“We don’t know anything about whales”: ecological knowledge and ways of knowing in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

• Published in: Arctic Science
• Main Authors: Peter Collings, Tristan Pearce, Joseph Kann
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2018
• Subjects: qualitative data analysis; traditional ecological knowledge; inuit qaujimajatuqangit; beluga whales; anthro-se; socio; Canada; Northwest Territories; Ulukhaktok; Arctic; Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; inuinnaqtun; inuit
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0030; https://doaj.org/article/a760f17e9b814e32b3e5908298ee8ee7

This paper reports on interviews conducted during June and July 2015 to document ecological knowledge of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. Beluga whales are not a traditionally available or important species for Ulukhaktomiut, but they have appeared in increasing numbers in the waters around the community, and hunters have actively pursued and taken them. We conducted interviews in English with 31 Inuit about their beluga knowledge. A Key Words in Context (KWIC) analysis of the word “know” in the narratives reveals different conceptions of what it means to know something about whales. “Know” variously references practical skill, concern and empathy for others, or the developing awareness of one’s place in the world. Each of these meanings is coded uniquely in Inuinnaqtun, providing insights about the important differences between researchers and Inuit in how “ecological knowledge” is understood and activated.