IN THIS ISSUE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELVES IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN: Outer Continental Shelves in the Arctic SOVEREIGN RIGHTS AND Ocean: Sovereign Rights and INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION International Cooperation 1 Ron Macnab

INTRODUCTION tially contentious issues at an early stage. Some Inuit Perspectives on Working Under the terms of Article 76 of the UN Con- In adopting these actions, the Arctic with Scientists 4 SPRING/SUMMER 2006 vention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal States would be conforming to the coastal States that border on the Arctic precepts of Part IX of the UN Convention on Repatriation and Collaborative Ocean are entitled to define Outer Continen- the Law of the Sea, which encourages coop- Digital Media Projects in Northern tal Shelves (OCS) where they can exercise eration among States that border on en- Athapaskan Communities 11 certain sovereign rights beyond the usual closed or semi-enclosed seas. 200 nautical mile limit. These new shelf Memorial University’s areas will likely occupy potentially large SOVEREIGN RIGHTS Labrador Institute 16 swaths of the High Seas in the central Arctic BEYOND THE EXCLUSIVE Ocean. Their northward convergence could Book Review 17 ECONOMIC ZONE also lead to contention between neighbour- AND LIMITS OF ing States, as each strives to maximize the New Books 19 THE OUTER area of its claim. In light of anticipated com- CONTINENTAL plexities, this is a situation that calls for re- SHELF Horizon 20 straint and cooperation in the formulation of As outlined in the Fall/Winter 2003 issue of continental shelf claims and in the resolu- Meridian, each of the five States that bor- tion of overlapping claims. der the Arctic Ocean (Canada, Denmark act- In this context, it is recommended ing on behalf of Greenland, Norway, the that Canada and her Arctic neighbours es- Russian Federation, and the United States of tablish a regional forum for maintaining a America) is entitled to extend its jurisdiction general awareness of Article 76 develop- over a portion of the High Seas beyond its ments through regular consultation and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In the OCS exchanges of information. Such a mecha- that is so formed, the State will be able to nism would allow States: (a) to monitor exercise the following sovereign rights: the unfolding continental shelf scenario Jurisdiction over living and non-living throughout the central Arctic Ocean; (b) to resources of the seabed and subsoil; harmonize their approaches to boundary- Control over the emplacement and use of making; (c) to anticipate incipient problems submarine cables and pipelines, artificial before they became firmly embedded in the islands, installations, and structures; claims process; and (d) to agree on courses Regulation of drilling; of mutual action that would defuse poten- Regulation of marine scientific research.

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 200 nautical miles Sector or median lines Outer shelf limits Hypothetical partitioning of the Outer Continental Shelves of the five Arctic coastal States: (1) Canada,(2) Denmark, (3) Norway,(4) Russian Sector Lines Median Lines Federation,(5) United States

In 2000,an investigation suggested that the examined the hypothetical effects of two geometric accumulated Outer Continental Shelves (OCS) of the five approaches to partitioning the accumulated OCS: Arctic coastal States could potentially encompass all of 1) sectors bounded by meridians of longitude converging the central High Seas (encircled by the 200 nautical mile at the North Pole (left image); and limit in the images above),except for two areas (shaded 2) boundaries consisting of median lines everywhere help them recognize prospective problem in dark grey) that would remain beyond the jurisdiction equidistant from the coastlines of adjacent or opposite areas that could be dealt with through early of any coastal State. A subsequent analysis in 2001 States (right image). remediation. A collective strategy that promoted To qualify for this extended jurisdic- Another approach would be to con- communication among the five coastal tion, each State must apply the provisions of struct boundaries that consist of median States could significantly reduce the compli- UNCLOS Article 76 in order to determine the lines that are everywhere equidistant from cations that would follow if States acted extent of the OCS over which it proposes to the territorial seas baselines of adjacent independently, or if they formed limited exercise sovereign rights. So far, Russia is or opposite States (see right side of Figure). coalitions in the construction of maritime the only Arctic State to have attempted the Other non-geometric approaches are possi- boundaries. It would permit the States to process, and subsequent to recommenda- ble, but will not be considered here. adopt a common approach to the juridical tions from the Commission on the Limits of Regardless of the partitioning method, and technical aspects of Article 76, and in so the Continental Shelf (CLCS), that country is it is important to remember that boundary- doing to form a common front in their deal- now collecting new data with a view to making is above all a political act, whereby ings with the CLCS. strengthening the justification for its claim. States lay claim to regions where they con- In fact, three international meetings The remaining four States that border the sider their national interests to be para- have already been held in Russia to discuss Arctic Ocean are at various stages of the mount. In the Arctic as in any other region, aspects of Article 76 implementation in the process. the process could be stressful on account Arctic: in 1996, in 2000, and in 2003. These A preliminary investigation has of the accommodations and compromises meetings were attended by specialists with shown that the OCS of all five Arctic coastal that will be necessary. It could also be com- expertise in the technical domain, but the States will converge northward, and that plex, given the prospective permutations of discussions occurred in a vacuum owing to collectively, they could encompass much if bi- and multi-lateral boundaries. the lack of a diplomatic presence that could not most of the central High Seas area. This To prepare for the prospect of con- have served to place the technical issues raises the question of how to partition the frontation or contention in the resolution of within a broader political perspective, and area equitably between the five bordering these boundaries in the Arctic Ocean, it which could have set the stage for regional States. There are different and by no means would prove helpful to establish a regional cooperation on a government-to-govern- unanimous schools of thought on how this mechanism that facilitated regular dialogue ment basis. should be accomplished. For example, one and consultation among all parties, at the It would be highly desirable to see a approach would be to define a series of bilat- political and technical levels. Frequent continuation of these meetings, augmented eral boundaries along meridians of longi- exchanges of this sort would enable the par- by staff from Arctic foreign ministries who tude that converge at the North Pole (see left ticipating States to develop timely percep- could engage in cross-discussions with a side of Figure). tions of the unfolding scenario, and would view to integrating technical and diplomatic

