Inuit perspectives on climate change and well-being: a comparison between urban and remote communities in the Arctic
Abstract
The generational knowledge of weather and climate is a foundational component of subsistence for Inuit in the Arctic. This knowledge is now challenged by the reality of anthropogenic climate change at a pace that, for Inuit, is impeding fundamental aspects of life in a single generation. To better understand how climate change moderates relationships between Inuit communities and the ecosystem services they rely on, the literature on how climate change is perceived in the circumpolar Arctic was systematically reviewed. The perspectives of Inuit as described in 75 studies were contrasted with those queried from a series of semi-structured interviews with 16 residents of Iqaluit, Nunavut. Within the literature, the themes most frequently mentioned in remote communities were concerns arising about the environment, community, and health. However, the inverse was true for studies that focused on urban communities. Participants from the semi-structured interviews described how colonialism still shapes knowledge translation, which has lasting effects on Arctic climate literacy for Inuit and non-Inuit. As such, an academic knowledge gap in the colonial context in which climate change operates was identified, which requires a way forward that can lead to improvements in the social context for Inuit.
Introduction
For Inuit, knowledge of the environment is fundamental for a successful subsistence-based economy, but an increasingly variable climate has had an impact on society, culture, education, health, and well-being. In the Arctic, temperature has increased at twice the global rate, a process known as Arctic amplification (Larsen et al. 2014). Indigenous Peoples in Arctic Canada, who are predominantly comprised of Inuit, are among the most directly affected by environmental change due to their integral relationship with the environment (Harper et al. 2021; Sawatzky et al. 2021). As climate variability can cascade across all aspects of life and culture (Ford et al. 2010), Inuit observations of climate and perspectives of how change impacts Arctic communities are imperative for understanding environmental change at various scales (Medeiros et al. 2017).
The observations collected by Inuit over millennia of successive activities on the land, including hunting, recreation, and travel, can contribute to knowledge that science would otherwise rely on local climate data to provide. Inuit knowledge can form the baseline of observations that can be used alongside metrological data to expand the shared understanding of climate change (Alexander et al. 2011). Environmental observations are enshrined in the core knowledge system of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), defined as: “all aspects of traditional Inuit culture including values, worldview, language, social organization, knowledge, life skills, perceptions and expectations” (Tester and Irniq 2008). IQ is recognized as a body of knowledge gained through centuries of rigorous observation of the environment (Watt-Cloutier 2015). The core of IQ also represents the structure of governance, which includes laws, beliefs, and values that educate each generation that are shared by Inuit across the circumpolar world (Karetak and Tester 2017). Integral to IQ, as with many Indigenous worldviews, is the importance of caring for the environment; “The land is so important for us to survive and live on; that's why we treat it as part of ourselves” (Mariano Aupilaarjuk as quoted in Evaloardjuk et al. 2004).
Inuit Knowledge can help augment gaps in data collection on climate change, while also contributing a missing and important human dimension to the scientific understanding of this phenomenon (Riedlinger and Berkes 2001). However, the scientific imposition of defining Indigenous Knowledge is common and also applied across all Indigenous Peoples as if it were some uniform concept (McGregor 2004). Leduc (2007) notes that IQ is cultivated in the mind and manifested as actions in the world. This highlights the belief that IQ “cannot be incorporated or integrated into science because societal values are broader than traditional knowledge, which is anyway, by nature, unlike scientific knowledge” (NTI 2005). Instead, IQ should be acknowledged as complementary, but not interchangeable or substitutable with science. It is also important to acknowledge that Indigenous knowledge systems are not homogenous frameworks to be contrasted in a binary with science; Indigenous Knowledge is diverse and complex, incorporating relationships, motivations, assumptions, accountability, and self-reflection of the researcher (Johnston et al. 2018). Likewise, there can be potential negative implications from the oversimplification of Indigenous ways of knowing by non-Indigenous researchers, including further harm from extractive research practices.
Colonialism has had, and continues to have, a lasting negative effect on Inuit well-being, and this history is important to understand in the context of climate change. The continuing effects of colonialism in the context of climate change are not always reflected in academic literature and colonial attitudes are still prevalent in non-Indigenous academic research spaces, especially where the direction and objectives of the research, action, and decision-making are made without meaningful engagement or input of Indigenous Peoples (Johnson et al. 2022). Reibold (2023) note that the capacity and capabilities of Indigenous Peoples concerning self-determination and subsequent climate change adaptation response are often ignored or undermined.
Inuit have experienced rapid and often damaging sociocultural change as they shifted from subsistence hunting and gathering to economic activities associated with trapping and trading with the arrival of the settlers and later the establishment of the Hudson Bay Company (Tester 2017). Following World War II, Inuit were increasingly encouraged, coerced, or forced into moving to permanent settlements and giving up their seasonal nomadic way of life (McGregor 2010). Inuit faced several other challenges, including—but not limited to—the removal of children from their families into residential schools, Project Surname1 and the interference with Inuit naming and identity, collapse of the Arctic fox pelt trade economy, caribou population declines, outbreaks of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, inhumane treatment of sled dogs, and abuse from Canadian settlers in positions of power (Alia 1994; Mancini Billson and Mancini 2007; McGregor 2010; Watt-Cloutier 2015; Tester 2017). These and other challenges are important to understand because Inuit, like many Indigenous Peoples today, still experience many of the negative and lingering consequences of colonialism, including “poverty, loss of traditional culture, loss of language, loss of control over resource development, suicide, addictions, and physical and mental health disparities” (Cameron 2012). From a health perspective, the influence of colonialism can compound the effects of climate change, which both manifest as an allostatic load in response to stress and trauma (Berger et al. 2015).
Colonialism is compounded by the effects of capitalism and neoliberalism: capitalism drives climate change and environmental destruction through the relentless pursuit of profit over sustainability, while neoliberalism pushes for a radically free market that manifests indifference toward poverty, cultural decimation, resource depletion, and environmental destruction (Brown 2009). Thus, there is likely a difference between the context of how climate affects Inuit communities depending on the geography of colonialism; those in urban centers with a higher degree of capitalism versus more remote communities that still substantially practice a subsistence sharing-based economy. This context is critical for the understanding of Inuit well-being today as well as how climate will affect Inuit communities in the future. We systematically review peer-reviewed literature to analyze the extent to which articles address how climate change influences Inuit society with a differentiation between urban and remote contexts. Core themes identified in the literature were compared to a participatory case study in Iqaluit, to contrast urban perspectives on climate adaptation and society. The purpose was to understand how climate change affects the well-being of Inuit, which includes social, cultural, political, and environmental effects; many of which are systemic (Ford et al. 2010). As such, well-being was defined here based on Kral et al. (2011), who identify well-being as the presence of family, communication, and the presence of traditional values and practices. By comparing interviews with residents and governmental workers in Iqaluit to themes identified through the systematic review, we (1) discuss how perceptions of climate adaptation and climate literacy for Inuit may differ between larger urban centers and smaller remote communities, (2) show how the effects of climate change are moderating relationships of Inuit to water and land, and (3) understand how these relationships are linked to Inuit well-being. As such, an improved understanding of the way that climate adaptation can be perceived with interconnected social, economic, and cultural realities is discussed.
