For the past 5 years, UArctic has been in partnership with Global Affairs who supports the Indigenous and Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement and Indigenous and Northern Relationship Development Funds.
The purpose of the Indigenous and Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement fund is to support researchers with established Arctic partnerships who are interested in leading collaborative research and education engagement initiatives. Funding is directed toward thematic network activities and cooperative projects related to Arctic research and education, particularly those aligned with priority issues in Canada’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework and grounded in UArctic values and Memorial University’s Policy on Research Impacting Indigenous Groups.
In alignment with policies governing research involving Indigenous groups, and recognizing the responsibility of researchers to engage with Indigenous and Northern peoples in a respectful, ethical, and genuinely collaborative manner, the Indigenous and Northern Relationship Development Fund provides support for building and strengthening these essential relationships by helping Canadian UArctic member institutions establish new partnerships or deepen existing ones for the discussion and planning of research with Northern or Indigenous partners.
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Health in the Circumpolar Arctic
Project Partners: Universite Laval (Christopher Fletcher), University of Greenland, Arctic Mayors’ Forum, Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, University of Alberta, University of Alaska Fairbanks, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Circumpolar Health and Well-being Thematic Network
The purpose of this project is to produce a high-quality, widely accessible, online learning resource that explores the health and well-being of people in the circumpolar Arctic from a variety of perspectives and knowledges, including Indigenous knowledge. A massive open online open course (MOOC) format will be used to as it well suited to the goals of the UArctic with its emphasis on open, flexible, and accessible programming. It addresses a gap in the educational materials for and about circumpolar health and enhances the offering of the Circumpolar Health and Well-being Thematic Network. The design also allows for flexible use and adaptation of the material in other pedagogical contexts including courses offered by UArctic members. Course content will be developed collaboratively through the involvement of an advisory group that will be international in scope, and inclusive of the diversity of people's living in circumpolar regions, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous people. The content will be delivered in a diversity of formats, including video interviews, texts, maps, historical documents, podcasts, digital stories, and other means to be determined.
Embedding Community Needs in Circumpolar Studies Curriculum
Project Partners: Trent University (Heather Nicol), Inuvik Metis Council, Nunavut Arctic College, Yukon University, Nord University, University of Lapland, Laera Institute for Circumpolar Studies
UArctic's interest in a Circumpolar Studies core curriculum originated in the early 2000s with the development of a suite of courses designed for students of UArctic member institutions. Today, the UArctic Laera Institute for Circumpolar Studies promotes the development and delivery of this Circumpolar Studies curriculum. It is made accessible and available to all UArctic member institutions, and a number of UArctic member institutions such as Trent University, Yukon University, and Nord University regularly use UArctic Circumpolar Studies core curriculum content in their programing. Over time, however, the core curriculum has become more oriented towards curriculum needs of larger research-oriented and/or Southern universities, and less oriented towards meeting the needs of Northern post-secondary programing, meaning that there is now a pressing need to ensure that it engages with, and is co-created with, Northern Indigenous partners and Indigenous-led post-secondary institutions.
This project will review existing UArctic core curriculum to identify gaps and better incorporate Northern Indigenous voices and knowledge in both its content and delivery. Working with the broader community of UArctic institutions, Indigenous communities and organizations, and Circumpolar Studies students at UArctic member institutions, partners in this project will initiate a series of consultations to review existing Circumpolar Studies core curriculum and student experience, and to create a blueprint for revisions and redevelopment.
O.C.E.A.N.: Offshore and Coastal Environments in the Atlantic
Project Partners: University of Prince Edward Island (Laurie Brinklow), University of the Farhoe Islands, University of Highlands and Islands, Memorial University, NunatuKavut Community Council, Northern and Arctic Islands Studies Research Thematic Network
The Northern and Arctic Island Studies Research Thematic Network of the UArctic was established in 2022 to bring together researchers and community leaders in Northern and Arctic islands to work on projects that support resilient, dynamic, sustainable island communities, chart the changing relationship between islanders and the sea, and explore innovative ways of adapting to the effects of climate change. The project O.C.E.A.N.: Offshore and Coastal Environments in the Atlantic is intended to bring together researchers and community members to map out a research strategy and identify potential funding for a project(s) focused on the blue economy: not just through an economic lens, but also as a tool to create thriving island communities and help them grapple with climate change, youth retention, and service provision. Themes include ocean health, cultural practice, energy and energy justice, fisheries and aquaculture, governance, climate change, and youth, through the lenses of the Sustainable Development Goals and “two-eyed seeing” that blends traditional and scientific knowledges.