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 2 initiatives on a regional basis. Such action Policies and programs of scientific entific partnership with other States. In fact, would conform to the provisions of Part IX research. a guiding principle of the IPY is to promote of UNCLOS, which calls for cooperation In addition, bordering States are en- multilateral collaboration for the purpose of between States that border enclosed or semi- couraged to invite other interested States or achieving effective exchanges of informa- enclosed seas. international organizations to help realize tion and efficient deployments of scientific the provisions of this Article. resources. THE ARCTIC OCEAN Boundary determination is not specif- Marine scientific research in the Arc- AND THE CONCEPT ically mentioned in Article 123. However, it tic will require more than a sharing of infor- OF THE ENCLOSED is implied because adherence to its provi- mation and resources: given that many un- OR SEMI-ENCLOSED sions requires a definition of the geographic SEA answered questions in the Arctic transcend Part IX of the United Nations Convention on and juridical dimensions of participating national boundaries, it will also be crucial to the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) comprises two States. Hence it would be safe to conclude negotiate free and open access to maritime that there is a legal obligation for the Arctic zones where coastal States have the author- SPRING/SUMMER 2006 Articles that address Enclosed or Semi- Enclosed Seas. The first Article (122) defines coastal States to cooperate on a regional ity to exercise control over research activi- an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea in part as basis in the resolution of their maritime ties. These zones include the Exclusive Eco- “a gulf, basin or sea surrounded by two or boundaries. nomic Zone and the Outer Continental Shelf. more States and connected to another sea or There are also practical reasons for In keeping with the collective goals of IPY the ocean by a narrow outlet.” promoting regional cooperation in the Arc- and with the spirit of Part IX of UNCLOS, it is A glance at a map of the North Polar tic, arising from current developments of a hoped that all Arctic coastal States will Region will confirm that the Arctic Ocean climatic and scientific nature that are unique adopt policies that maximize the opportuni- indeed satisfies both elements of the above to the region, and which would benefit from ties for cooperative scientific operations definition. Firstly, it is surrounded by the an early resolution of boundary matters. within their zones of jurisdiction. land areas of the five Arctic coastal States, Global Warming and Thinning Ice CONCLUSION whose combined Exclusive Economic Zones By all accounts, the permanent ice cover of The Arctic Ocean is a region that is undergo- (EEZ) form an unbroken ring around the the Arctic Ocean is diminishing in both thick- ing rapid transition from the political and Ocean’s periphery; this creates a free-stand- ness and horizontal extent. Predictions vary environmental standpoints. Various mecha- ing High Seas area that is isolated from High concerning the ultimate situation, but most nisms are in place to manage or to cope Seas areas that are located elsewhere. Sec- suggest that the region will be ice-free or with these transitions, but more effort is ondly, it is connected to other oceans by two nearly ice-free in the foreseeable future. This needed to achieve politically and technically narrow outlets: Bering Strait which leads to development will trigger major environ- coordinated approaches in the delimitation the Pacific Ocean, and Fram Strait to the At- mental, societal, and economic changes. of the Outer Continental Shelves of the five lantic Ocean. Faced with these significant alterations in coastal States. Greater levels of cooperation The second Article (123) of Part IX the ocean regime that touches their shores, in this domain could be expected to ensure begins with the declaration that “States bor- the bordering States will need to cope with a an equitable partitioning of zones of dering an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea variety of problems, both locally and region- extended jurisdiction, and to establish a should cooperate with each other in the ally. An early definition of the scope and framework for future collaboration that exercise of their rights and in the perfor- extent of these States’ respective jurisdictions would promote wise use of this important mance of their duties under this Conven- will be essential, in order to harmonize reci- Ocean. tion.” To this end, the bordering States are procal perceptions of the zones where encouraged to coordinate their actions in national interests and responsibilities apply. Ron Macnab is a geophysicist (Geologi- the following areas: The International Polar Year and cal Survey of Canada, retired) and mem- The management, conservation, explo- Scientific Collaboration ber of the Board of Directors of the Cana- ration, and exploitation of the living With planning for the IPY in full swing, it dian Polar Commission. He lives in Dart- resources of the sea; seems clear that few States can hope to mouth, Nova Scotia. The protection and preservation of the achieve significant research objectives in the marine environment; Arctic without engaging in some form of sci-

3 SOME INUIT PERSPECTIVES ON WORKING WITH SCIENTISTS Gita J. Laidler Successful research in Inuit communities, spond to, community perspectives on north- interest in assessing sea ice change and especially where the project aims to incorpo- ern research and those who undertake it. simulating climate scenarios has become rate local expertise, requires an excellent My own research involves sea ice, intertwined with Inuit concerns for their working relationship with Inuit. Therefore, which is an integral component of Inuit life lifestyles, livelihoods, travel safety, and understanding Inuit perspectives on re- as well as the pre-eminent focus of numer- marine mammal health. Inuit want their searchers, and what they consider a mu- ous scientific studies (Figure 1). In the past voices heard: they want to share their own tually beneficial research relationship, is few decades sea ice has often been used as observations, to be involved in research, and essential for northern scientists. This article an indicator of climate change. The shrink- shares some responses to interview ques- ing of sea ice extent or thinning ice cover Figure 1 tions that I posed to Inuit elders and hunters not only responds to warming, but also con- Hunters watching for seals at a polynya (area of open about working with scientists, as part of my tributes to enhanced change through posi- water that does not freeze throughout the winter) just Ph.D research. My hope is that this ex- tive climate feedback loops. Efforts to assess southwest of Cape Dorset Island. Polynyas are important change may help some researchers – myself the vulnerability of Inuit communities to hunting grounds because of the prevalence of marine included – better understand, and thus re- such changes necessitate the involvement wildlife that need open water for access to air or food. Polynyas are also of great interest to scientists as they of Inuit themselves. Therefore, scientific allow heat and moisture exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean,influencing local and regional climates. Photo: G. Laidler.

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 4 to be taken seriously in assessing impacts that directly affect their lives. Scientists are thus having to respond to community, politi- cal, and institutional pressures to consult with, involve, and/or report their findings to

Inuit in communities across Canada. - R Understanding some of the social and Arctic Bay Pond Inlet cultural dynamics influencing community- Clyde River researcher relationships in the Canadian north is critical to learning from Inuit about the sea ice. This also facilitates my goal of Igloolik Qikiqtarjuaq intersecting Inuit and scientific knowledge Pangnirtung of sea ice in a complementary fashion. My SPRING/SUMMER 2006 Hall Beach Ph.D research focuses on documenting Inuit expertise on sea ice conditions, use, and vari- ability. It also aims to compare the results of Repulse Bay Iqaluit community-based monitoring with scientific Kimmirut knowledge in the same areas, and to evalu- Cape Dorset ate a collaborative methodology through Coral Harbour Salluit Kangirsuk which sea ice information from local and Ivujivik Quaqtaq scientific sources could be gathered and used to complement each other. This work will contribute to the identification of collabora- RESEARCH the interviews, which lasted from one to tive research or monitoring needs (local, PROCESS three hours, mainly focused on: 1) Inuktitut natural or social science) relevant to issues In two years (September 2003 – June 2005) I sea ice terminology; 2) the importance and of importance to Nunavut communities. My spent a total of nearly three months in each uses of sea ice (for humans and animals); fieldwork is now complete, and I am in the of Pangnirtung and Cape Dorset, Nunavut, 3) the influences of winds and currents on process of analyzing the overwhelming and nearly two months in Igloolik, Nunavut, sea ice formation, decay, or movement; and amount of detailed information that Inuit where considerable research has already 4) rare or notable sea ice features or events. elders and hunters have shared with me. been undertaken by the Nunavut Research A few interviewees found the interviews too Because the issue of research rela- Institute. short, and would have liked to have been tionships between Inuit and scientists under- The length of time spent in each able to provide more information. lies the entire research process, methodol- community, including several repeat visits, I participated in 14 sea ice trips, which ogy has increasingly become a point of was valuable in gaining community interest were considered essential by many intervie- reflection during field work and analysis. and commitment for ongoing participation wees and from which I learned a great deal Challenges or opportunities arose depending in my project. In total I conducted 84 semi- (Figure 2). I also facilitated four focus groups on a person’s past experiences with scien- directed interviews with 63 different people, to link Inuktitut ice terminology to photos I tists or perspectives on what researchers do 21 in each community. All were locally rec- had taken on the sea ice trips. The goal was and why. For a researcher to learn from Inuit, ommended sea ice experts and were highly to provide a visual reference and learning or to link Inuit and scientific knowledge, Inuit respected in their communities. I used a gen- tool for Inuit youth, scientists, or the public. first have to be interested in working with eral list of questions, but interviewees were All individuals mentioned here con- researchers. To determine what community free to expand or redirect the discussions as sented to public release of their statements, members think of working with scientists I they saw fit. In addition to experiences and and to being identified by name. I conducted asked into: 1) previous experiences with perspectives on working with researchers most interviews with the help of an inter- researchers; 2) methods of research report- preter, as most elders and active hunters ing; and, 3) views on working with scientists. were unilingual Inuktitut speakers and I have very limited knowledge of this lan- 5 guage. Only the portions discussing research bivalence about whether or not research RESEARCH experiences and working with scientists are was beneficial. However, if the work was REPORTING presented here. It must be emphasized that helping other people then some did consider The statements below are only two of many these perspectives are not meant to represent it a benefit. Interviewees wanted to hear that speak of a lack of research reporting. those of all Inuit, or even of the entirety of back about research results and to know [A]round town here, or in other commu- each community. They are the thoughts and what happened to the information they had nities, [I don’t] see or hear research re- experiences of the people who participated provided. Two also had project ideas of their sults being made public. It’s as if all the in my sea ice project, and indicate some of own, but were unable to secure funding. people that have interviewed [me] over the recurring issues concerning research in the last few years have forgotten about their communities. EXPERIENCE WITH [me]. They say they’ll bring information RESEARCHERS IN back to the community, but they don’t. EXPERIENCE WITH IGLOOLIK (Mangitak Kellypalik, Cape Dorset) RESEARCHERS IN In Igloolik 13 interviewees had been in- [I’m] not trying to pick bones with PANGNIRTUNG volved in research, and another had worked anybody, [I] just [want] to know exactly In Pangnirtung 15 interviewees stated they as a guide without participating in research. what is behind it all. You know, in my had previously been involved in research Topics included: sea bottom animals, fish, view there has been a lot of research done about a range of topics, including: life in the marine mammals, plants, and a variety of for personal benefit. They get paid for it past, wildlife, sea ice, weather, climate Inuit traditional knowledge topics. Several and we get no feedback and no results. change, clouds, minerals, lakes, glaciers, people had also: 1) participated in the Igloo- (Joanasie Maniapik, Pangnirtung) carving, hunting, and travel safety. Six had lik Oral History Project of the Inullariit In Pangnirtung, ten people had not assisted in data collection such as beluga or (elders’) Society, run through the Nunavut heard back from researchers they had arctic char tagging, lake coring, and min- Research Institute; 2) worked with Isuma worked with, while there were three in Cape eral sampling. Three had been guides, tak- Productions (producers of the feature film Dorset and four in Igloolik. Individuals who ing researchers to field sites, and one had Atanarjuat) on Inuit heritage; 3) worked had not heard back, especially when they taught in a university summer field school. for the Nunavut Research Institute; or had been promised correspondence, thought Financial compensation was consid- 4) made their own videos. Elders and hunt- that the information may have been sold or ered the main benefit to research involve- ers in Igloolik seemed more actively involved simply thrown away. ment. However, concern was frequently ex- in research. Seven had been research assis- Where reports have been made, meth- pressed about the lack of results reporting. If tants, collecting samples for biologists, geol- ods have included: verbal presentations no report was provided to the community ogists, or photographers, while four had through community organization meetings, then the research was not considered bene- worked as guides, and two as interpreters. maps, written materials (not sent directly to ficial or useful. One, a former wildlife officer, had worked individuals), meeting reports, letters of ap- with numerous biologists and other scien- preciation, health precautions or advisories, EXPERIENCE WITH tists, and had developed survival courses weights of marine mammals studied, and RESEARCHERS IN and materials. posters. I asked what people felt would be CAPE DORSET Here too, payment was considered the most appropriate, or effective, ways of In Cape Dorset eight of the interviewees had the main benefit. There was also consistent getting research results to community mem- been involved in research. Two more had frustration with the lack of results reporting bers. Suggestions included: presenting re- worked as guides, without being involved in from researchers. It seemed as though the sults at a community meeting, or over com- research. Common research topics included: information “just vanished” or was used by munity radio; making them available in art, place-name mapping, climate and researchers for profit. It is understood that person, or by audio, video, or the internet weather, skin clothing, and wildlife. Two results are often published in scientific jour- (but internet speed and access can be a had also taught practical sea-ice safety nals, but community members would have problem); any written materials should be classes for children. to look hard to find them. However, some in English and Inuktitut (but not everyone Interviewees said that results did not results of wildlife filming were seen on tele- come back to the community, causing am- vision and this seemed to be appreciated.