1
Project Surname was a governmental project launched in 1969, where Inuit were asked to pick a surname as the basis of their identity. It was launched in response to the growing opposition to the numbering system introduced in the 1930s, where Inuit were given identification numbers, starting with ‘‘E” for ‘‘Eastern Artic” and ‘‘W” for ‘‘Western Arctic” (Alia 1994).
Positionality
Many Indigenous methodologies speak to the importance of positionality, a practice through which the researcher describes themselves in relation to their research: who they are; their personal relationships and connections to the work; their background and personal history; their assumptions, biases, motivations; and the accumulated knowledge they bring to their endeavours (Russell-Mundine 2012). The authors each come with a different background and perspective on how environmental change is influencing the future; Annabe U. Marquardt is a European Citizen completing her graduate education at Dalhousie University, Clarissa Jewell is a settler of Euro-Canadian descent, and Andrew S. Medeiros is of mixed heritage and settler on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq. None of the authors identify as Indigenous and approach this study with knowledge of Arctic communities without a connection to culture or identity. As such, they present their findings and interpretations supported by the participants in this research study, who have contributed significantly to the information and perspectives presented, and of which many wish to remain anonymous within the research process. Together, the authors and participants aim to create a space in which they can bring together both Western and Inuit ways of knowing for the betterment of all.
Methods
Research approach
We sought to understand the extent and depth of published academic peer-reviewed literature on how Inuit perceive climate adaptation and contrast those perspectives with research methodologies that incorporate pre- and post-interviews through a decolonizing lens. The decolonizing lens here was defined as an interpretative perspective that seeks to dismantle colonial authority and challenge the notion that the Western way of life, language, culture, science, and understanding of the world is superior to that of Indigenous Peoples themselves (Keane et al. 2017). Tuck and Yang (2012) caution against the conflation of the term decolonization with social justice and anti-colonial movements, arguing that decolonization is not a metaphor and can only be used to refer to the repatriation of land, power, and privilege to Indigenous Peoples; however, here it is still believed that there is work that needs to be done within academia to create space for Indigenous voices and epistemologies (Smith 1999; Battiste 2000 in Datta 2018).
Systematic review process
The extent and depth of academic literature were reviewed in a systematic approach (Haddaway et al. 2015) to synthesize themes attributed to Inuit with respect to observations of climate change. Data, as presented and embedded in publicly accessible peer-reviewed articles on interview studies conducted in urban and remote communities, were compared. The systematic process used a Boolean keyword search (Table 1), which included three peer-reviewed indexes: Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed.
Table 1.
| Index databases | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Boolean search criteria | PubMed | Web of Science | Scopus |
| Inuit AND climate change AND educat* | 7 | 34 | 15 |
| Inuit AND climate change AND (wellbeing OR “well-being”) | 11 | 59 | 29 |
| Inuit AND climate change AND ("traditional knowledge" OR “Indigenous knowledge” OR “Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit”) | 12 | 111 | 73 |
| Inuit AND climate change AND resilienc* | 6 | 56 | 25 |
| Inuit AND climate change AND adapt* AND vulnerab* | 13 | 112 | 56 |
Note: The search was initially conducted on 5 November 2022, and updated on 23 September 2023.
Search terms were generated to capture a breadth of climate change impacts on societal well-being. Duplicate articles between the three indexes were removed. Articles represented all primary peer-reviewed research articles published between 1980 and 2023 by the three indexes as of 1 February 2023, and reviewed on 10 March 2023 by all authors. The systematic analysis was repeated on 23 September 2023, to update for new articles published and to ensure consistency of decisions. A total of 631 articles were identified by all three databases, of which 316 were duplicates among the five search strings. Articles were screened using the ROSES protocol (see Supplementary material), and 132 articles were selected as relevant based on title and abstract screening. Six articles were excluded due to inaccessibility. Further narrowing of results was based on the following inclusion criteria: (1) the research is situated in Alaska, Canada, or Greenland, (2) the participants are Inuit, (3) the research reports primary data, (4) the researchers employed interviews, questionnaires, surveys, focus groups, or is an Inuit perspectives piece, (5) the research addresses perceptions of climate change, (6) the researchers conducted community-based research, and (7) the research was conducted in either urban or remote communities, not both. By deploying these inclusion criteria, 51 papers were excluded for a final total of 75 articles that were included in the systematic analysis. The initial search and data extraction was completed by AUM, with consistency of decisions made by ASM.
Data analysis
The 75 articles included in the systematic analysis were classified as having participants based in either remote or urban contexts. There are currently no universal definitions of “urban”, especially in an Arctic context, but typical classifications use accessibility, population size, and population density. Arctic communities were classified as “urban” based on a population of >3000 and a population density of >50 people/km2 based on a modified remoteness index from Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada 2023), adjusted for Arctic Canada (Subedi et al. 2020). Using this definition only Inuvik and Iqaluit are considered “urban” in this study, as these are the only two locations that included Inuit respondents in an urban context (see Supplementary material). Applying this definition resulted in 70 articles identified as primarily based on interviews with participants in remote communities (3466+ participants) and five articles based on urban communities (1259 participants) (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1.
All articles were systematically analyzed using the NVivo 12 software. Thematic analysis was conducted using an inductive/deductive hybrid approach (Proudfoot 2023), which resulted in the deductive identification of three main themes using IQ as a framework (Tagalik 2011), and multiple inductive sub-themes identified from the interview responses embedded in the publicly accessible peer-reviewed papers. The number of articles in which one or more interviewees discussed each theme and sub-theme was quantified. Word clouds were created using Nvivo 12 software based on the word frequency of the top 100 words, for remote and urban contexts (see Supplementary material).
