Respecting ontology: Documenting Inuit knowledge of coastal oceanography in Nunatsiavut

Abstract

Climate change is having profound effects in the Arctic environment and ocean (i.e. changing sea ice thickness and timing, increasing water temperatures, changing species distributions), effects which are increasingly impacting Arctic and sub-Arctic communities. This is evident in Nunatsiavut, where focusing on oceanographic variables may be used in support of decision making and planning for future change. The Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, which led to the creation of Nunatsiavut, has provisions to include Inuit knowledge in decision making, and new waves of marine research are looking to engage it alongside western science. Currently, oceanographic data derived from Inuit knowledge in Nunatsiavut is limited. Using Inuit knowledge is challenging because methods of knowledge documentation and mobilization are largely shaped by western scientific paradigms, generating ontological tensions manifested through differences in perceptions of environment and/or knowledge communication and representation. When recording Labrador Inuit knowledge of oceanographic features, this research explores the question: what practices of documentation can be used to facilitate knowledge mobilization that respects the original ontological context? Through participatory mapping and semi-structured interviews in Rigolet and Hopedale, this question is addressed through two parallel approaches. First, through documenting Labrador Inuit knowledge of oceanographic features, this work identifies oceanographic trends and changes that Nunatsiavut communities are experiencing. Second, this research offers a case study to identify practices that marine researchers can incorporate when documenting Labrador Inuit ocean-knowledge. This work proposes a series of considerations including place names, narratives, seasonality, mobility, and relationality which can be represented in or attached to data derived from Inuit knowledge so as to respect the original ontological context.

Keywords: Inuit knowledge; Nunatsiavut; coastal oceanography; participatory mapping methodology; sea ice; ocean currents; Indigenous mapping; knowledge systems