Biocultural Diversity and Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Human Ecology in the Arctic
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Science Science Research & Publications 2009 Biocultural Diversity and Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Human Ecology in the Arctic Kassam, Karim-Aly University of Calgary Press Kassam, Karim-Aly. 2009. Biocultural Diversity and Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Human Ecology in the Arctic. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/47782 book Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca University of Calgary Press www.uofcpress.com BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING: KARIM-ALY S. KASSAM HUMAN ECOLOGY IN THE ARCTIC by Karim-Aly S. Kassam ISBN 978-1-55238-566-1 THIS BOOK IS AN OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK. It is an electronic version of a book that can be purchased in physical form through any bookseller or on-line retailer, or from our distributors. Please support this open access publication by requesting that your university purchase a print copy of this book, or by purchasing a copy yourself. If you have any questions, please contact us at BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS [email protected] WAYS OF KNOWING HUMAN ECOLOGY IN THE ARCTIC Cover Art: The artwork on the cover of this book is not open access and falls under traditional copyright provisions; it cannot be reproduced in any way without written permission of the artists and their agents. The cover can be displayed as a complete cover image for the purposes of publicizing this work, but the artwork cannot be extracted from the context of the cover of this specific work without breaching the artist’s copyright. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This open-access work is published under a Creative Commons licence. This means that you are free to copy, distribute, display or perform the work as long as you clearly attribute the work to its authors and publisher, that you do not use this work for any commercial gain in any form, and that you in no way alter, transform, or build on the work outside of its use in normal academic scholarship without our express permission. If you want to reuse or distribute the work, you must inform its new audience of the licence terms of this work. For more information, see details of the Creative Commons licence at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ UNDER THE CREATIVE UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE YOU COMMONS LICENCE YOU MAY: MAY NOT: • read and store this document • gain financially from the work in any way; free of charge; • sell the work or seek monies in relation to the distribution • distribute it for personal use of the work; free of charge; • use the work in any commercial activity of any kind; • print sections of the work for • profit a third party indirectly via use or distribution of the work; personal use; • distribute in or through a commercial body (with the exception • read or perform parts of the of academic usage within educational institutions such as work in a context where no schools and universities); financial transactions take • reproduce, distribute, or store the cover image outside of its place. function as a cover of this work; • alter or build on the work outside of normal academic scholarship. Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the wording around open access used by Australian publisher, re.press, and thank them for giving us permission to adapt their wording to our policy http://www.re-press.org/content/view/17/33/ KARIM-ALY S. KASSAM BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING HUMAN ECOLOGY IN THE ARCTIC BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING NORTHERN LIGHTS SERIES WILLIAM BARR, GENERAL EDITOR COPUBLISHED WITH THE ARCTIC INSTITUTE OF NORTH AMERICA ISSN 1701-0004 This series takes up the geographical region of the North (circumpolar regions within the zone of discontinuous permafrost) and publishes works from all areas of northern scholar- ship, including natural sciences, social sciences, earth sciences, and the humanities. No. 1 · Nunavik: Inuit-Controlled Education in Arctic Quebec Ann Vick-Westgate · Copublished with the Katutjiniq Regional Development Council No. 2 · Many Faces of Gender: Roles and Relationships through Time in Northern Indig- enous Communities Edited by Lisa Frink, Rita S. Shepard, and Gregory A. Reinhardt · Copublished with University Press of Colorado No. 3 · New Owners in their Own Land: Minerals and Inuit Land Claims Robert McPherson No. 4 · War North of 80: The Last German Arctic Weather