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 6 can read or pays attention to written mater- mation; and also to ensure that you do with scientists, wildlife officials, because ial); and making the material available to not edit it so much that we’re losing the Inuit were using the knowledge they schools. true contents of what was said. Because already had, what they had already that’s been done in the past, [I want] to experienced. Every time [the Inuit] tried WORKING WITH ensure that everything is used, for the to explain something to the qallunaat, SCIENTISTS benefit of our children. (Mosesee Nuva- [southerners] the qallunaat would say Despite dissatisfaction with reporting and qiq, Pangnirtung) “no, that is not true, we have our own the- the ambivalence some community members The majority of people interviewed ory, this is how we see it”. They were being expressed regarding research benefits, the believe that it is a good idea for Inuit and sci- what you call in Inuktitut “backward elders and hunters interviewed remain gen- entists to work together (i.e,. 48 out of the people”: they think they have understand- erally interested in research and are willing 52 people who were asked “Do you think ing, but in reality they do not. And [I’m] to work with scientists on topics they con- that Inuit and scientists should, or could, always hopeful that the scientists can get sider important. work together in studying the sea ice?”), and off their high chairs and come down to SPRING/SUMMER 2006 [I just want] to ensure that the research a variety of reasons were provided. being human – human enough to un- that’s being done is put on paper and Scientists Should Learn from Inuit derstand the Inuit way of life. This is the that it is made available for public infor- Many interviewees said that if scientists life that [we’ve] lived, and [we] know want to learn about arctic environments what [we’re] talking about. So [I’m] just hopeful that [we] can work together, for Figure 2 they should be consulting and learning from a better future. (Lazarusie Ishulutak, Travelling across Fury and Hecla Strait,north of Igloolik Inuit. Pangnirtung) Island,in mid-June,2005. Learning about melt stages, In the 1970s the Inuit battled and fought conditions,and travel safety is best done through experience on the ice. Photo: G. Laidler.

7 It was felt that if scientists are not con- have to go around that and try to explain together] beneficial in that the hunter’s sulting local Inuit experts they are taking the it to both sides, and sometimes they don’t knowledge becomes documented. (David long way around and will be less efficient. understand. But the most frustrating Irngaut, Igloolik) Working with scientists would mean Benefits for Both Scientists and thing is, we don’t have even grade 12, but Inuit the scientists have a university degree. Inuit knowledge could be written down, and The general view was that working together That’s a difficult situation – we don’t thus made more accessible to youth through can be beneficial to both Inuit and scientists, have grade 12, so he doesn’t believe what books or in the schools. as they learn from each other. If they each we are saying. But we live here. [It’s] like [I’ve] begun to understand more of how do their own studies, more mistakes can oc- being a father. The kid is trying to be the scientists work in trying to gather infor- cur; by working together they can keep an boss when he wants something, and at mation. And the reason why [I’m] ac- eye on each other. Hunters saw themselves first it’s very hard to stop him doing that cepting it now is that [I’m] thinking of as having the knowledge about ice condi- eh? It’s like scientific and traditional the future of our children and our grand- tions and the environment, and scientists as knowledge colliding. (Jooeelee Papatsie, children, so they will have something on having the technology and the ability to put Pangnirtung) paper to help them understand how the it all together. Inuit knowledge was consid- In the long run, working together changes have evolved over time, and ered more concrete and practical, while sci- was seen as providing more information on especially for the rest of the world so they entific knowledge was more abstract, or ice conditions and change and improving can understand the environment that we uncertain. the quality of the findings. live in. (Mosesee Nuvaqiq, Pangnirtung) In general the elders and hunters Let’s say we go back to the ’60s: we are Access to Research Results nothing to scientists – we are just poor Interviewees said that by working with sci- want to teach others, especially the younger smiling Eskimos to them, they know entists Inuit would have more access to generations. Therefore, working with scien- everything. I got this information from research results and to other information of tists is an additional way that they can pass my uncles. They used to get frustrated try- interest to them. They would also have more along their knowledge. ing to explain to a scientist who would say in defining research topics. Concerns for Collaboration not believe [them]. They lived in the Despite the generally positive response to my Gaining Respect: area, and they knew a lot of things. And Putting Knowledge in Writing question about working together, intervie- then the scientists would come in, and Some elders felt their knowledge would be wees expressed many concerns regarding they’re from a university, so they think more respected if they worked with scientists. the practicality of collaborating with scien- they know everything. The scientists What [I notice] about today, for exam- tists. These included: conflicting personali- would treat the whole of Baffin Island as ple, is that the youth won’t believe [my] ties, conflicting knowledge bases and tools if it was the same. But if you go to Qikiq- knowledge if it’s not written down. used to study the ice, language barriers, deci- tarjuaq it’s different [from Pangnir- They’re more into written material, some- sion-making (who is in charge, and how tung] – every place is different – so some- thing that they can see, and if a scientist receptive they are to suggestions, especially times we seem to be lying when we try has done a study on ice and that is pre- regarding sea ice travel), superiority (scien- to explain something to the scientist. sented to the youth, more than likely they tists were deemed dominant), the choice of Because he has a written text that was will believe him because he has some- factors to consider in sea ice or wildlife stud- done in Pond Inlet or somewhere, he tries thing written. Even though [I’ve] got all ies, and appropriate payment. to use it in the Pangnirtung area. But that information in [me], because [I To facilitate more collaborative re- Pangnirtung is totally different from don’t] have anything written they won’t search, Inuit elders and hunters in all three Pond Inlet, so it doesn’t apply. It’s a lot believe [me] as much as they do the re- communities provided the following sug- more understandable when they work searcher. So therefore, [I find working gestions as to how scientists could improve together. Nowadays – it’s 2000 now, not working relationships that are perceived the ’60s – it’s a lot easier to explain. We to have been science-biased for too long: are trying to work with the traditional 1) researchers should work in communities knowledge, to compare it to western sci- more frequently, as Inuit prefer face-to-face ence. Where they don’t fit together, you interactions; 2) researchers should work in

