Inuit, Polar Bears, and Sustainable Use

Inuit, Polar Bears, and Sustainable Use Local, National and International Perspectives Milton M.R. Freeman and Lee Foote, Editors CCI Press 2009 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Inuit, polar bears, and sustainable use: local, national and international perspectives / Milton M.R. Freeman and Lee Foote, editors. (Occasional publication, ISSN 0068-0303; no. 61) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-896445-45-8 1. Polar bear hunting. 2. Polar bear. 3. Inuit—Hunting. 4. Wildlife management—Canada, Northern. 5. Wildlife conservation—Canada, Northern. 6. Wildlife management—Government policy—Canada, Northern. 7. Endangered species—Law and legislation—United States. I. Freeman, Milton M. R., 1934- . II. Foote, Lee III. Series: Occasional publication series (Canadian Circumpolar Institute) ; no. 61 QL737.C27I58 2009 333.95'9786 C2009-902382-2 KEYWORDS: Inuit hunting; environmental knowledge; Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ); polar bear; sustainable use; governance; conservation hunting; guided hunting; trophy hunting; sustainable use; co-management; socio-economics © 2009 CCI Press, University of Alberta All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the express written permission of the copyright owner/s. CCI Press is a registered publisher with access© the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Publisher Number 3524) Cover design by art design printing, inc. Front cover image courtesy Webb Outfitting (Nunavut) Ltd. (Names of individuals withheld on request). Printed in Canada (Edmonton, Alberta) by art design printing, inc. See acknowledgements section of this volume for support of this publication. ISBN 978-1-896445-45-8; ISSN 0068-0303 Occasional Publication Number 61 © 2009 CCI Press, University of Alberta Table of Contents Map of all named locations referred to in this volume iv Map of circumpolar distribution of polar bear sub-populations v Preface vii Mary May Simon Foreword ix Jon Hutton Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Milton M.R. Freeman and Lee Foote Part I. Inuit, Conservation Hunting, and Community Economics Chapter One: 13 Polar Bear Conservation Hunting in Canada: Economics, Culture and Unintended Consequences Lee Foote and George W. Wenzel Chapter Two: 25 Guiding, Opportunity, Identity: The Multiple Roles of the Arviat Polar Bear Conservation Hunt Martina Tyrrell Chapter Three: 39 Inuit Observations of Polar Bears in Salliq/Coral Harbour, Nunavut, and the Management of the Conservation Hunt Kerrie Ann Shannon and Milton M.R. Freeman Chapter Four: 51 Subsistence and Conservation Hunting: a Nunavut Case Study George W. Wenzel Chapter Five: 65 The Economics and Client Opinions of Polar Bear Conservation Hunting in the Northwest Territories, Canada Dan Slavik i Part II. Polar Bears and the Changing Arctic Environment Chapter Six: 81 Polar Bears: Proposed Listing under the Endangered Species Act Eugene H. Buck Chapter Seven: 95 West Hudson Bay Polar Bears: the Inuit Perspective Martina Tyrrell Chapter Eight: 111 Inuit Observations of Changing Sea Ice and Snow Conditions in Polar Bear Habitat in the East Kitikmeot, Nunavut Darren Keith Chapter Nine: 125 An Iñupiat Perspective on Polar Bears and Sea Ice in Northeast Alaska Richard Glenn Part III. Inuit and Other Publics’ Perceptions of Polar Bear Conservation Chapter Ten: 135 A Nunavut Inuit Perspective on Western Hudson Bay Polar Bear Management and the Consequences for Conservation Hunting Gabriel Nirlungayuk and David S. Lee Chapter Eleven: 143 Response to the Proposal to List Polar Bear under the U.S. Endangered Species Act Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Circumpolar Council-Canada Chapter Twelve: 147 Response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposed Rule to List the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) as Threatened throughout its Range Nunavut Tunngavik Inc Chapter Thirteen: 153 Response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Proposed Rule to List the Polar Bear as ‘Threatened’ Throughout its Range Government of Nunavut Chapter Fourteen: 167 A Review of the Public Response to the Proposed ESA-listing of Polar Bears Milton M.R. Freeman ii Inuit, Polar Bears, and Sustainable Use Chapter Fifteen: 187 Polar Bears in the Media: The Ways in which we Know the Icon Lee Foote, Naomi Krogman, Douglas A. Clark and Lindsay Johnston Part IV. Polar Bear Management and Governance Chapter Sixteen: 199 The Legal Framework for the Conservation Hunting of Polar Bears in Nunavut Nigel Bankes and David S. Lee Chapter Seventeen: 215 Polar Bear Management in Nunavut and Nunavik Martha Dowsley Chapter Eighteen: 233 Polar Bears, Climate Change, and Human Dignity: Seeking Integrative Conservation Policies Douglas A. Clark, Martina Tyrrell, Martha Dowsley, Lee Foote, Milton M.R. Freeman and Susan G. Clark Appendices 243 Appendix 1. Chronology of Significant Events in Polar Bear Governance 245 Appendix 2. List of Acronyms 247 Appendix 3. Contributors 249 iii Map 1. Map of all named