| Summary: | This dissertation is an overview of research which was undertaken to better understand the impacts of climate change on culturally significant locations of the Kugmallit Bay area, in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Northwest Territories. Geographic Information System (GIS) methods of ‘grounded visualization’ were employed as a means of assessing numerous factors and combinations of factors related to the vulnerability of culturally significant locations. Vulnerability is conceptualized here as a product of the combined factors of risk and value, which were reviewed in an exploratory manner over multiple rounds of data collection, analysis, reflection and review. The iterative methods of grounded visualization yielded insights and generated further research questions related to the vulnerability of culturally significant locations. GIS methods have long been used in archaeological research, but with a greater focus on quantitative research applications. This has led many to relegate the powerful visualization capabilities of GIS to the dissemination of results at the end of the research process. However, the capacity of grounded visualization methods to combine qualitative and quantitative information at the analytical level is a powerful and seldom exercised aspect of GIS methods. This application of grounded visualization methods to archaeological research is a first, and their use in the management of threatened places of cultural significance shows great potential. Their capacity to negotiate the various subjectivities inherent to expressions of value by maintaining contextually important details in the research process makes them a perfect fit for use in value-centred management initiatives. Heritage value was applied in this project by adopting a ‘cultural landscape’ approach to heritage management. Cultural landscape perspectives promoted the diversity of stakeholder perspectives and the subjective nature of landscape valuations as essential factors in the vulnerability assessment process. Employing a cultural landscape framework in this research allowed the iterative review process to be tailored to aspects of landscape value which extend beyond, yet often interrelate with the material remains of the past which are often the focus of archaeological research. The results of this project have demonstrated the utility of GIS-facilitated grounded visualization methods to the value-based management of cultural landscapes. Ph.D.
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