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 8 communities for longer periods of time; Skepticism about Research Importance of Interpreters 3) researchers should be more visible in There is ongoing skepticism about research- The importance of a skilled and committed communities; 4) researchers should inform ers and their motives, which may stem from interpreter cannot be overemphasized. Mis- communities of their research results more misunderstandings about the purpose of understandings can be amplified if transla- often, and not only when something drastic research or previous unpleasant research tions are unclear, if the interpreter is not happens; 5) reports should be translated into experiences. Examples include beliefs that: supportive of the research, or if the inter- Inuktitut; 6) there should be a fair sharing of scientists provide misleading informa- preter is not allowed to make suggestions for knowledge; 7) an elder or hunter should tion, mainly on wildlife (scientific results improving questions or clarifying responses. learn as much from the scientist as the sci- vs. local observations and experience, Without effective language skills in both entist does from the Inuk; 8) researchers conflicts over harvesting quotas); English and Inuktitut, the subtleties of inter- should help hunters access satellite imagery information given by community mem- view responses can be lost. I was very fortu- or other information of interest; 9) resear- bers has to be purchased to bring it back; nate to have worked with four excellent chers should be willing to learn from Inuit; and, interpreters: Theo Ikummaq, Pootoogoo Elee, SPRING/SUMMER 2006 10) researchers should get more hands-on researchers are profiting financially, and Andrew Dialla, and Eric Joamie. From them experience with sea ice; 11) community in their professional reputation, from the I learned a great deal about the process of members should be invited on icebreakers information they are given. research – and interpersonal dynamics – in when they are anchored near town; 12) re- [The researcher’s] frame of mind would each community. searchers should inform community mem- be they come in, they get the information, Reporting Back to the Community bers where field camps will be set up; and they use it out there on their own Based on preliminary research visits and 13) Inuit knowledge should be considered behalf. “Forget what this guy said” – that meetings, along with concerns for lack of in addressing complex northern topics; was their mentality then and that’s one research reporting discussed in interviews, I 14) Inuit and researchers should come to an of the reasons why [I] never really got to prepared a brief two-page trip summary understanding of how to work together; working with them, even though [I] report after each visit. English and Inuktitut 15) researchers should work with the most would have been able to work with them. versions were sent back to interested com- knowledgeable Inuit with regards to travel- (Arsene Ivalu, Igloolik) munity organizations and to individuals and ling or hunting on the sea ice (usually refer- Unilingual hunters, and especially interpreters who were involved in the inter- ring to elders) because not everyone uses the elders, have had less direct interaction with view process. Several people told me they ice frequently and thus not everyone has scientists, and are not very familiar with the appreciated receiving the summary. This equal knowledge of sea ice; 16) researchers processes or purpose of research – if you are individual reporting was valuable because should consider hiring fewer people, for a not going to be using the ice, why would reports provided only to community groups longer period of time, to go into more detail you study it? For these reasons, some place or organizations are not always widely on a particular topic. more confidence in the utility and reliability distributed or publicized. Without reports of Inuit knowledge. On the other hand, bi- going back to individuals, many thought LESSONS LEARNED lingual hunters, especially those who have that results were not coming back to the In conclusion, I wish to highlight a few of participated in the formal education system community. the lessons that I have learned from Inuit (i.e., middle-aged Inuit who have experi- community members. I have avoided detail- enced both traditional Inuit education and Frequently Asked Questions ed analysis of these perspectives, as I prefer southern schooling) have a better grasp of While interpreters had mentioned to me that to let the major points presented here, and both the advantages, and challenges, of Inuit, and elders especially, do not like to ask the interview excerpts, speak for themselves. working with scientists. Therefore, the middle many questions, I provided a chance within generation of Inuit may be the greatest propo- the interview setting for people to ask me nents, or opponents, of northern research. questions. These are just a few examples of some of the most frequently asked questions: Who is paying for this project? Where do you come from? Who do you work for (implying concerns for links with government, or en- vironmental activists)? Will you be getting