Pre- and post-interview process
All research activities were approved by the York University Office of Research Ethics (ORE file number 4098 and Certificate # 2019-215). Interviews were conducted with a Social Science research license (02 005 20R-M) issued by the Nunavut Research Institute (NRI). Pre- and post-interview data were collected through two sets of interviews conducted in Iqaluit in 2014 and 2019. During the summer of 2014, a series of semi-structured questionnaires were completed with seven residents to identify concerns related to how environmental change influenced the urban environment. Building on these findings, in-depth interviews with five additional residents were conducted in 2019. One resident who was employed by the local municipal government and three residents employed by the territorial government were also interviewed. In total, nine participants identified as male, and seven participants identified as female (Table 2). All 16 participant interviews were conducted in English.
Table 2.
| Participant code | Affiliation | Year of interview | Interview structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| IR14-1 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-2 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-3 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-4 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-5 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-6 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR14-7 | Iqaluit resident | 2014 | Structured questionnaire |
| IR19-1 | Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Semi-structured interview |
| IR19-2 | Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Semi-structured interview |
| IR19-3 | Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Semi-structured interview |
| IR19-4 | Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Semi-structured interview |
| IR19-5 | Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Semi-structured interview |
| CI1 | City of Iqaluit/Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Unstructured interview |
| GN1 | Government of Nunavut/Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Unstructured interview |
| GN2 | Government of Nunavut/Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Unstructured interview |
| GN3 | Government of Nunavut/Iqaluit resident | 2019 | Unstructured interview |
The semi-structured questionnaire deployed in 2014 included a series of questions on environmental issues, with prompts about water security, water harvesting, and local knowledge about water resources; it focused on open questions to prompt respondents to discuss relevant issues that mattered to them (see Supplementary material). Most participants identified as Inuit and had resided in Iqaluit for 5 years or longer. Participants for the questionnaire were identified using snowball sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981) initiated through initial contacts identified by the NRI. In 2019, five semi-structured and four unstructured interviews were conducted, to explore broader topics informed by responses given during the 2014 interviews. These participants were also identified using snowball sampling with the initial contact identified from the 2014 contacts. Unstructured interviews were conducted with government employees at both municipal and territorial levels and discussed perspectives on climate change, water security, and the current challenges facing Inuit in local governance. The 2019 semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Inuit participants and followed a series of eight questions from which participants were encouraged to talk about issues that mattered most to them. Themes included how participants accessed freshwater in their communities, how they experienced climate change, their views of how Inuit are portrayed in popular culture, and views of how climate change is often discussed as it pertains to the Arctic (see Supplementary material). All interviews were conducted face-to-face at a place of the participant's choosing.
Thematic analysis
Notes were taken during the 2014 questionnaires. Verbatim transcripts from the 2019 interviews were transcribed using speech-to-text software, Otter.ai, which were then verified for accuracy; transcription errors were corrected manually. A thematic analysis using an iterative coding process employing a mixture of deductive and inductive coding (Creswell 2013) was conducted: key themes were identified deductively based on the framework of IQ (Tagalik 2011), and sub-themes were identified inductively from the interview notes and transcripts. This was done iteratively by multiple, close readings of the interview data and then the creation of memos and codes, which were then distilled and categorized into the final set of themes and sub-themes. A word cloud was created using MAXQDA based on the word frequency of the top 100 words used at least five times using the transcripts of the 2019 interviews, excluding interviewer questions and comments (see Supplementary material).
Results
Systematic literature review
Three primary themes within the 75 articles included in the systematic review were deductively derived, representing key topics adapted from IQ (Tagalik 2011): the Environment, Health, and Community. Thematic analysis of articles then identified sub-themes that were categorized into three broad themes through hierarchical coding (Proudfoot 2023). Inductive sub-themes relating to adaptation, advancement, feeling unheard, finances, sharing, and tradition were grouped under the theme Community; sub-themes relating to catastrophes, wildlife, climate change, development, ice, snow, water, weather, and travel were grouped under the theme Environment; and sub-themes drinking water, food and subsistence, mental health, and physical health were grouped under the theme Health.
When comparing articles that focused on participants in remote communities, it was found that respondents mentioned the environment more frequently, followed by topics about their community, and lastly health. On the contrary, articles that focused on urban communities mentioned topics related to health and well-being more frequently than community or environmental topics (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2.
Iqaluit case study
The notes and transcripts of interviews from the 2014 and 2019 interviews were combined, categorized into three broad themes deducted from IQ (Tagalik 2011), and organized into sub-themes through hierarchical coding (Proudfoot 2023). Even though participants were largely asked questions about the environment and climate (see Supplementary material), they often spent more time discussing other issues, such as Inuit well-being and education. Sub-themes relating to relationships to freshwater, changes on the land, and understanding climate change through IQ were grouped under the theme Environment; sub-themes relating to pollution and sustainability, social issues, and Inuit sovereignty were grouped under the theme Health and well-being; and sub-themes of southern perceptions of Inuit and the North, challenges in teaching IQ, and climate literacy in the North were grouped under the theme Knowledge and colonialism (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3.
Representations of Inuit in mainstream North American media, if they happen at all, were mentioned to be shallow or affect tokenism (IR19-3, IR19-4), and misrepresentation was identified as common (IR19-4);
“We love the shows, we love the movies, we love the storyline. But if you don't include us, that's kind of saying we don't matter, but you'll use our culture” (IR19-5).
Respondents also identified a need to adapt science and education in Arctic communities to be more inclusive of IQ and Inuit values, which goes hand in hand with the IQ guiding principles of Pilimmaksarniq (knowledge acquisition), Pilirqatigiingniq (common purpose), and Aajiiqatigiinniq (consensus). An important reflection of how science education is approached was noted:
“We are scientific thinkers, we had to be to survive here. But going to school here, I was being told (…) we have to dumb down the curriculum for Inuit students. You know, Inuit aren't good at math, Inuit aren't good at science, like focus on the arts, because that's how Inuit make their living. I am glad that art is a huge program and a huge part of life because that's also an important educational tool. And it's also extremely important in our culture. But at the same time, we need to have more of a focus on science, but it needs to be Inuk science” (IR19-3).
Fortunately, it was also noted that there are increasing efforts in communities to help youth acquire knowledge and skills and prevent increasing loss of Inuit values:
“There's a lot of programs that are working towards bringing back our cultural practices and values, and all these things that I grew up with, and stuff I didn't learn” (IR19-5).
Likewise, the recognition that these traditional practices allow for a better means of adaptation to improve the well-being of Inuit living in a changing Arctic was mentioned:
“I honestly think that if we have a healthy population, we will have a healthy environment. And I've already talked about the access to knowledge and access to programs in terms of climate change. Right now, when you're living in third-world conditions, that's not a priority” (IR19-3).
