Caribou Conservation Guided, Enacted, and Embodied by Inuinnait and the Killinikmiut Tuktuit
Date
2024-05-13
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Abstract
The fields of environmental and wildlife conservation are working to increase the complexity of their approaches to knowledge in the face of increasing conservation precarity and recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Epistemic plurality, the focus of many strategies and initiatives, acknowledges the validity and value of multiple ways of knowing, recognizing that a more holistic understanding may be reached by drawing from multiple ways of knowing. In the central Canadian Arctic, Inuinnait share a rich cultural history as a distinct collective of Inuit, including their connection to the Killinikmiut Tuktuit. This herd, also known as the “Dolphin and Union” (DU) caribou herd or Island caribou, is a unique ecotype of caribou who characteristically summers on Victoria Island (Killinik), winters on the adjacent mainland, and crosses the adjoining sea ice during their fall and spring migrations. Conservation of this herd occurs under co-management and must incorporate multiple ways of knowing to make the best decisions for the caribou, the people, and the land. In this thesis, I sought to support the co-management partners for the Killinikmiut Tuktuit by advancing our collaborative understanding of the status and trends of the Killinikmiut Tuktuit with Inuinnait Knowledge and how Inuinnait Knowledge around the Killinikmiut Tuktuit is situated. Through a series of interviews with Inuinnait in Kugluktuk, Ekaluktutiak, and Ulukhaktok, I documented information on Inuinnait systems of knowing caribou, their expected variations, and their combined strengths. This information provides insight into how Inuinnait knowledge must be treated and respected when considered in management decisions. I also documented information on caribou systems, their expected variations, and their current adaptations. This information addresses knowledge gaps in the Killinikmiut Tuktuit management plan and has already supported important conservation decisions. This thesis provides important examples in the processes of negotiations and accommodation, both which are necessary for community-based, collaborative research. More broadly, the research advances the practice of epistemic plurality and supports the implementation of Indigenous/Inuit-led policy documents.
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Indigenous Knowledge, Rangifer, Caribou, Traditional Knowledge, Inuit Knowledge, Thematic analysis, Co-management, Community-based research, Epistemic pluralism
Citation
Hanke, A. (2024). Caribou conservation guided, enacted, and embodied by Inuinnait and the Killinikmiut Tuktuit (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.