9 out on the sea ice to learn? Why are you the hunters today, but for the benefit of (CRYSYS) program, ArcticNet (Theme 4.2), doing this work? What are you hearing from our children, and their children. (Mose- and the Northern Ecosystem Initiative (NEI) other communities about the sea ice? Are see Nuvaqiq, Pangnirtung) have provided field work and research fund- you part of a research group, or working I think the more that we as research- ing. Many thanks are extended to Vincent alone? Will the information collected be ers can communicate the purpose of our Robinson, John Bennett, and Gail Guy for mixed with scientific findings? Will the maps studies, report back on our results, and in- their thoughtful comments used to refine from this study be used in a university for volve community members in any feasible this article. learning purposes? When will the informa- manner, we can improve mutual under- tion from this study be made available? standing and increase the benefits of research Interviewees In addition, more personal questions in the Canadian Arctic. Some researchers The following people discussed research encouraged self-reflection: Are my answers have always worked this way; increasingly, relationships in their interviews, and their what you are looking for? Do southerners Inuit communities are demanding that this statements form the basis of this article. know about the information that has been become the common approach. Both Inuit Cape Dorset: Etulu Etidlouie, Ashevak shared in the interview? Have you noticed knowledge and scientific knowledge need to Ezekiel, Mattewsie Joanasie, Sandy Kelly, any changes in the weather where you live? be considered where topics of common Mangitak Kellypalik, Jimmy Manning, Oqu- Do you enjoy the north? Do you enjoy this interest are concerned. The more we can taq Mikigak, Adamie Nuna, Iqadluq Nun- work? What is the biggest thing in your life work towards reciprocal research relation- gusuituq, Aleka Parr, Etidlouie Petaulassie, that you are thankful for? ships, in an atmosphere of mutual respect, Ningeoseak Peter, Oqsuralik Ottokie, Paulas- Answering these questions at the end the more we will be able to learn from each sie Pootoogook, Kanayuk Solomonie, Simi- of interviews, as well as thinking about other. gak Suvega, Quvianaqtuliaq Tapaungai. them at later times, was very valuable in All researchers and university students Igloolik: Samuelie Ammaq, David refining research questions, direction, and that come up here to do research have to Angutikjuaq, David Aqiaruq, Zacharias process through the duration of the project. be aware of the knowledge that they are Aqiaruq, Maurice Arnatsiaq, Theo Ikum- maq, Eugene Ipkanak, David Irngaut, Ar- Working Together being given. They have to respect the Elders in the three Nunavut communities knowledge that they are being given. And sene Ivalu, Enuki Kunuk, Nathan Qamaniq, emphasized that even though not everyone they have to make sure that the knowl- Daniel Qattalik, Levi Qaunaq, Anthony uses the sea ice, it is still important to under- edge that they receive is used for the Qrunnut, Augustine Taqqaugak, Abraham stand its behaviour and to be able to travel proper purposes. (Levi Evic, Pangnir- Ulayuruluk, Louis Uttak. on it. They felt that despite the fact that there tung) Pangnirtung: Joavee Alivaktuk, Levi is no way to control the environment, at Evic, Manasa Evic, Jaco Ishulutak, Lazarusie least by working together with scientists Acknowledgements Ishulutak, Joanasie Maniapik, Manasie Ma- more could be understood about ice condi- (in memory of Mosesee Nuvaqiq and niapik, Jamesie Mike, Enoosie Nashalik, tions, and changes that are happening. Etidlouie Petaulassie) Manasie Noah, Lootie Nowyook, Mosesee Elders want to share what they know and I am grateful to all the community members Nuvaqiq, Jooeelee Papatsie, Peterosie Qap- are concerned about losing the knowledge of Pangnirtung, Cape Dorset, and Igloolik pik, Joopa Soudluapik. base as their generation passes on. who have participated in, or supported, my research. This research is generously funded We don’t have a choice anymore. [We Gita Laidler is a Ph.D candidate in Geog- by a Social Sciences and Humanities Re- need to] get the information from our raphy at the University of Toronto. She search Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral elders that they have on the land and on was awarded the 2004 Polar Commis- Fellowship, a Canadian Polar Commission the sea ice. And with the cooperation of sion Scholarship. Scholarship, the Society of Women Geogra- scientists and the elders we may be able phers Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship to have more information not only for for Dissertation Research, and University of Toronto fellowships. Grants from the Ocean Management Research Network (OMRN), the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP), the Cryosphere System in Canada

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 10 SPRING/SUMMER 2006

REPATRIATION AND COLLABORATIVE DIGITAL MEDIA PROJECTS IN NORTHERN ATHAPASKAN COMMUNITIES Kate Hennessy In the last three years I have been working Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) museums around the world are now also on collaborative language documentation has brought to the relationship between looking to digital media and Internet tech- and multimedia projects with the Beaver museums and local communities, as well as nology as a way to make collections more First Nation in northern Alberta and the other developments that show greater rec- available to communities, and to address Doig River First Nation in northeastern ognition of the rights of indigenous people to inherent imbalances in power. British Columbia. While repatriation usually their cultural property. Jennifer Kramer, anthropologist and refers to the return of cultural artifacts and curator at the University of British Colum- human remains by museums to source com- REPATRIATION bia’s Museum of Anthropology, has sug- munities, I am examining the role of digital Under NAGPRA, passed in 1990 by the gested that the desire for repatriation is “the archives and multimedia as tools for repatri- United States Congress, American museums desire to obtain the right to self-define who ating language materials and cultural docu- must create an inventory of their Native one is as an individual and as a First Na- mentation, such as photographs, film, and American collections, in consultation with tion”.2 Using digital archives and multimedia audio and video recordings. Through partic- tribal representatives and federal agencies, to bring language resources and cultural his- ipatory ethnography, and by working as a and determine the cultural affiliation of tory home to First Nations communities con- videographer, trainer, and multimedia pro- human remains, funerary objects, sacred stitutes a form of repatriation that facili- ducer, I explore the ways in which local objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.1 tates self-representation and control over control over technology, authority over re- Responding to this precedent, and to com- language and culture education initiatives. patriated material culture, and linguistic and munity demands for greater accountability, From this perspective, alienating physical cultural documentation can facilitate impor- objects from communities by holding them tant community-defined processes aimed at 1. Christina F. Kreps, 2003. Liberating Culture: Cross- in museums where access is restricted also Cultural Perspectives on Museums, Curation and defending autonomy, rights to traditional Heritage Preservation. New York and London: lands and resources, revitalizing the Beaver Routledge. language, and building relationships 2. Jennifer Kramer, 2004. Figurative Repatriation: First Figure 1 between elders and youth. Nations ‘Artist Warriors’ Recover, Reclaim, and Dane-zaa youth document stories of survival and This approach stems from fundamen- Return Cultural Property through Self -Definition. ingenuity at Snare Hill. July 2005. Photo: P. Biella. tal changes that the Native American Graves Journal of Material Culture 9(2):161–182. p.163 © Doig River First Nation. 11 alienates the processes of cultural transmis- munity access with user-friendly interfaces their language resources. Working with the sion – through stories, songs, ritual activity, and culturally relevant educational materi- Beaver First Nation in the summer of 2004, and everyday usage, for example – linked to als. Technologies used in documenting and we focused Beaver language video and the artifacts.3 Essential elements of cultural archiving language tend to reflect a Euro- audio documentation on locally identified and social processes, these objects play an centric and increasingly old-fashioned themes such as horses and berry picking, important role in producing and strengthen- approach. Based on claims to indigenous and their relation to place and place names. ing individual and community identity.4 people’s cultural property rationalized by With the material we produced language Repatriation is therefore seen as a funda- arguments for science, or for preserving a lessons on DVDs for the local elementary mental step in returning control over these record for “humanity”, this approach tends school’s Beaver language program. These processes to communities. The experiences to ignore what can be done to revitalize lan- began with thematic vocabulary, then pro- of museums working with source communi- guage, and instead looks only to a future in gressed to increasingly complex sentence ties to repatriate objects is useful for the dev- which it is assumed that languages are constructions leading to longer related nar- elopment of ethnographic methods that, inevitably fading into non-existence. There ratives. Elders recognized in the community based on collaboration and guided by abo- are strong parallels with the kind of early for their expertise in the Beaver language riginal perspectives on land, language, “salvage anthropology” that rationalized the determined the content of these language learning, and teaching, can lead to repre- removal of so much cultural property from lessons. Our goals were: 1) To contextualize sentations of cultures that have greater communities and into museums. language resources by letting the interests meaning for communities. The Volkswagen Foundation is cur- and knowledge of language consultants rently funding the documentation of endan- determine the theme of the language BEAVER LANGUAGE gered languages from around the world. As lessons; 2) to facilitate community control DOCUMENTATION of May 2005, 29 teams were working and over the use of recording technology; and Since 2004 I have worked with linguistic uploading documentation into the DoBeS 3) to experiment with ways to define lan- anthropologists Pat Moore from the Univer- (Dokumentation Bedrohter Sprachen) guage documentation and research strate- sity of British Columbia, and Dagmar Jung archive. While the DoBeS archive is accessi- gies so that the raw digital material is from the University of Cologne, on a Volk- ble over the Internet, funding is not de- useable in a variety of community and acad- swagen Foundation-funded project to docu- pendant on making resources available to emic language initiatives. ment the Beaver language, focusing on nar- source communities, or on ensuring that This project represents the beginning ratives of place and place names. From the communities even have appropriate com- of a process to reconcile the Beaver First beginning of our collaboration with the puter resources with which to access the Nation need for usable tools for language Beaver First Nation, which is close to High archive. It is up to the researcher alone to revitalization with those of the linguistic Level, Alberta, and the Doig River First Na- determine who will have password access to researchers who are securing a clear and tion, near Fort St. John, British Columbia, the archived language materials, and which usable record of the language. The goals of we have looked for ways to align the goals recorded materials are made available to the researchers and community members do for language documentation with those of community. Researchers with no interest in not have to be mutually exclusive, as a long the local communities. language revitalization may not consider and ever-changing history of museum col- Linguistic documentation projects, community access a priority. The unfortu- lecting and curating has shown us. Research particularly those using digital technology, nate result of this could be language re- methods grounded in collaboration can help can either reinforce unequal access to ar- sources stored in an archive that is com- bring control of their language resources chived language resources, or improve com- pletely inaccessible to the source community. back into the hands of communities. Recognizing the inherent limitations 3. Christina F. Kreps, 2003. Liberating Culture: Cross- of the DoBeS archive for language revital- Cultural Perspectives on Museums, Curation and ization efforts, Pat Moore, Dagmar Jung, Heritage Preservation. New York and London: and I have looked for other, more collabora- Routledge. 4. Patrick Eisenlohr, 2004. Language Revitalization tive ways to ensure community access to and New Technologies: Cultures of Electronic Medi- ation and the Reconfiguring of Communities. Annual Review of Anthropology 33:21–45.