The recognition that sometimes adaptation was already a component of IQ was also made:
“It always have been different timing. The time of the thawing out, the time the ice flows away, what time the ice melt[s], the time of snow melt, the time of the ice freeze up. It was never the same, and it's still never the same” (IR19-1).
However, discussions about climate change were also identified as coming from “a very Ethnocentric viewpoint” (IR19-2). Respondents noted that science places emphasis on statistics and written knowledge, which puts Indigenous Knowledge at a disadvantage due to its oral nature: “[B]ecause it's not written, nobody believed it. It's our oral history” (IR19-1). One participant described a recent example of Western scientists not working with Inuit:
“Even a few years ago, there were the celebrations for the [150th anniversary of Canada]. There was this ship coming up with researchers that were studying codfish for the last 20 years, and they've never talked to Inuit about cod […], And you know, they are considered experts in their field and there was not just one person, there was a whole ship of people who are basically saying oh, I've never been to the Arctic even though this is my subject for the last 15 or 20 years. So that's caused a lot of issues” (IR19-2).
Discussion
While the basis for culture, governance, and well-being fundamentally links the relationship between the environment and society, climate change challenges the practice of core values and principles of Inuit knowledge systems in Arctic communities. Through a combined systematic review of the literature and interviews with residents from Iqaluit, it was shown how perceptions of climate adaptation and climate literacy for Inuit may differ between larger urban centers and smaller remote communities. It was further outlined how participants describe the moderating effects of climate change on the relationships of Inuit to water and land and how these relationships are fundamentally linked to well-being.
For Inuit, differences in prioritization need to be examined from a culturally sensitive and knowledge-inclusive standpoint (Vogel and Bullock 2021). In the social sciences, it has long been understood that cognitive processes, including attention, perception, and memory, are influenced and shaped by culture (Han and Ma 2014; Ji and Yap 2016). Therefore, some of the commonly used Western frameworks and approaches to understanding cognition may not apply cross-culturally in all the same ways (Christopher et al. 2014). For this reason, a framework based on the four maligait (laws) and six guiding principles of IQ (Tagalik 2011) was used, to conceptualize and discuss Inuit perspectives on climate change, Inuit well-being, and knowledge translation (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4.
Differences between urban and remote contexts
When comparing the results from the studies included in the systematic literature review to the respondents that were directly surveyed from Iqaluit, it was found that the topics discussed were largely consistent but prioritized differently. Topics discussed in the literature were summarized under the three main themes of Health, the Environment, and Community. In the transcribed interviews from Iqaluit, respondents focused on topics that were categorized as Health, the Environment, Knowledge translationand colonialism. It was found that the participants in the Iqaluit case study had much more specific mention of knowledge translation and colonialism as compared to the studies included in the systematic literature review. Several participants from Iqaluit described challenges with securing representation at higher levels in the territorial government, with Inuit often at a disadvantage in the competitive process because they do not have the required education or credentials for these positions (IR19-2, M. GN1).
The effects of colonialism were only explicitly discussed to a small extent in four of the 75 studies from the systematic review of the literature. For example, Durkalec et al. (2015) note that participants referred to being out on the land as a necessity to escape colonial influence, as this is where they felt most closely connected to their ancestors and traditional way of life. Likewise, Giles et al. (2013) note that some participants reject certain Western safety standards, such as lifejackets, when going out to hunt on their boats because they feel a “little bit weird” (young woman, as quoted in Giles et al. 2013). Others mentioned a general lack of representation and regard for Inuit and IQ in science and policy-making in the Arctic, which fosters distrust within the community towards outsiders (Young 2021; Gyapay et al. 2022):
“I urge scientists not to come to our communities and ask how our knowledge can be integrated into science…help us find ways to integrate your knowledge into the Inuit way of seeing the world. Help us turn the question around. This way, science can indeed be relevant to us” (Terry Audla 2014, as quoted in Young 2021).
The vast majority of the studies in the systematic literature review address socioeconomic concerns of their participants that were not explicitly linked to the effects of colonialism. Guo et al. (2015) note that food insecurity in Arctic communities was three times as high as the Canadian average. However, there is an imbalance within and between communities, with Inuit families more prone to suffer from food insecurities as compared to non-Inuit households. During the interviews in Iqaluit, one participant explained that “there are people whose families are going hungry because [country food] was their means of getting food for their family” (IR19-3). Ford et al. (2013) also highlight this imbalance:
“Do we really have choices? We can't get [traditional] foods at the store, so we have to get the meat from the south. The [traditional] food at the community freezer is too expensive, so we can't access it. The food from the food bank is useful, but it's always the same thing. Sometimes we get to choose between canned vegetables and canned beans […]” (Participant, as quoted in Ford et al. 2013).
Reduced consumption of country food is a commonly mentioned concern about health: “Anything from the land and the sea, the body needs those elements to be healthy” (Mitiarjuk Manguik, Ivujivik, 24 May 2014, as quoted in Rapinski et al. 2018). Participants across studies in the literature review, as well as during the interviews in Iqaluit, expressed concerns about the social, economic, and housing situation within their communities (Andrachuk and Smith 2012; Beaumier et al. 2015; Archer et al. 2017). As a consequence, young people leave their communities to find employment and more affordable living elsewhere (Flint et al. 2011).
When examining the differences between literature from urban and remote contexts, as well as the responses from participant interviews in Iqaluit, it becomes apparent that most Inuit perspectives of climate change, well-being, and knowledge translation are largely linked to topics and discussions that have a negative outcome for well-being, with a few positive references (see Supplementary material). Earlier snowmelt and changes in sea ice conditions pose serious safety concerns when travelling on land and by traditional travel routes (Archer et al. 2017; Fawcett et al. 2018; Lede et al. 2021). Many participants report having to travel farther distances to find country foods, which is often associated with increased financial costs;
“Ice formation every year, it's different. Some years it might be smooth to go across, some years it will be really rough. So it will take a lot longer to get to the mainland. And we have to find routes on the ocean, where we can get through the really rough ice“ (Participant from Cambridge Bay, as quoted in Panikkar et al. 2018).
