INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS Profiling the eNuk program An Inuit-led strategy for monitoring and responding to the impacts of environmental change on health and wellbeing in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut Alexandra Sawatzky, Ashlee Cunsolo, Dan Gillis, Inez Shiwak, Charlie Flowers, Oliver Cook, Michele Wood, the Rigolet Inuit Community Government, & Dr. Sherilee L. Harper Photo credit: Alexandra Sawatzky Alexandra Photo credit: View of Rigolet in wintertime. The Place Rigolet, located in the Labrador Inuit Land Across the Circumpolar North, shifts in environ- Claim Settlement Area, is one of many Inuit com- mental conditions are occurring more frequently munities across the Circumpolar North that has re- and in greater intensity than ever before, largely due corded and shared observations related to land, ice, to the cumulative and combined effects of climate and sea for thousands of years. Inuit in this com- change and resource development. For Inuit com- munity have experienced these changes first hand, munities, these environmental shifts have both acute and knowledge about environmental changes – and and chronic impacts on wellbeing and ways of life. associated strategies for mitigating and adapting to Indeed, Inuit consider the land to be intrinsically these changes – has accumulated over generations. connected to wellbeing through a multitude of in- In recent years, Rigolet has led numerous commu- extricable pathways; building and strengthening re- nity-based, participatory research initiatives to adapt lationships with the land is an underlying foundation to the impacts of changing environmental conditions for being well. on health and wellbeing. The community possesses a 18 Northern Public Affairs, July 2017 Photo credit: Charlie Flowers Charlie Photo credit: Charlie Flowers, a research lead and community member in Rigolet, demonstrating the eNuk iPod app. wealth of experience documenting and analyzing en- holders alike have identified integrated environment vironment- and health-related data. Currently, they are and health monitoring as an important strategy for working to mobilize this research to develop response adapting to changing environments while also in- strategies that enhance and support community well- forming responsive public health policies and pro- being amidst changing environmental conditions. As grams with and for communities in the North. explained by one community member, the fast pace Rigolet is at the forefront of these research ef- and immense depth of the impacts of environmental forts and is currently developing the eNuk program: changes on health and wellbeing has underscored the a community-driven, participatory, integrated envi- need for immediate, urgent action: ronment and health monitoring initiative. The par- ticipatory, community-driven nature of the eNuk This is our life, this is what we’re livin’ every day, program is essential for community members to our whole lives … and now that’s why people are all understand and share relevant, accurate environ- talking about it now because they’re scared they’re mental information while also sustaining reciprocal, gonna lose what they love so much, right? That’s intimate relationships with the environment. what I think. Why it’s such a hot topic and, why people are so concerned now is because it’s comin’ The Program so fast. And they’re worried about losing their cul- The eNuk program was conceptualized and designed ture and their way of life and their lifestyle. by, with, and for Inuit in Rigolet to streamline their ex- isting research efforts into a comprehensive program One such strategy for addressing this need is the for monitoring and responding to various communi- integration of both environment and health fac- ty-identified environment and health research priorities. tors into comprehensive monitoring and response The program builds upon the community’s collective strategies. Indeed, community leaders, public health history, knowledge, and experience with monitoring practitioners, academics, and government stake- and sharing knowledge about environmental changes. Northern Public Affairs, July 2017 19 Photo credit: Oliver Cook Photo credit: The eNuk research team testing out iPods, cameras, and other equipment with community partners on English River in -40 conditions. From its conceptualization through to its imple- The Development Process mentation, this program is community-led and commu- Between August 2015 and August 2016, community nity-driven. Additionally, it involves an interdisciplinary, members, local and regional government representa- multi-sectoral research team consisting of: local and tives, healthcare professionals, and the research team regional government representatives; healthcare profes- worked collaboratively to develop the foundation for sionals; and researchers from the University of Guelph this program. Community partners met with the re- and the Labrador Institute of Memorial University. search team to ensure the priorities and goals of all part- This research team is working in partnership with ners were met, and to share feedback and advice on community members to develop an app and associat- aspects of the research process that needed adjustment. ed web-based tools for collecting and tracking environ- Community members felt that the most import- mental observations in the area around Rigolet. Using ant environmental observations to monitor included: the eNuk app, community members will record their freshwater and sea ice conditions; conditions of trails observations in the form of photos, videos, audio re- frequently used for travelling, harvesting, and hunting; cordings, and text descriptions while travelling, hunting, trends in animals and wildlife; and weather, temperature, fishing, and harvesting on the land. Observations col- and climate patterns. Additionally, many people felt the lected using the eNuk app can then be uploaded to the eNuk program should be designed to build on what peo- website. Once uploaded, participants have the option ple were already doing to monitor these changes. to either keep their observations private, or share them Moving beyond the identification of what envi- publicly with the rest of the community. ronmental observations are important to monitor 20 Northern Public Affairs, July 2017 in Rigolet, community members and other project er’s gonna warm up, but make sure that we are [pro- partners explored why monitoring these observa- tecting our environment], what we can protect now tions was important, particularly at this point in time we should continue to protect. when environmental conditions are changing more rapidly and drastically than ever before. This led to Sharing, protecting, and passing on cultural knowledge: discussions about the role of the land in wellness for Through the eNuk program, knowledge sharing Inuit in Rigolet. As a result, the eNuk program is can be made more efficient as this program pro- grounded in and guided by Inuit values, taking the vides a means for Inuit in Rigolet to access infor- many dimensions of Inuit wellbeing into account. mation being collected by others in the community in near real-time. For example, the eNuk program The Priorities can provide a platform for many individual environ- Community members identified three main prior- mental observations, as well as cultural knowledge ities for the eNuk program: 1) retaining and cele- about the environment, to be shared publicly in one brating environmental stewardship; 2) sharing, pro- central place, allowing for participants to access a tecting, and passing on cultural knowledge; and 3) “database” of collective knowledge from their fellow contributing to evidence-based decision-making. community members when they are making deci- These priorities were grounded in the central sions about where and when to travel. importance of relationships between the land and The on-going monitoring of environmental wellness. For Inuit in Rigolet, environmental chang- observations, and sharing of cultural knowledge es are important to monitor because they impact surrounding environmental changes, has important wellbeing and ways of living. As a representative implications for emergency response and personal from the Nunatsiavut Government explained: safety. Indeed, Inuit in Rigolet felt that, in addi- tion to protecting the land, it is important to listen The physical kinds of things around the environ- to what the land tells them about how to make in- ment … whether that’s pollutants, whether that’s formed decisions about land use, and subsequently weather, wind, amounts of snow, rain, it impacts share this knowledge with their community. people’s physical health, it impacts people’s mental Furthermore, community members in Rigolet health, ability to get off to access nutritious foods. felt that intergenerational involvement in the eNuk Spiritually it impacts people’s connection to the program should be a major priority in order to pre- land – being able to maintain that relationship. So it pare younger generations to respond and adapt to impacts everything really right across the board. current changes in the environment, as well as help to preserve and protect ways of life in unpredictable Environmental stewardship: In Rigolet, many people ex- futures. Engaging youth in monitoring is a way to plained that taking care of the land is their responsi- help transfer Inuit knowledge about the land between bility, because it takes care of them. Environmental generations, as well as foster