Inughuit finds ways to cope, despite rules on limited harvestng and changes in the environment

One winter day in 2023, Mari Kleist, who is now Rector of Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland, received a call from a hunter from Qaanaaq in Northwest Greenland.

He could not go out hunting, because the sea ice could not form into a stable, solid surface. Instead, it repeatedly broke up, making it life-threatening to embark on it.

The hunter was forced to seek food from his neighbours, who also had limited supplies, and otherwise hunt inland, where game animals are already scarce at that time of year.

He could buy food in the grocery store, but he had no money to pay for it. He would normally earn money by selling part his catch.

»So everything is connected. At the same time, the hunter knew that they could have harvested more narwhals, because there had been plenty the month before. But they still could not, because there are restrictions on how many narwhals they are allowed to catch,« says Mari Kleist and continues:

»You hear stories like these and you know that hunters have always been able to self-regulate. If it had been earlier times, they would have harvested what they could catch because they knew it would be eaten. Nothing was to be wasted.«

The hunters and their families know that caring for nature is a prerequisite for their livelihoods and everyday lives. But even with that knowledge, there can be a considerable distance between the perspectives held by Inughuit hunters and those from which biologists and decision-makers in Nuuk operate.

With support from Independent Research Fund Denmark, Mari Kleist will lead a project that examines how the Inughuit in North Greenland have developed and passed on knowledge for generations.

The hunt takes place along the border between Greenland and Canada

The Inughuit live in the area of Pikialasorsuaq, the North Water Polynya, that separates Greenland and Canada, more specifically Ellesmere Island. 

It is home to one of the most productive ecosystems in the Arctic, which today is partly under pressure due to climate change and geopolitical tensions. The area has been studied from various angles in terms of research, but rarely as an integrated whole.

»We are trying to move away from these divisions between nature and culture, i.e. binary divisions, and instead work with a more ecological framework of understanding, where elements are seen in relation to one another. A way of thinking in which everything is connected. You can't separate them, because that's how it is in Inuit culture. And that's also how the Inughuit live today. They have always lived in that region and they can also see what changes have taken place, and what changes are coming,« explains Mari Kleist and adds:

»They have always observed their surroundings, and they have always developed their practices in line with changing conditions. They still do. In this project, we therefore also use a political-ecological approach, which examines how changes in management frameworks and regulations can affect everyday life and living conditions. For example, when restrictions are introduced on the harvesting of, for example, whales, polar bears or thick-billed murre.«

In addition to this governance and management dimension, the research project also examines how the Inughuit relate to changes in the environment and climate. Finally, the researchers will delve into archaeology to understand how the Inughuit have historically responded to environmental change.

The local Inughuit are involved in the research

The project is planned to run for four years and will largely be carried out by a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher. In addition, Matthew Walls, Associate Professor at the University of Calgary in Canada and adjunct Associate Professor at Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland, will serve as co-principal investigator. 

The researchers are also collaborating with Pauline Knudsen, Head of the university's Department of Cultural and Social History.

Finally, hunters and their families from Qaanaaq and the smaller settlements of Siorapaluk and Qeqertat are important partners.

»The results of the research will be important because they provide knowledge about the everyday lives of the Inughuit and the choices they have made across many generations. They have always been able to work out how to live in the High Arctic. They have always been able to regulate themselves. Among other things, we want to respond to the Inughuit wish for strengthened collaboration between hunters, biologists and the government on how best to live and work in the area. And through its investigations, the project will shed light on, and provide a scholarly basis for this effort,« Mari Kleist emphasizes.

She has previously seen examples of research on North Greenland being published in scientific journals, but never reaching local communities in an understandable language. For that reason, the Inughuit have often been left without access to the knowledge produced about their own region.

»As researchers, we have a responsibility not only to communicate and listen to local people, but also to collaborate with them as equal partners. We can view things very differently, depending on whether you are a researcher or a local resident. Therefore, the obligation also lies with us as researchers, because we do not always know the Inughuit perspectives, since we do not live their everyday lives or experience reality in the same way. At the same time, we as researchers are influenced by our Western educational background, and precisely for that reason it is crucial that we develop our understanding together with them,« explains Mari Kleist.

Therefore, the university rector also sees the project as part of an important development for the University of Greenland.

»When we collaborate with local communities, it is just as much a matter of local capacity building. So we also do it to develop the way we work as researchers and the way we work as hybrids, i.e. both researchers and local people.«