Marine-Based Research in a Changing Climate: Lessons and Methods for Community Engagement from Nunatsiavut Canada

• Main Author: Seidler, Dylan
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Canada; Climate change; inuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10222/82615

Historically, Arctic-based research has corresponded to extractive methods that provide little benefit for local communities. To amend the effects of this history, researchers are increasingly encouraged to focus their efforts on ethical and meaningful engagement with community members to develop projects that support local goals. This thesis draws on accounts from Inuit community members, government officials, and researchers working in Nunatsiavut, to explore what ethical and meaningful community engagement may mean in the context of a large-scale transdisciplinary project. This was done through conducting 27 interviews with a variety of participants involved in or associated with the transdisciplinary SakKijânginnaKullugit Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit (Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures) Project. Drawing on interview data, this paper examines differences and similarities in how project members and partners engage Inuit community members, and how Inuit members of the project team have experienced these engagements. Interviewees were identified as representing six different positions (Nunatsiavut Government Members, Inuit Research Coordinators, Natural Scientists, Social Scientists, Project Leads and Project Partners). Community based government officials and Inuit Research Coordinators emphasized that extractive forms of engagement have the potential to negatively impact communities. To minimize the likelihood of such negative effects, all individuals were clear that a) relationship building, b) using plain language and c) acknowledging mistakes made in publications should be core considerations for researchers when it comes to ethical and meaningful community engagement. Using SakKijânginnaKullugit Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit as a case study, this analysis informs a deeper understanding of how both large-scale projects and individual researchers can work in ways that support community needs. Keywords: Nunatsiavut, Arctic, Community Engagement, Land-Sea Connection, Climate Change, Inuit Self-Determination