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 12 BEAVER LANGUAGE ticular, it was important to contextualize the drum skin had never left the community, it AND COMMUNITY songs as central elements of Dane-zaa cere- had been removed from circulation, particu- MEDIA PROJECTS monial life, in which people dance to songs larly after the death in 1976 of the “last” While my work with the Beaver First Nation “brought back from heaven” by Dreamers, Dane-zaa Dreamer and the ensuing decline is only just beginning, I have been involved also referred to as Prophets. Located genea- of the practice of Prophet traditions. with the Doig River First Nation for the last logically in the Dane-zaa kinship universe, As such, the drum skin’s reintroduc- several years as a web design and video pro- these Dreamers are also thought to have tion to the community paralleled that of a duction mentor. In the summer of 2005, prophesied the coming of Europeans to repatriated object. Dane-zaa youth, the folklorist Amber Ridington and I began the Dane-zaa territory.5 The way in which sto- Chief, and other community members took production stage of a web-exhibit of Dane- ries and songs would be recorded, however, turns interpreting the drawings on the drum zaa story and song, funded by the Virtual what kinds of stories and songs would be and explaining what it meant to them to see Museum of Canada, an online gateway to recorded, and which of these were appro- the drum, making the old Dreamer’s drum museums across the country. At the core of priate to share over the Internet, were also relevant to present experience. Elder Tommy SPRING/SUMMER 2006 the project was youth training in video pro- discussed at a series of meetings attended by Attachie, for example, used the drum as a duction, supported by the Northeast Native Band Chief and Council, elders, and youth starting point from which to articulate the Advancement Society (NENAS) in Fort St. involved in the project. many levels of connection between the John. Young people worked with video Chief Gary Oker helped community drum skin and Dane-zaa social, religious, instructors – Peter Biella, a visual anthropol- members understand the project’s potential political, and cultural history. He used the ogist from San Francisco State University, by bringing an important object to one of drum as an opportunity to talk about tradi- and me – and with Dane-zaa elders to re- the first of these planning meetings: a moose tional practices such as hunting. He talked cord narratives in Beaver or English, which hide drum skin, separated from its frame, about the place where a moose was killed, are now being translated, transcribed, and ragged along its edges and torn on one side. and where its hide was scraped and used to edited for display in the web-exhibit. Pat It was painted in red and black, depicting make this drum. He talked about the Proph- Moore and Julia Miller assisted the group two “trails” leading to a central circle, and et Gaahyae, who brought a song from with the documentation of these narratives, from that circle, a single trail leading out- heaven, and painted the map of the trail to which have constituted significant elements ward. One side of the image is painted solid heaven on that drum. He referred to other of the Volkswagen Foundation-funded red; the other, solid black. Chief Oker ex- Dane-zaa prophets, linking them genealogi- Beaver language project. plained that the drum skin had come into cally to Gaahyae and members of the pre- The Doig River Chief, Council, and his possession when its former owner, his sent community. He used the drum to talk community members agreed that the web- grandfather, died. It had since been stored in about how things have changed; referring site should focus on story and song. In par- a closet in his house. Elders in the room rec- to times “before the seismic” [meaning the ognized the drum, and began to speak in Beaver about it. They identified it as having 5. Robin Ridington,1988. Trail to Heaven: Knowledge Figure 2 and Narrative in a Northern Native Community. been made by the Prophet Gaahyae almost a Tommy Attachie discusses the Dane-zaa Dreamer Vancouver and Toronto: Douglas and McIntyre. hundred years before. Even though the Gaahyae’s drum at a community meeting about the Virtual Museum of Canada website. July 2005. Photo: P. Biella. © Doig River First Nation.

13 Figure 3 Recording narratives of place at Peterson’s Crossing. July seismic cut-lines used in oil and gas explo- In the following two weeks, the group 2005. Photo: P. Biella. © Doig River First Nation. ration] and some of the things he remem- traveled to five locations in northern British bered about growing up before the estab- Columbia and Alberta that had been impor- lishment of the reserve. tant camps and seasonal resource areas, important Dane-zaa places, contextualized Significantly, Tommy Attachie used now surrounded, and in some cases, ob- by their connections to the Prophet tradi- the story of this drum to define the process scured, by oil wells, highways, and natural tion, prior movements of Dane-zaa people, of curating the website. He directly gas pipelines. At each location, elders recited hunting traditions, language revitalization instructed the elders present at the meeting Beaver place names and explained their ori- initiatives, and community values. They will to travel to places in the territory where the gin. They recounted stories of Dreamers also make a valuable contribution to local Dreamers had been, and to tell the young who had camped there, and described the language revitalization initiatives. video team important stories about the way songs that they brought from heaven to In consultation with community things were in the past. Soon after recording those places. They talked about what these members, Amber Ridington and I are now this narrative, other elders, such as Billy places had been like generations ago, and working with a team of web designers to Attachie and Sam Acko, decided that it was how the landscape had changed. They translate the community’s vision of the pro- time to get started. We had not yet translated explained to the young people present how ject into a website that will bring Dane-zaa what Tommy had said, but it was clear that important it was to learn their language, articulations of their own history into the certain community members had under- and to hold on to their traditions. They went Virtual Museum of Canada. The website will stood and were ready to act. Within an hour, to great lengths to ensure that the images feature descriptions of the project and the the Band’s fifteen-passenger van and three and audio documented by the youth cor- process that it initiated, the story of the pick-up trucks were loaded with a dozen rectly conveyed the messages they were drum, a tour of the places we visited, a elders and the crew. We drove thirty minutes sending to their own communities and the detailed explanation of the prophet tradi- to Peterson’s Crossing, the former home of unknown audience that would watch these tion, a page of stories and songs, and other the Prophet Oker, and the location of the videos over the Internet; in some cases, resources such as Beaver language lessons Catholic day school that many of the elders small trees were cut down if they blocked and links to other Doig River Media projects. had been required to attend as children. As certain features of the landscape that needed Grounded in Dane-zaa history and the youth video team set up their shot, to be visible behind the storyteller. Doig social relations, the story of Gaahyae’s drum Tommy made sure that the old stone chim- River community members and linguistic actively defined the process of curating ney – all that remained of the school – was anthropologists are now translating these Dane-zaa stories and song. It also resulted in visible in the frame. In turn, as directed by narratives. As subtitled video clips, they will an incredible amount of linguistic documen- Tommy, elders sat in front of the camera be fundamental elements of a virtual tour of tation related to place, which may not have and told “the important stories”. been possible for Volkswagen linguists out-

