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Inuvialuktun Words for a Changing Climate

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Inuvialuktun Words for a Changing Climate Running Head: Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate Inuvialuktun Words for a Changing Climate by SHEENA ELIZABETH ADAMS A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication Royal Roads University Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Supervisor: Dr. Leslie King April, 2018 Sheena Adams, 2018 Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 2 COMMITTEE APPROVAL The members of Sheena Adams’s Thesis Committee certify that they have read the thesis titled Inuvialuktun Words for a Changing Climate and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication: Dr. Leslie King [signature on file] Dr. John Paul Pinard [signature on file] Final approval and acceptance of this thesis is contingent upon submission of the final copy of the thesis to Royal Roads University. The thesis supervisor confirms to have read this thesis and recommends that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements: Dr. Leslie King [signature on file] Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 3 Creative Commons Statement This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/2.5/ca/ . Some material in this work is not being made available under the terms of this licence: 1. Third-Party material that is being used under fair dealing or with permission. 2. Any photographs where individuals are easily identifiable. Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 4 Acknowledgements Northern hospitality is something we speak proudly of in the Arctic. I have been fortunate to have been welcomed into this community with open arms, understanding, care and friendship. The community has supported me, inspired me and encouraged me to expand my reach, breadth and horizons. It has helped me shape my adulthood and develop into a person who believes in community and all the potential that a community has to offer. I feel so fortunate that the path I followed led me to this wonderful, magical and nurturing region. I would like to acknowledge the community members that have assisted me with my thesis research, particularly the Inuvialuit Elders who traveled from far to support this project. I appreciate the support from The Inuvialuit Cultural Center and send a thank you to Aurora Research Institute for helping with community input and the scientific Licensing. I recognize the support from Arctic Energy Alliance and have immense gratitude to Linda Todd for her assistance. My acknowledgements extend beyond the Artic region to include my professors, family and friends. I appreciate all of the assistance, guidance and direction I received from my supervisor, Dr. Leslie King and my committee member Dr. John Paul Pinard. Thank you to my grandmothers, Helen and Teenie for encouraging me to follow my dreams. The attention and care I received from all of my friends (both north and south) made this journey memorable and enjoyable. I dedicate this research to three very special youth: Stanley Liam Haogak , Theodore Eugene Robertson and Treydon Lee Waskul-Adams. May you meet one day, under the Arctic sun and share stories of your land with each other in English and Inuvialuktun. May your world be full of renewable energy, reconciliation and friendship. Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 5 Abstract I conducted a qualitative research study using collaborative storytelling and conversation, Indigenous Research Methodology and Grounded Theory, through the lens of decolonization and reconciliation, to answer the question: What Inuvialuktun words can be rediscovered or created to modernize the traditional Inuvialuit language to include terms of climate change, energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy? An Inuvialuktun Language Development workshop was held in Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Through the workshop, 10 Inuvialuit Elders developed 370 Inuvialuktun modern terms to describe energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy. The findings show that Inuvialuktun is an ancient language rich with words with a strong connection to the environment. This study demonstrated the value and utility of the modernized terms in the Western Canadian Arctic and offers recommendations for future workshops to help improve environmental education and communication regarding energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 6 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 10 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... 11 Preface........................................................................................................................................... 12 A Historical Time ..................................................................................................................... 13 Truth and Reconciliation Report ........................................................................................... 14 Calls for action. ..................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 18 Need For Renewable Energy and Language Revitalization ..................................................... 18 Inuvialuit. .............................................................................................................................. 18 Government........................................................................................................................... 19 The Study & Significance ......................................................................................................... 21 Researcher’s Perspective .......................................................................................................... 22 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 23 Hawaiian Language Revitalization ........................................................................................... 23 Nunavut ................................................................................................................................. 24 Académie française ................................................................................................................... 24 The Inuvialuit Settlement Region ............................................................................................. 25 Climate Change ..................................................................................................................... 25 Climate change anxiety. ........................................................................................................ 28 Energy Use ................................................................................................................................ 29 Adoption of renewable energy. ............................................................................................. 31 Inuvialuktun Language ............................................................................................................. 31 Endangered language. ........................................................................................................... 32 Language acquisition motivators. ......................................................................................... 33 Language development and modernization. ......................................................................... 34 Chapter Three: Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 37 Research Design and Rationale ................................................................................................ 37 Collaborative storytelling and conversation. ........................................................................ 37 Inuvialuktun Words For A Changing Climate 7 Indigenous Research Methodology....................................................................................... 38 Grounded Theory. ................................................................................................................. 38 Coding ....................................................................................................................................... 39 Initial coding. ........................................................................................................................ 40 Second coding. ...................................................................................................................... 40 Final coding. ......................................................................................................................... 41
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