Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Polar Bear Co-Management in a Changing Arctic

• Main Author: Flisikowski, Sarah
• Other Authors: Environmental Studies, Pearce, Tristan, Whitelaw, Graham
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Polar bear; Arctic; Climate change; Co-management; Wildlife management; Arctic climate change; Traditional Ecological Knowledge; TEK; Indigenous; Inuit; Inuit Nunangat; Canadian Arctic; Knowledge generation and transmission; Ursus maritimus; Polar bear co-management; Scoping review; Event ethnography; Environmental studies; Arctic research; inuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/28217

This thesis examines polar bear (Ursus maritimus) co-management in the Canadian Arctic, with a particular focus on the contributions of Inuit traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to published literature about polar bear. A mixed methods approach was used including a scoping review of literature about Inuit TEK of polar bear and an event ethnography of an Inuit initiative to support the generation and transmission of TEK. The results of the scoping review show that published Inuit TEK about polar bear has contributed to an understanding of polar bear ecology and management for some polar bear subpopulations in the Canadian Arctic, but less is known about polar bear TEK for longer-term monitoring purposes and in relation to Inuit cultural values and beliefs. The findings of the event ethnography are that community-governed cultural programs can contribute to the partial generation and transmission of TEK among Inuit, notably for those who may not have the opportunity to do so in their daily lives. These findings are intended to inform future research about polar bear TEK by identifying knowledge gaps, and contribute to a better understanding of the role that cultural programming can play in TEK generation and transmission. M.E.S.