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 14 side of such a community driven project. Nations has initiated a repatriation of con- Acknowledgements This project shows how collaboration be- trol over production processes and the repre- Thank you to the Beaver First Nation and tween communities and researchers can sentations through which these communi- the Doig River First Nation, and to the Vir- produce valuable results for all involved. ties define their history as well as their lan- tual Museum of Canada, the Northeast guage and its relationship to present identity. Native Advancement Society (NENAS), the CONCLUSION A strong argument for repatriation comes Canadian Polar Commission, the Associa- In the way that museums have had to re- from the understanding that aboriginal peo- tion of Canadian Universities for Northern evaluate their justifications for retaining ples have a different basis for establishing Studies, and the SSHRC Canada Graduate indigenous peoples’ cultural property, visual legitimate sources of knowledge, for inte- Scholarship for support of these projects and anthropologists and linguistic anthropolo- grating knowledge in their social systems, research. gists have been challenged to rethink meth- and for connecting knowledge to wider sys- Thank you to Amber Ridington (co- odologies that reproduce colonial dynamics tems of belief and oral traditions. When pro- manager in the Dane-zaa VMC project), Pat and hegemonies of representation. Collabo- cesses surrounding the use of digital tech- Moore, and Peter Biella, for conversations SPRING/SUMMER 2006 ration between anthropologists and mem- nologies and repatriated cultural materials preceding this article. bers of the Beaver and Doig River First are returned to aboriginal communities, tra- ditional knowledge can be re-contextualized Kate Hennessy is a Ph.D student in An- to address present concerns and dilemmas thropology at the University of British Figure 4 faced by communities as they negotiate lega- Columbia. She was awarded the 2005 Draft homepage of the Virtual Museum of Canada web exhibit Dane wajich – Dane-zaa Stories and Songs: cies of colonialism and domination. Polar Commission Scholarship. Dreamers and the Land (original image in colour). © Doig River First Nation.

15 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY’S LABRADOR INSTITUTE Martha MacDonald

Memorial University has had a formal pres- The direction of the Institute’s activi- issues of regional concern, and offer assis- ence in Labrador since the 1970’s, when ties depends to some extent on the interests tance to researchers from St. John’s who field workers carried out extension services and experience of the director, and for the want to form research partnerships with consisting of a film and video project in past three years under the direction of Dr. Labrador communities. Cartwright and Nain. This project was mod- Tim Borlase the Institute has stressed pro- Labrador could be described as a elled on the Fogo Island Process, through jects that deal with language, culture, her- place where the north meets the east, with which rural Newfoundland communities itage, and the performing arts. Two of these some characteristics of both, but life in this brought their concerns and demands to captured a great deal of interest in Labrador: region, with its transportation challenges, politicians in distant Ottawa. The project the recent Mug-Up project, wherein we vis- rich indigenous heritage and resource devel- used these media as tools for community ited seventeen communities and collected opment momentum, has a firmly northern development, bringing together communi- stories from Labrador’s past, which were orientation (as many of us have heard, “It’s ties to discuss problems and present them to then published in Them Days Magazine, the attitude, not the latitude!”). The Lab- government people in St. John’s. In the Lab- and the Labrador Explorations Symposium, rador Institute participates in a number of rador of the 1970’s where communications a gathering of international scholars and northern initiatives, including the Associa- and transportation were problematic, this local explorers who shared two days of lec- tion of Canadian Universities for Northern was a powerful process that helped to shape tures, panels, and a re-enactment of the Studies, the Northern Scientific Training the identity of Labrador as a region. In the departure of wilderness explorer Mina Ben- Program, the Atlantic Coastal Access Pro- late 1970’s the university established the son Hubbard, one hundred years exactly gram, and several International Polar Year Labrador Institute of Northern Studies, from the day she departed North West River proposals. directed by the late Dr. Tony Williamson, to on June 27th 1905 to complete her dead hus- As times change and work progresses promote community development, exten- band’s doomed expedition to Ungava Bay. with the newly formed Nunatsiavut govern- sion services, and socio-economic research, The papers and photographs will be pub- ment, Memorial University is reviewing its and to provide a link with the campus in St. lished in a special edition of Newfoundland work in Labrador and planning a new strat- John’s. and Labrador Studies. Fall also saw a egy. This will take advantage of interest in Successive directors nurtured this national conference on aboriginal art take university education in several ways. The aspect of the Institute’s work while adding a place through our efforts, providing instruc- College of the North Atlantic works closely research and teaching focus that in its hey- tion and inspiration to over 100 teachers and with the Institute, and we are partners in the day saw twenty employees providing train- bringing together a number of Canadian College-University Transfer Year which pro- ing in programs such as the natural resource aboriginal artists to produce a collective vides first-year university education in technician program, advising students on piece of art. Chief among our annual activi- Happy Valley-Goose Bay, ensuring small distance education, and carrying out re- ties has been the Labrador Creative Arts Fes- classes, cultural familiarity and greater search in the physical and social sciences. tival, which this fall celebrated 30 years of chances of success for Labrador students. In 1997 the university changed the original theatre created by the students of The Institute hopes to begin offering second- focus of the Institute’s activities and re- Labrador communities. year courses as well in order to expand named it the Labrador Institute of Memorial The Labrador Institute has also been offerings and to provide training in selected University. Today the Institute has a per- a lead in assembling experts on very differ- manent staff of three people as well as a ent subjects such as transportation and po- Labrador Associate, who work to carry out tential research partnerships, co-ordinating its mandate of bringing Labrador to the uni- researchers from the main campus and versity, and Memorial to Labrador. community partners who work with them. We serve on committees addressing many

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 16 areas of self-government to interested mem- BOOK REVIEW bers of the Labrador community. We also Terry Rudden continue to provide information to students wishing to pursue distance education or to Something New In the Air, by Lorna account of the way Aboriginal broadcasters, travel to St. John’s and Corner Brook to take Roth. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005. in just thirty years, have changed the way courses in the regular classroom. ISBN 0773528563. we watch, study and regulate broadcasting The Institute has been involved in in Canada. helping develop specialized courses, the cur- Television arrived in the North uninvited For decades Dr. Roth worked in an rent one being the Nunatsiavut government- forty years ago. The extension of “national” informal community of Aboriginal jour- sponsored Inuit Nursing Access Program. television services to the Canadian Arctic nalists and filmmakers, non-Aboriginal con-

SPRING/SUMMER 2006 Delivered through the College of the North was intended to provide programming to sultants, bureaucrats, researchers, and Atlantic, this program will eventually see transient, non-Aboriginal workers in the trainers, northern and southern, who par- sixteen students complete their Bachelor of Arctic. There was no thought of consulting ticipated in the creation of a unique social Nursing degree through Memorial with the Inuit and First Nations residents about the movement focused on the growth of native aid of the Western Memorial Hospital. This invasion by video of their traditional lands; media. Something New in the Air provides approach to providing Labrador communi- and the idea that these original inhabitants the definitive account of the stages by which ties with much-needed professionals might someday be controlling and produc- Indigenous peoples recognized the power recruited from the communities themselves ing their own media services would have and the threat represented by the new tech- is the model which all institutions would like seemed an absurdity. nologies and organized to harness them. A to see followed to resolve recruitment and The abrupt introduction of satellite series of small, community based events in retention problems in Labrador. TV six years later flooded isolated hamlets, the 1970s – an NFB animation workshop in As the Labrador Institute awaits the reserves and remote communities with Cape Dorset, a roving community radio results of the present search for a new direc- programming from southern Canada and transmitter in Northern Ontario, a commu- tor we continue to maintain links with the world. Within months, communities nications policy paper prepared by the Inuit groups in the area, provide outreach activi- without daily newspapers were bombarded of Nunavik – set the stage for the creation of ties and carry out the university’s work in with images from Detroit and Hollywood – community and regional broadcast organi- the Labrador region, linking researchers to images in which their own lives, communi- zations, the establishment of the Native communities to provide services as diverse ties, languages and peoples were completely Broadcasting Policy and Northern Native as aboriginal health research, labour mar- absent. Broadcast Access Program in 1983, the ket development and archeological field Flash forward three decades. Inukti- launch of Television Northern Canada in schools for students. The kind of work only tut and Dene language programming is 1991, and ultimately the creation of the Abo- a university can do is essential in this time of available daily in 8 million Canadian homes. riginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). development for the benefit and well-being Northern broadcasters and film-makers are From its earliest stages Dr. Roth (and of the 29,000 people who call this huge terri- winning international praise and awards. other researchers like Gail Valaskakis, Tom tory home. Aboriginal broadcasting has been recog- Wilson, and Mark Stiles), studied the emerg- nized in federal legislation. ing media organizations and products from Martha MacDonald is Program Coordi- This extraordinary evolution – the a developmental communications perspec- nator at the Labrador Institute. creation and explosive growth of the indige- tive. But her theoretical approach was com- nous media sector in Canada – is chronicled plemented by hands-on experience in the in a new publication by Lorna Roth of Con- field, working with Inuit producers on the cordia University. Something New in the creation of such projects as Takuginai, IBC’s Air is a richly documented and timely ground-breaking Inuktitut children’s series. Dr. Roth’s unusual combination of academic and practical perspectives lends