Some participants mentioned concerns about how recent changes in the environment compromise their access to clean drinking water. It was noted that “ponds have completely dried up”, which raises concerns about water security in some communities (Harper et al. 2015). This was a concern also for interviewees from Iqaluit, who mentioned a preference for natural water sources, due to regional tap water often being “darker, sometimes with a shiny layer on top” (IR19-1), and “tast[ing] a little bit like chlorine” (IR19-2). Declines in the health of native species were mentioned, and often it seems unclear what is causing them: “Arctic char meat is white now. It's not red anymore, not sure why … most of them are smaller than back then…” (as quoted in Galappaththi et al. 2019). The warming climate is also leading to changes in plant growth, along with new flora and fauna appearing where they had never been seen historically: dandelions, different insects, and salmon (IR19-2; IR19-3). However, it is important to note that not all responses were negative. Generally, the systematic literature review revealed that there seems to be a sense of resilience among many participants across studies:
“The way you cope with things really makes you who you are. There's always going to be change, the world ain't going to stay the same forever. There are just some things where you have no control over; […] like you have to make the best of it and adapt” (16-year-old male, as quoted in MacDonald et al. 2015).
Relationships with the environment
Living in harmony with the land and protecting it is an important part of the traditional Inuit lifestyle, which is reflected in Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq, the IQ guiding principle of environmental stewardship (Tagalik 2011). The largest portion of the results from both the systematic literature review and interview data from Iqaluit can be considered under Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq. The systematic literature review suggests that topics discussed in this context were largely consistent between studies conducted in urban and remote communities. The main differences were that catastrophes and development were not mentioned in urban communities. One possible explanation could be the lack of the necessary infrastructural solutions to deal with catastrophes, such as erosion and flooding, in remote communities as compared to urban communities (Jensen et al. 2018). Recent climatic developments suggest that Arctic communities will be faced with an increase in catastrophic weather events, including increases in (coastal) erosion, due to permafrost decay and increased impacts from flooding and harsh storms. The literature suggests that many remote communities will need to make substantial adjustments to their already existing infrastructure and find new solutions to mitigate future risks (Warren et al. 2005). For example, Tuktoyaktuk, a small community in the Northwest Territories in Canada situated at the shore of the Arctic Ocean, has experienced severe coastal erosion from increased storm surges since the 1930s (Johnson et al. 2003). Residents are concerned and fear the possibility of having to relocate: “Erosion of the shoreline has been happening for a while now. We are noticing it more and more as it gets warmer and warmer” (Maureen Gruben, Tuktoyaktuk resident, as quoted in Andrachuk and Smith 2012). With the help of ongoing scientific monitoring of shoreline erosion, the community has since been working on developing suitable strategies to adapt their local infrastructure to mitigate further impacts on the settlement (Johnson et al. 2003).
Living in the Arctic requires certain levels of creativity and innovation to survive with limited access to resources (Tagalik 2011). There was a strong consensus between urban and remote communities about Qanuqtuurunnarniq, the IQ guiding principle of resourcefulness. Climate change is having diverse and cumulative effects on the way that Inuit spend time on the land, affecting the timing for hunting, fishing, and harvesting, and making it more dangerous to travel on the land (Weatherhead et al. 2010): “Right now, when you travel, even if you are a good hunter, it is dangerous. [The ice] looks like it is all the same, but underneath it is not” (E. Ishulutaq 2013, as quoted in Rathwell 2020). These safety concerns were also addressed by the interviewees from Iqaluit. As a result, Inuit “have to be extra careful or [do not] go [out on the land] at all” (IR19-5). Adaptation strategies to these dangers are similar in both types of communities. For example, the use of modern technology, such as the Smart Ice application (Bell et al. 2014; Reed et al. 2024), and weather forecasts to help with navigating challenges and emergency response out on the land are common. Beaulieu et al. (2023) showcase how Inuit researchers and non-Inuit partners can mentor youth and empower communities to use their own language, experience, and knowledge, to improve safety and the monitoring of the environment. Elders often reflect on how education and technology can help mobilize Traditional Knowledge across generations: “Now we need young people to teach us” (Elder as quoted in Galappaththi et al. 2019).
Our systematic review of the literature identified numerous studies that focused on climate change, with mention of the earlier snowmelt, changes in sea ice, vegetation, and warmer weather (Laidre et al. 2018; Lede et al. 2021); however, not all participants within these studies identified that the recent changes in the environment are associated with climate change. Some participants expressed the belief that “things will get back to normal next year” (Ford et al. 2009). Indeed, during the interviews with participants in Iqaluit, several expressed that climate change was an imposed Western concept, noting that climate has always been in flux (IR19-1).
Health and well-being
There was a difference in prioritization between topics in the literature, where urban interviewees predominantly mentioned topics about health and well-being, while remote interviewees focused mostly on concerns about the state of the environment. Similarly, when prompted to discuss issues related to water and land, participants interviewed in Iqaluit often diverted the discussion toward economic and social issues related to past and ongoing effects of colonialism. For Inuit living in an urban community, this suggests that health and social concerns were more prominent than concerns regarding the environment and climate change. However, it is also important to note that Inuit living in urban centers likely also feel the everyday influences of colonialism to a higher degree than those in remote communities (Laruelle 2019). Participants from Iqaluit identified social issues as the biggest obstacle for Inuit in their day-to-day lives, affecting physical and mental health and disrupting relationships with the land. The rapid shift from a subsistence lifestyle to the wage economy, especially seen through the lens of colonialism, has been dislocating physically, emotionally, and spiritually: “Honestly, in a place that has so many other social issues, and issues within systemic issues and things like that, a lot of people just can't afford to pay attention to [climate change] right now” (IR19-3). This was a sentiment that was also reflected in the literature; while many participants stressed the urgency of addressing climate change, one participant in a study by Prno et al. (2011) mentioned that while climate change is a concern, their ““community has [social] issues [that they] need to deal with first”’. As such, it becomes apparent that climate change cannot be viewed in isolation from socioeconomic impacts, as there are intersecting issues that combined manifest as an allostatic load that can affect well-being, including pollution, sustainability, social issues, and sovereignty (Berger et al. 2015).
Concerns about the loss of traditional practices and IQ in relation to climate change were commonly mentioned in both the systematic literature review as well as by participants from the case study in Iqaluit. The loss of a connection to traditional lifestyle was referred to as having a strong implication for Inuit mental health and well-being (Flint et al. 2011; Durkalec et al. 2015; Bishop et al. 2022). Knowledge is traditionally passed on from generation to generation; however, recently there are fewer opportunities for youth to engage in traditional practices and learn from their Elders:
“Back then, more young people were trained to be hunters and providers. But not anymore. That knowledge isn't passed on. Because there's less incentive. [Young people] can eat store bought food, they also have school. They are preoccupied“ (Anonymous 2015, as quoted in Archer et al. 2017).
