - 11 years) will be invited to respond to an additional survey to record their childrens’ diets. These data will be used to estimate contaminant and nutrient intake, and conduct a preliminary quantitative risk assessment. 3) Food Collection and Analysis (Food Profiles): Food samples will be collected through a combination of community-based sampling and partnerships with different organizations, government departments, and universities; this is an ideal way of sampling because it takes advantage of samples previously collected through various monitoring programs and also recognizes that large projects which heavily rely on community-based sampling can place undue burden on the community members themselves. A community research lead will be hired to collect samples throughout the year (starting Jan/Feb 2025) in Ulukhaktok and samples will be shipped to the University of Waterloo twice (once in June and once between Nov 2025-Jan 2026). If a university researcher is in the community, there may be an opportunity to work with the school to have the students involved in sample preparation before shipping the samples out to the University for analysis. Seal, fish and beluga samples will be provided through collaboration with the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, the OHTC and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The OHTC requested these additional analyses in Feb 2024 and reviewed the proposed plan during their AGM on Oct 28 2024. Each sample will be analyzed for fatty acids and total metal concentrations of mercury, methylmercury, cadmium, lead, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, omega-3 fatty acids and other fatty acids. Additional data on vitamin A and D in country foods from Ulukhaktok and other communities are available from earlier phases of Country Foods for Good Health. Dr. Ostertag, P. Farnole and Dr. Steiner presented the Traditional Knowledge, Food and Climate project objectives to the Inuvialuit Game Council in Sept. 2024, and received support (see IGC Letter of Support attached). Dr. Ostertag received an engagement letter from the IRC in spring 2024 for the proposed research, and a data management plan is currently in progress between IRC and UWaterloo to ensure data sovereignty is respected. Data will be owned by the community HTCs, and managed by the IRC and JS through the data management plan. An ad hoc working group will be established at the JS, led by J. Lam, in fall 2024 to guide research. Drs. Steiner and Ostertag joined the HTC bi-weekly Resource Person meeting on Oct 24 2024 and Nov 7 2024, and will continue to attend these meetings to ensure strong communication with HTCs for the duration of the project. Information letters will be sent to HTCs and Community Corporations in Nov 2024 to provide background on the proposed projects. Virtual presentations will be used prior to community visits to plan the research and organize logistics and local hiring. Community visits will be organized through phone calls with resource people and Corporate Managers, to ensure that in-person meetings are scheduled with Hunters and Trappers Committees and Community Corporations before the research begins (i.e., at the beginning of the community visit, before workshops, interviews and sample collection begins). An information letter will be sent to the superintendent of the Beaufort Delta Education Council and the administrators of each school, to discuss the school workshops. Workshops will be organized with the school administrators directly, based on their interest and availability. Research results will be reviewed and co-interpreted in-person with community members and organizations prior to dissemination in the community and beyond. HTCs will be involved in hiring Community Research Leads (CRLs) to co-lead research in each community. HTCs will meet with the researchers prior to initiation of the project and will be invited to co-present the project objectives and results from earlier work, at public meetings. CRLs will be invited to co-present results at public meetings and at regional meetings and conferences, pending funding availability. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: February 10 - March 31, 2027