Strengthening the Integration of Traditional Knowledge in Environmental Impact Assessment: An Analysis of Inuit Place Names near Steensby Inlet, NU

• Main Author: Byam, Amelie Sonya Andaiye
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Arctic; Nunavut; Steensby Inlet; Climate change; inuit
• Online Access: https://curve.carleton.ca/e2564226-f152-40b8-84b3-c4f47d09f557; http://catalogue.library.carleton.ca/record=b3524438; https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2013-10032

Environmental impact assessments are a key policy tool in the mitigation of eco-systemic and cultural risk due to resource development. They are of increasing importance as climate change creates demand for the expansion of northern resource development. In the North, innovative approaches are needed to ensure that Inuit values and concerns are reflected in environmental and economic decision-making. In the eastern Arctic, the Nunavut Impact Review Board has recognized the importance of both scientific and traditional knowledge to this task. Inuit place names are a form of traditional knowledge that has rarely been leveraged in environmental assessment despite their indication of historical land-use, ecological resources, and areas of cultural value. Through a case study of the Mary River iron mine project near Steensby Inlet, NU, this thesis examines the potential contributions of an analysis of Inuit place names to the scoping phase of environmental impact assessment.