Sahtu Goti’ine Traditional Knowledge: The Impact of Climate Change on Fishing Livelihoods

• Main Author: Martin, Chelsea
• Other Authors: Parlee, Brenda
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: cliamte change; northern indigenous populations; sub-arctic; socio-ecological impacts; livelihhods; foor security; community well-being; Arctic; Mackenzie River; Canada; Great Bear Lake; Climate change; Mackenzie river
• Online Access: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/e0cc32a0-eed7-4009-a391-d50653f23b6d; https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-66cd-8g80

In recent years, the effects of climate change have become increasingly visible in northern Canada; its impact on northern Indigenous peoples has become a particularly important area of research and policy. While much focus has been on the experiences of high arctic communities, less is known about the effects of climate change on the livelihoods of those living in the sub-arctic including the Mackenzie River Basin. Got’ine peoples of Dé lįne, and their fishing livelihoods, for example, may be affected by such problems as rising temperatures, erratic weather events and changing precipitation patterns. This has implications for food security and wellbeing; fishing not only contributes to necessary food resources, but also underpins healthy respectful relationships between people and cultural landscapes such as Great Bear Lake. Preliminary research in the region suggests that warming temperatures are already having an effect on the quality, population, diversity of fish being harvested and by extension the food security of the community.