Creating Change in the Research Community

Research methodology used to gather information on critical Arctic issues has evolved to value the input of traditional knowledge with a more collaborative approach, and as a result, relationships between researchers and Inuit continue to evolve. Furgal et al. (2002) state that the Arctic ecosystem is highly complex in its physical and biomechanical nature, being a polar region, therefore all available information must be considered and valued when attempting to understand this part of the world, which includes both the full extent of local traditional knowledge held by Inuit peoples and the scientific analyses of physical, biological and chemical components of these environments. Team 10 of the CFL study seeks to connect traditional Inuvialuit knowledge (IK) and scientific research within the research project, dubbed Two Ways of Knowing. The purpose of Team 10 initiatives is to take the strengths of both knowledge systems, to develop a better understanding of the CFL system and improve the relationships between Inuvialuit elders, youth, hunters and scientists.

Focusing on the needs of Inuvialuit communities, this study is one of the first of its kind to address the needs of Inuvialuit communities and scientific research by creating a process which allows for both knowledge systems to have their input. It is our goal to create a dialogue between scientific and Inuvialuit communities, so each can understand the value of the Two ways of knowing. A traditional knowledge field study, guided and designed by a steering committee of representatives of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) communities, researchers at Trent University and Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) is a crucial part of implementing a framework to share information about traditional knowledge with scientists and science with community members, was conducted this summer in the communities of Ikaahuk, Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok in the ISR. My presentation will focus on a discussion of changing research methods to value the Two ways of knowing about the CFL system, capacity building in ISR communities, and discuss the challenges of knowledge sharing between two different ways of understanding that, when considered together, significantly enhance our understanding of changes in the CFL.