There are some differences between urban and remote communities, as to which sub-themes were addressed. In remote communities, challenges in education and climate literacy were not mentioned. One possible explanation for this difference could be the decreasing practice of intergenerational education between Elders and youth in urban communities, as compared to remote communities where the Traditional Knowledge transfer is still somewhat intact (Herrmann 2016). Simonee (2021), who is an Inuit researcher, notes that Inuit “often feel stuck in the middle between Traditional Knowledge and modern services, trying to determine what information is most reliable […].” As weather and wind patterns continue to change, Indigenous Knowledge will get less reliable for navigating on the land (Archer et al. 2017).
A vital component of Inuit culture is the inherent care for others and maintaining strong relationships between members of a community (Tagalik 2011). Pijitsirniq, the IQ guiding principle of serving, was largely consistent in how it was addressed in responses from both remote and urban communities. Increasing structural change and shifts towards a wage economy have replaced the sharing culture for the most part (Goldhar and Ford 2010; Gilbert et al. 2021): “I don't like selling [the traditional foods] for money, but how else can I afford to hunt?” (Male hunter, middle-aged, as quoted in Ford and Beaumier 2011). Many participants expressed their frustration and sense of helplessness: “There's nothing you can do” (Youth, as quoted in MacDonald et al. 2013). A subsistence-sharing culture is only one of the many traditional practices that are gradually being lost or replaced by adopting a more Western way of life (Archer et al. 2017).
Conclusion
An increasingly variable climate challenges the subsistence-based sharing economy of Inuit, which can negatively affect their well-being. To get a better understanding of how climate change affects the Inuit relationship with the land, their well-being, and whether these experiences differ between urban and remote communities, published literature on interview studies with Inuit across the North American Arctic was examined and compared with an interview study with residents conducted in Iqaluit. This approach, which considers IQ values within the analysis, reveals that there are some positive outcomes for Inuit well-being in the context of climate change, such as building resilience, developing adaptation strategies, and revival of traditional practices for a more well-balanced lifestyle. However, climate change is predominantly affecting Inuit relationships to water and land in a negative way, and this is exacerbated by differences between Inuit and Western understandings of climate and environment. Results have been largely consistent across urban and remote communities, with differences in the prioritization of certain topics in the context of climate change. A greater need to listen to and understand Inuit perspectives to respect the knowledge that they hold, to include observations of how climate change is affecting the Arctic, and to implement their knowledge in decision-making and funding acquisition in Arctic research, was identified. Inuit well-being should be of primary concern not only for Inuit, but also for the non-Inuit who live, work, and conduct research in the Arctic. More effort needs to be put into developing a complementary knowledge system for science and IQ, with care to not value either above the other.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the participants who contributed to this work, including Solomon Awa, Torsten Diesel, Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss, and Jessica Kotierk. We are grateful to Jessica Peters and Brent B. Wolfe who assisted with the initial 2014 interview process. We would also like to thank Nunavut Arctic College and Mary Ellen Thomas for their assistance during fieldwork in Iqaluit. We would also like to thank Patricia E. Perkins, Sonia D. Wesche, Lori Bradford, and Melanie Zurba for editorial guidance in putting this paper together. AUM would like to thank Shanay Williams for providing feedback on the IQ-based framework used in this paper. This study was supported by research funding from Dalhousie University and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada through the Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program.
References
Alexander C., Bynum N., Johnson E., King U., Mustonen T., Neofotis P., et al. 2011. Linking Indigenous and scientific knowledge of climate change. Bioscience, 61(6): 477–484.
Alia V. 1994. Names, numbers, and northern policy: Inuit, Project Surname, and the Politics of Identity. Fernwood Publishing.
Andrachuk M., Smit B. 2012. Community-based vulnerability assessment of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada to environmental and socio-economic changes. Regional Environmental Change, 12(4): 867–885.
Archer L., Ford J.D., Pearce T., Kowal S., Gough W.A., Allurut M. 2017. Longitudinal assessment of climate vulnerability: a case study from the Canadian Arctic. Sustainability Science, 12(1): 15–29.
Battiste M. 2000. Maintaining aboriginal identity, languages, and culture in modern society. In Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. Edited by M. Battiste. University of British Columbia Press. pp.192–208.
Beaulieu L., Arreak A., Holwel R., Dicker S., Qamanirq O., Moorman L., et al. 2023. Indigenous self-determination in cryospheric science: the Inuit-led Sikumik Qaujimajjuti (“tools to know how the ice is”) program in Inuit Nunangat, Canada. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11: 1076774.
Beaumier M.C., Ford J.D., Tagalik S. 2015. The food security of Inuit women in Arviat, Nunavut: the role of socio-economic factors and climate change. Polar Record, 51(5): 550–559.
Bell T., Briggs R., Bachmayer R., Li S. 2014. Augmenting Inuit knowledge for safe sea-ice travel—the SmartICE information system. IEEE Xplore, 2014, Oceans-St. John's. pp. 1–9.
Berger M., Juster R.P., Sarnyai Z. 2015. Mental health consequences of stress and trauma: allostatic load markers for practice and policy with a focus on indigenous health. Australasian Psychiatry, 23(6): 644–649.
Biernacki P., Waldorf D. 1981. Snowball sampling. Sociological Research and Methods, 10: 141–163.
Bishop B., Oliver E.C., Aporta C. 2022. Co-producing maps as boundary objects: bridging Labrador Inuit knowledge and oceanographic research. Journal of Cultural Geography, 39(1): 55–89.
Brown W. 2009. Neoliberalism and the end of liberal democracy. In Edgework: critical essays on knowledge and politics. Princeton University Press.
Cameron E.S. 2012. Securing indigenous politics—a critique of the vulnerability and adaptation approach to the human dimensions of climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Global Environmental Change, 22(1): 103–114.
Christopher J.C., Wendt D.C., Marecek J., Goodman D.M. 2014. Critical cultural awareness: contributions to a globalizing psychology. American Psychologist, 69(7): 645.
Creswell J.W. 2013. Qualitative inquiry & research design. 3rd ed. Sage Publications, Los Angeles. pp. 170–212.
Datta R. 2018. Decolonizing both researcher and research and its effectiveness in indigenous research. Research Ethics, 14(2): 1–24.
Durkalec A., Furgal C., Skinner M.W., Sheldon T. 2015. Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of indigenous health: relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community. Social Science & Medicine, 136: 17–26.
Evaloardjuk S., Irniq P., Puqiqnak U., Serkoak D. 2004. Uqalurait: an oral history of Nunavut. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal.