17 depth and a personal dimension to Some- assumed greater participatory control over ences and advertising dollars in major thing New in the Air that sets it apart from the content and the use of communications southern and urban markets? the many studies of Aboriginal media con- technology in their homelands. Perhaps the most important question ducted to date. Some of the book’s most Any single volume exploration of a raised by the book is that of the future. APTN insightful passages occur in her more per- subject this rich will leave unanswered ques- and Canada’s Aboriginal broadcasters and sonal reflections, including her description of tions. A number of the issues touched on by filmmakers are attracting growing audi- a visit with an older, unilingual Inuk, shar- Roth deserve deeper exploration: What is the ences and interest around the world; but ing a companionable silence as they both meaning of “journalism” in an Aboriginal ironically, back home in Canada, the entire watch The Edge of Night, a soap opera so context? How can the evolving APTN simul- concept of public broadcasting, and the fed- popular in the north that meetings and lunch taneously meet the desire of its original, eral role of broadcast policymakers and reg- hours were often scheduled around its northern audiences for programming that ulators, are being challenged. Since the broadcasts. Moments like this capture the reflects their realities, while competing 1950s Canada’s broadcast policy has human dimension of northern broadcast- effectively as a national network for audi- reflected the principle that audience needs ing, and bring to vivid life the complexity and contradictions inherent in harnessing new technologies to serve ancient cultures and languages – particularly when those cultures are themselves in the process of transformation. The importance of this movement goes far beyond its most obvious outcome, the availability of Aboriginal programming in northern and southern Canadian homes. Most previous studies and media writing have treated Aboriginal broadcasting as a “niche” service, just another of specialty channels created to meet needs of a special- ized audience. Roth points out the important impact that the emergence of this sector has had within the context of Canada’s commu- nications policy infrastructure, and more broadly, on theories of development com- munications. Indigenous media was both informed by, and helped to redefine, analyti- cal models which evolved from a diffusionist perspective to more sophisticated, commu- nitarian theories, as northern populations

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION 18 cannot be met by a broadcast system driven and defined strictly by market considera- NEW BOOKS tions, and that government has a role, through regulation and provision of funding Long term environmental change The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab, support, in shaping national broadcast ser- in Arctic and Antarctic Lakes, edited and translated by Hartmut Lutz. Fore- vices. The emergence of Aboriginal broad- edited by R. Pienitz, Department of Geogra- word by Alootook Ipellie. Photographs by casting exemplifies that principle. Some- phy, Université Laval, Québec; M.S.V. Dou- Hans-Ludwig Blohm. University of Ottawa thing New in the Air is a powerful, timely glas, Department of Geology, University of Press, 2005. ISBN: 0776606026. and much-needed reminder of what can be Toronto, Ontario; and J.P. Smol, Department achieved when community needs, govern- of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, In August 1880, businessman Adrian Jakob-

SPRING/SUMMER 2006 ment policy, and technological resources are Ontario. Series: Developments in Paleoen- sen convinced eight Inuit men, women, and aligned. vironmental Research, Volume 8. children from Hebron and Nakvak, Lab- Springer, 2004. ISBN: 1-4020-2125-9. rador to accompany him to Europe to be Terry Rudden, a partner in the Consilium "exhibited" in zoos and Völkerschauen Consulting Group Inc., is a specialist in The abundance of lakes throughout the Arc- (ethnographic shows). Abraham, Maria, aboriginal broadcasting and organiza- tic and Antarctic makes paleolimnological Noggasak, Paingo, Sara, Terrianiak, tional development. approaches especially powerful tools to assist Tobias, and Ulrike agreed, partly for the interpretations of environmental change. money and partly out of curiosity to see the This book provides a synthesis of the broad wonders of Europe, which they had heard spectrum of techniques available for gener- about from the Moravian missionaries. ating long-term environmental records The Inuit arrived in the fall of 1880 from circumpolar lakes, in addition to pro- and were much talked and written about in viding overviews of the geographic extent of the local press. Meanwhile, the Moravian paleolimnological work completed thus far missionaries, who had begged them not to in these regions. It explores the diverse ways embark on the journey, were busily writing in which paleolimnology is used to address letters and trying to stay in contact with the pressing and emerging environmental Abraham and his family, the Christians in issues of high-latitude regions. By providing the group. By January all eight Inuit had both an introduction and in-depth reviews, died of smallpox. this volume is of interest to students and This story is told through several dif- advanced researchers alike who are study- ferent perspectives, from Abraham’s diary ing Earth, atmospheric and environmental itself and the Moravian letters and reports, sciences. (Springer) to a scholarly article, newspaper pieces, and even advertising. An extensive photo section, including portraits done of the Inuit visitors, scans of some of the original documents in German, and photos of the abandoned Moravian mission in Hebron today, round out the story. It is the earliest known Inuit autobiography ever written. (University of Ottawa Press)

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11th North American Caribou Arctic Change and The View from Here: Workshop: Coastal Communities Cultural History and Ecology of Managing Caribou Populations August 12–18, 2006 the North Atlantic Region that are at Risk Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories September 20–24, 2006 April 23–27, 2006 www.czc06.ca/e/home.html Université Laval, Quebec City Jasper, Alberta [email protected]; [email protected] Colloquium [email protected] www.albertadirectory.net/actws/News/ “Le territoire et les Autochtones” Events/2006/caribouworkshop.htm (Land and Indigenous Peoples) The 15th International September 20–22, 2006 Inuit Studies Conference: Ohpinitowin, Université du Québec à Montréal Orality in the XXIst Century. “Lifting Each Other Up”: Véronique Rozon and Maxime Gohier, Inuit Discourse and Practices Aboriginal Studies and Research Coordinators October 26–28, 2006 Conference 2006 Canada Research Chair on the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France University College of the North, Thompson, Indigenous Territoriality Question Michèle Therrien Manitoba Department of History (Room A-6135) [email protected] May 2 and 3, 2006 Université du Québec à Montréal John Hansen P.O. Box 8888, Branch Centre-Ville [email protected] or [email protected] Montréal (Qc) H3C 3P8 www.ucn.ca (514) 987-3000, extension 8278

Canadian Polar Commission The opinions expressed in this newsletter do not is published by the Canadian Polar Commission. Suite 1710,Constitution Square necessarily reflect those of the Canadian Polar 360 Albert Street Commission. ISSN 1492-6245 Ottawa,Ontario © 2006 Canadian Polar Commission K1R 7X7 Tel.: (613) 943-8605 Editor: John Bennett Toll-free: 1-888-765-2701 Translation: Gérard-R Verreault Fax: (613) 943-8607 Design: Eiko Emori Inc. E-mail: [email protected] www.polarcom.gc.ca

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