Station of World War II Wilhelm Dege, translated and edited by William Barr · Copublished with University Press of Colorado No. 5 · Writing Geographical Exploration: Thomas James and the Northwest Passage 1631–33 Wayne K.D. Davies No. 6 · As Long as This Land Shall Last: A History of Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, 1870–1939 René Fumoleau No. 7 · Breaking Ice: Renewable Resource and Ocean Management in the Canadian North Edited by Fikret Berkes, Rob Huebert, Helen Fast, Micheline Manseau, and Alan Diduck No. 8 · Alliance and Conflict: The World System of the Inupiaq Eskimos Ernest S. Burch · Copublished with the University of Nebraska Press No. 9 · Tanana and Chandalar: The Alaska Field Journals of Robert A. McKennan Edited by Craig Mishler and William E. Simeone · Copublished with University of Alaska Press No. 10 · Resurrecting Dr. Moss: The Life and Letters of a Royal Navy Surgeon, Edward Lawton Moss, MD, RN, 1837–1880 Paul C. Appleton, edited by William Barr No. 11 · Lands that Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland Spencer Apollonio No. 12 · Biocultural Diversity and Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Human Ecology in the Arctic Karim-Aly S. Kassam KARIM-ALY S. KASSAM BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING HUMAN ECOLOGY IN THE ARCTIC © 2009 Karim-Aly S. Kassam University of Calgary Press 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 1N4 www.uofcpress.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-5777. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION Kassam, Karim-Aly S., 1964- Biocultural diversity and indigenous ways of knowing : human ecology in the Arctic / Karim- Aly S. Kassam. (Northern lights series, 1701-0004 ; 12) Co-published by Arctic Institute of North America. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55238-253-0 Issued also in electronic format: ISBN 978-1-55238-566-1 ISBN 978-1-55238-492-3 1. Human ecology–Arctic regions. 2. Indigenous peoples–Arctic regions. 3. Subsistence economy–Arctic regions–Case studies. 4. Biodiversity conservation–Arctic regions. 5. Cultural pluralism–Arctic regions. 6. Traditional ecological knowledge–Arctic regions. I. Arctic Institute of North America II. Title. III. Series: Northern lights series ; 12 GF891.K38 2009 304.20911’3 C2009-900885-8 The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for our publications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Printing Inc. This book is printed on FSC Silva Enviro paper Cover design by Melina Cusano Page design and typesetting by Melina Cusano For Zarina and Saleh TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Relations between Culture and Nature: A Critical Consideration 17 Chapter 3 Human Ecology Reconceptualized: A Lens for Relations between Biological and Cultural Diversity 63 Chapter 4 “Man and His Friends” – An Illustrative Case of Human Ecology in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada 93 Chapter 5 “The Weather Is Going Under” – Human Ecology, Phronesis, and Climate Change in Wainright, Alaska, USA 159 Chapter 6 Mapping Human Ecology: A Transformative Act 191 Chapter 7 Implications of a Human Ecological Outlook 221 Notes 231 References 237 Index 251 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: A Summary and Consolidation of the Models of Knowing 80 Table 4.1: Profile of the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok 109 Table 4.2: Age Characteristics for the Population of the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok 109 Table 4.3: Population Characteristics: School Attendance, and Highest Level of Schooling 111 Table 4.4: Preferred Foods of Students at Helen Kalvak School 115 Table 5.1: Contrasting Characteristics of Iñupiat knowledge and SAR Images 182 viii LIST OF FIGURES Human Ecology of Holman Mapped (foldout, back pocket) Figure 1.1: Subject Matter of Illustrations in Selected Narra- tives of Explorers 9 Figure 1.2: Cultural Diversity in the Circumpolar North (CAFF 2001: 58) 10 Figure 1.3: Ecological Diversity in the Circumpolar North (CAFF 2001: 18) 11 Figure 2.1: Model for Link between Biological and Cultural Diversity 45 Figure 2.2: Interplay of Cultural System, Social Structure, and Individual Action 49 Figure 2.3: Standardization of Diversity 53 Figure 3.1: The Binary of Nature and Culture 70 Figure 3.2: The Concept of Human Ecology Illustrated 72 Figure 3.3: Phronesis Illustrated 83 Figure 4.1: Steps to Human Ecological Research 94 Figure 4.2: Ulukhaktok (Holman) in the Canadian Western Arctic 97 Figure 4.3: Seasonal Round Indication Intensity of Harvest 118 Figure 4.4: Sealskin Sack Used for Aging 123 Figure 4.5: Dissection of the