Fawcett D., Pearce T., Notaina R., Ford J.D., Collings P. 2018. Inuit adaptability to changing environmental conditions over an 11-year period in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. Polar Record, 54(2): 119–132.
Flint C.G., Robinson E.S., Kellogg J., Ferguson G., BouFajreldin L., Dolan M., et al. 2011. Promoting wellness in Alaskan villages: integrating traditional knowledge and science of wild berries. EcoHealth, 8(2): 199–209.
Ford J.D., Beaumier M. 2011. Feeding the family during times of stress: experience and determinants of food insecurity in an Inuit community. The Geographical Journal, 177(1): 44–61.
Ford J.D., Gough W.A., Laidler G.J., Macdonald J., Irngaut C., Qrunnut K. 2009. Sea ice, climate change, and community vulnerability in northern Foxe Basin, Canada. Climate Research, 38(2): 137–154.
Ford J.D., Lardeau M.P., Blackett H., Chatwood S., Kurszewski D. 2013. Community food program use in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. BMC Public Health [Electronic Resource], 13(1): 1–15.
Ford J.D., Pearce T., Duerden F., Furgal C., Smit B. 2010. Climate change policy responses for Canada's Inuit population: the importance of and opportunities for adaptation. Global Environmental Change, 20(1): 177–191.
Galappaththi E.K., Ford J.D., Bennett E.M., Berkes F. 2019. Climate change and community fisheries in the arctic: a case study from Pangnirtung, Canada. Journal of Environmental management, 250: 109534.
Gilbert S.Z., Walsh D.E., Levy S.N., Maksagak B., Milton M.I., Ford J.D., et al. 2021. Determinants, effects, and coping strategies for low-yield periods of harvest: a qualitative study in two communities in Nunavut, Canada. Food Security, 13(1): 157–179.
Giles A.R., Strachan S.M., Doucette M., Stadig G.S., Municipality of Pangnirtung. 2013. Adaptation to aquatic risks due to climate change in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Arctic, 66(2): 207–217.
Goldhar C., Ford J.D. 2010. Climate change vulnerability and food security in Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland. In Community adaptation and vulnerability in arctic regions. Edited by G.K. Hovelsrud, B. Smit. Springer. pp. 263–283.
Guo Y., Berrang-Ford L., Ford J., Lardeau M.P., Edge V., Patterson K., et al. 2015. Seasonal prevalence and determinants of food insecurity in Iqaluit, Nunavut. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 74(1): 27284.
Gyapay J., Noksana K., Ostertag S., Wesche S., Laird B.D., Skinner K. 2022. Informing the co-development of culture-centered dietary messaging in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories. Nutrients, 14(9): 1915.
Haddaway N.R., Woodcock P., Macura B., Collins A. 2015. Making literature reviews more reliable through application of lessons from systematic reviews. Conservation Biology, 29(6): 1596–1605.
Han S., Ma Y. 2014. Cultural differences in human brain activity: a quantitative meta-analysis. Neuroimage, 99: 293–300.
Harper S.L., Dorough D.S., MacDonald J.P., Cunsolo A., King N. 2021. Climate change and Inuit health: Research does not match risks posed. One Earth 4(12): 1656–1660.
Harper S.L., Edge V.L., Ford J., Willox A.C., Wood M., McEwen S.A. 2015. Climate-sensitive health priorities in Nunatsiavut, Canada. BMC Public Health [Electronic Resource], 15(1): 1–18.
Herrmann V. 2016. Investing in community: conceptualizing inclusive school design for America's Arctic. Polar Geography, 39(4): 239–225.
Jensen P.E., Hennessy T.W., Kallenborn R. 2018. Water, sanitation, pollution, and health in the Arctic. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25: 32827–32830.
Ji L.J., Yap S. 2016. Culture and cognition. Current Opinion in Psychology, 8: 105–111.
Johnson D.E., Parsons M., Fisher K. 2022. Indigenous climate change adaptation: new directions for emerging scholarship. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 5(3): 1541–1578.
Johnson K., Solomon S., Berry D., Graham P. 2003. Erosion progression and adaptation strategy in a northern coastal community. In 8th International Conference on Permafrost, Zürich, Switzerland, 21–25 July 2003. pp. 21–25.
Johnston R., McGregor D., Restoule J.P. 2018. Relationships, respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility: taking up indigenous research approaches. In Indigenous Research: theories, practices, and relationships. Edited by D. McGregor, J.P. Restoule, R. Johnston. Canadian Scholars. pp. 1–21.
Karetak J., Tester F. 2017. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, truth and Reconciliation. In Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: what Inuit have always known to be true. Edited by J. Karetak, F. Tester, S. Tagalik. Fernwood Publishing. pp. 1–19.
Keane M., Khupe C., Seehawer M. 2017. Decolonising methodology: who benefits from indigenous knowledge research? Educational Research for Social Change, 6(1): 12–24.
Kral M.J., Idlout L., Minore J.B., Dyck R.J., Kirmayer L.J. 2011. Unikkaartuit: meanings of well-being, unhappiness, health, and community change among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48: 426–438.
Laidre K.L., Northey A.D., Ugarte F. 2018. Traditional knowledge about polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland: changes in the catch and climate over two decades. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5: 135.
Larsen J.N., Anisimov O.A., Constable A., Hollowed A.B., Maynard N., Prestrud P., et al. 2014. Polar regions. In Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by V.R. Barros, C.B. Field, D.J. Dokken, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, T.E. Bilir, Cambridge University Press. pp. 1567–1612.
Laruelle M. 2019. Postcolonial polar cities? New indigenous and cosmopolitan urbanness in the Arctic. Acta Borealia, 36: 149–165.
Lede E., Pearce T., Furgal C., Wolki M., Ashford G., Ford J.D. 2021. The role of multiple stressors in adaptation to climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Regional Environmental Change, 21(2): 1–13.
Leduc T.B. 2007. Sila dialogues on climate change: Inuit wisdom for a cross-cultural interdisciplinarity. Climatic change, 85: 237–250.
MacDonald J.P., Ford J., Willox A.C., Mitchell C. 2015. Youth-led participatory video as a strategy to enhance inuit youth adaptive capacities for dealing with climate change. Arctic, 64(8): 486–499.
MacDonald J.P., Harper S.L., Willox A.C., Edge V.L., Rigolet Inuit Community Government. 2013. A necessary voice: climate change and lived experiences of youth in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada. Global Environmental Change, 23(1): 360–371.
Mancini Billson J., Mancini K. 2007. Inuit Women: their powerful spirit in a century of change. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 461p.