locations referred to in this volume. iv Inuit, Polar Bears, and Sustainable Use Map 2. Circumpolar distribution of polar bear sub-populations. Abbreviations Legend: Viscount Melville Sound (VM), Norwegian Bay (NW), Kane Basin (KB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS) Southern Hudson Bay (SH), Western Hudson Bay (WH), Foxe Basin (FB), Gulf of Boothia (GB), M’Clintock Channel (MC), Southern Beaufort Sea (SB), and Northern Beaufort Sea (NB). Source: Aars et al. (2006):33. v vi Preface Mary May Simon As a young Inuk who grew up in the Arctic, I did not look at our wildlife much differently from the way my fellow Inuit considered wildlife in general—that is, in appreciating the fundamental importance of our animals in providing for our sustenance and existence. Today, it is ingrained in me to be aware of the important role that land and marine mammals play in the way we shape our perspectives, our knowledge, our culture, and our values as Inuit. This includes the ways by which we ought to treat each other and the environment around us, which are a part of the moral principles embodied in our Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) or Traditional Knowledge (TK). The wildlife we harvest is food for our health, nourishment, and energy. It is clothing for our warmth and protection. It also provides the materials we use for other practical needs and our creative activities, and it is also an important and accessible resource that sustains our livelihoods. Our harvesting and use of wildlife also relates to our roles and responsibilities as providers for our children in the processes of caring for each other and passing down our knowledge to the next generation. Our Arctic animals represent an integral strand woven through our language, our personal namesakes, our place names, our memories, our stories, our emotions, our intelligence, our wisdom, and the lessons of life. Both at the individual and collective level, this strand is a part of us, and we a part of it. All of this and much more combine to feed our spiritual awareness and strength as human beings within a larger, natural, and interconnected world. It is what we would term a holistic view of life. When we share our wildlife, or as Inuit say, our ‘country food,’ this enables us to come together to bond and reconnect as families and as communities and helps sustain a resilient and meaningful identity in a world of constant change—whether that change is environmental, social, political, economic, or a mixture of all of these interacting in an unpredictable manner. This is why Inuit express such a deep and profound respect for wildlife and the natural environment that is the universal home for both human and wildlife alike. It is difficult to simply explain this to someone who may not fully appreciate the depth and sublime nature of our relationship with wildlife and the environment. It is far more than just hunting, processing, and eating an animal. We respect that which gives us life and that which gives its own life for our very own. Imagine trying to grasp the depth of this understanding and principle in a world of farmed animals, artificial materials, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants? Indeed, in a world where there are people who cannot imagine, believe, or think it ethical or otherwise acceptable to kill and eat a wild animal? Many cannot grasp this understanding, but Inuit can and do because our culture is based on living life through our wildlife and adapting to an environment with which we must interact. vii Inuit, Polar Bears, and Sustainable Use We see this as a natural process that is a fundamental underpinning of our existence here on the planet, and this underpinning is as vital today as it was four thousand years ago. In discussing and thinking about nanuq, the polar bear, I believe we cannot do so without placing it in our cultural context I outlined above. This revered species is among many other species of land and marine mammals that we depend upon and have come to know during our lengthy history as a people. We are not strangers, but rather, co-habitants in the Arctic. Our Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) including our stories and legends, speak intimately of our knowledge and relationship with nanuq. Today, when our most knowledgeable elders and hunters talk about how polar bears are faring in the Arctic, I listen and I believe in what they have to say because they, above most other people on the planet, know the most about polar bears; they are our experts. In the pages of this book, there will certainly be different perspectives on, and understandings of, polar bears presented, as well as evidence of the contested nature of current harvesting and management measures used to ensure the conservation of the species. I am acutely aware of the challenges that Inuit face at the national and international level in regard to public perceptions of polar bear harvesting, especially when it comes to the issue of ‘sport’ hunting.

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