McGregor D. 2004. Coming full circle: Indigenous knowledge, environment, and our future. American Indian Quarterly, 28(3/4): 385–410.
McGregor H.E. 2010. Inuit education and schools in the Eastern Arctic. UBC Press. 221p.
Medeiros A.S., Wood P., Wesche S.D., Bakaic M., Peters J.F. 2017. Water security for northern peoples: review of threats to Arctic freshwater systems in Nunavut, Canada. Regional Environmental Change, 17: 635–647.
Natural Resources Canada. 2016. “Topographic” [basemap]. “Atlas of Canada”. 24 September 2016.
NTI (Nunavut Tunngavik Inc). 2005. What if the winter doesn't come? Inuit Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation Challenges in Nunavut. Summary Workshop Report. March 15-17, 2005 [online]. Available from https://www.tunngavik.com/documents/publications/2005-03-15-Inuit-Perspectives-on-Climate-Change-Adaptation-Challenges-in-Nunavut-English.pdf [accessed 20 November 2024].
Panikkar B., Lemmond B., Else B., Murray M. 2018. Ice over troubled waters: navigating the Northwest Passage using Inuit knowledge and scientific information. Climate Research, 75(1): 81–94.
Prno J., Bradshaw B., Wandel J., Pearce T., Smit B., Tozer L. 2011. Community vulnerability to climate change in the context of other exposure-sensitivities in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Polar Research, 30(1): 7363.
Proudfoot K. 2023. Inductive/deductive hybrid thematic analysis in mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 17(3): 308–326.
Rapinski M., Cuerrier A., Harris C., Lemire M. 2018. Inuit perception of marine organisms: from folk classification to food harvest. Journal of Ethnobiology, 38(3): 333–355.
Rathwell K.J. 2020. She is transforming. Arctic, 73(1): 67–80.
Reed G., Fox S., Littlechild D., McGregor D., Lewis D., Popp J., et al. 2024. For Our Future: Indigenous Resilience Report. Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. 122 p.
Reibold K. 2023. Settler colonialism, decolonization, and climate change. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 40(4): 624–641.
Riedlinger D., Berkes F. 2001. Contributions of traditional knowledge to understanding climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Polar record, 37(203): 315–328.
Russell-Mundine G. 2012. Reflexivity in Indigenous research: reframing and decolonising research? Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 19(1): 85–90.
Sawatzky A., Cunsolo A., Shiwak I., Flowers C., Jones-Bitton A., Gillis D., et al. 2021. “It depends…”: Inuit-led identification and interpretation of land-based observations for climate change adaptation in Nunatsiavut, Labrador. Regional Environmental Change, 21: 54.
Simonee N., Alooloo J., Carter N.A., Ljubicic G., Dawson J. 2021. Sila Qanuippa? (How’s the weather?): Integrating inuit qaujimajatuqangit and environmental forecasting products to support travel safety around Pond Inlet, Nunavut, in a changing climate. Weather, Climate, and Society, 13(4): 933–962.
Smith L.T. 1999. Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books. 220p.
Statistics Canada. 2023. Census profile, 2021 census of Population, Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population—Iqaluit, City (CY) [Census subdivision], Nunavut [online]. Available from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=iqaluit&DGUIDlist=2021A00056204003&GENDERlist=1%2C2%2C3&STATISTIClist=1%2C4&HEADERlist=0 [accessed 20 November 2024].
Subedi R., Roshanafshar S., Greenberg T.L. 2020. Developing meaningful categories for distinguishing levels of remoteness in Canada [online]. Available from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-633-x/11-633-x2020002-eng.htm [accessed 20 November 2024].
Tagalik S. 2011. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: the role of Indigenous knowledge in supporting wellness in Inuit communities in Nunavut, National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health Canada [online]. Retrieved from https://coilink.org/20.500.12592/mq45t9 [accessed 20 November 2024].
Tester F. 2017. Colonial challenges and recovery in the Eastern Arctic. In Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: what Inuit have always known to be true. Edited by J. Karetak, F. Tester, S. Tagalik. Fernwood Publishing. pp. 20–40.
Tester F.P., Irniq P. 2008. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: social history, politics and the practice of resistance. Arctic, 61(1): 48–61.
Tuck E., Yang K.W. 2012. Decolonization is not a metaphor. Tabula Rasa, 1(1): 1–40.
Vogel B., Bullock R.C.L. 2021. Institutions, Indigenous peoples, and climate change adaptation in the Canadian Arctic. GeoJournal, 86: 2555–2572.
Warren J.A., Berner J.E., Curtis T. 2005. Climate change and human health: infrastructure impacts to small remote communities in the north. In Impacts of global climate change. pp. 1–12.
Watt-Cloutier S. 2015. The right to be cold. Penguin Group, Toronto. 368p.
Weatherhead E., Gearheard S., Barry R.G. 2010. Changes in weather persistence: insight from Inuit knowledge. Global Environmental Change, 20(3): 523–528.
Young J.C. 2021. Environmental colonialism, digital indigeneity, and the politicization of resilience. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 4(2): 30–251.
Supplementary material
Supplementary Material 1 (DOCX / 917 KB).
- Download
- 916.57 KB
Supplementary Material 2 (PPTX / 44 KB).
- Download
- 43.10 KB
Supplementary Material 3 (XLSX / 133 KB).
- Download
- 132.72 KB
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
FACETS
Volume 9 • Number 1 • January 2024
Pages: 1 - 12
Editor: Allyson Kate Menzies
History
Received: 1 February 2024
Accepted: 1 September 2024
Version of record online: 6 December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement
All data associated with our review can be found in the Supplementary material provided. Human participant data have been summarized herein. Original human participant data will be kept for 2 years following publication, and then destroyed in accordance with our ethics review process.
Key Words
Sections
Subjects
Authors
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: ASM, AUM, CJ
Data curation: AUM, CJ, ASM
Formal analysis: AUM, CJ
Funding acquisition: ASM
Investigation: AUM, CJ, ASM
Methodology: AUM, CJ, ASM
Project administration: ASM
Software: AUM
Supervision: ASM
Validation: ASM
Writing – original draft: AUM, CJ
Writing – review & editing: CJ, ASM
Competing Interests
The authors declare no conflicts or competing interests.
Funding Information
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Climate, Change, Preparedness, in, the, North, Program
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Other Metrics
Citations
Cite As
Annabe U. Marquardt, Clarissa Jewell, and Andrew S. Medeiros. 2024. Inuit perspectives on climate change and well-being: a comparison between urban and remote communities in the Arctic. FACETS.
9: 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2024-0021
Export Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
There are no citations for this item