Climate Impacts on Snow and Winter Tourism
Project Partners: Yukon University (Alison Perrin), University of Iceland, University of Lapland, Yukon University, Northern Tourism Thematic Network, Nordic Snow Network (NordSnowNet)
Winter tourism in the Arctic has increased by 600% between 2006 and 2016. At the same time, average temperatures are increasing at four times the rate in the North as the rest of the world. These numbers suggest an urgent need for research on the impacts of climate change on winter tourism in the circumpolar North, and adaptation approaches that support a flourishing economy around winter tourism that directly benefits Northerners.
This project aims to develop a research program that is inclusive and respectful of diverse lived experiences and worldviews in multiple geographic regions by incorporating meaningful engagement at the outset. The project will also develop a research initiative that brings together researchers from Lapland, Iceland, and the Yukon Territory working in a variety of disciplines with local Indigenous people, other Northern residents, and tourism organizations/operators to understand concerns around climate change, tourism, and winter recreation. Together a transdisciplinary research program focused on identifying approaches and tools to assist in mitigating the impacts of changing conditions will be developed.
The Co-design of Community-Based Maternal and Child Health Services in the Arctic: Learning through Circumpolar Collaborations and Indigenous Knowledge Sharing
Project Partners: University of Alberta (Susan Chatwood), Greenland Centre for Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Greenland Centre for Health Research, University of Greenland, Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Health and Well-Being in the Arctic Thematic Network
Circumpolar regions share experiences related to the impacts of colonization, low population density, vast expanses of geographically isolated land, and harsh climates. These factors contribute to challenges in service provision that support the health and well-being of mothers and children. Furthermore, these factors have detrimental impacts on the associated health outcomes resulting in trends where Indigenous women experience disparities in health, and maternal health outcomes.
The project team will take this opportunity to address the health and wellness disparities experienced in maternal child health through the strategic theme of better beginnings, with the primary accelerator of Indigenous ways of knowing, and bringing together extensive expertise across Northern Canada and circumpolar regions.
Drawing inspiration from community and service-based case examples, the project’s objective is to examine circumpolar maternal and child health systems from a comparative global and Indigenous knowledge perspective using mixed-methods case studies to examine cross-cutting areas, including: 1) Identifying policies that support or hinder midwifery services and traditional birth knowledge 2) explore the impact of culturally appropriate Indigenous service delivery 3) Identify community-based outcome measures for maternal, child and service outcomes 4) examine how service practices differ internationally and highlight policies that inform best practices with Indigenous communities, and 5) support the training and education of Northern researchers.
The following 2 projects have been supported under the Indigenous & Northern Relationship Development Fund and will take place over the next year:
Sharing Our Places In The North
Project Partners: Memorial University (Sylvia Moore), University College of the North, Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, Aurora College, Nunatsiavut Government,
This project builds relationships between Northern Canadian UArctic members by coming together virtually and sharing stories of place. Each UArctic partner institution will work with their respective communities to develop a digital story/film that will be shared with each other in an online event. Collaborating with students, local groups, and community members, each partner will gather stories, information, and visuals to create a presentation that will visually welcome others to their community and to help them better understand our respective relationships to Land and places in the North. This creates an opportunity to discuss and address shared challenges of post-secondary education in Northern Canada and to forge relationships and partnerships to work towards the Calls to Action found in the Task Force on Northern Post-Secondary Education’s report. The project will strengthen relationships and foster networking within Northern Canada as we collaborate to decolonize post-secondary education in our regions and continue to work across the circumpolar north as part of UArctic networking.
Cross Cultural Learning in the Global North: UCN and UStrathclyde
Project Partners: University College of the North (Ramona Neckoway), University of Strathclyde
Intended activities associated with this project centre institutional collaboration and cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary research to enable cross-cultural learning opportunities. Possible themes and research to be explored during engagement and networking activities include technological innovations in curriculum and pedagogy, teaching practices in Northern contexts, cross-cultural understandings and practices of Indigenous and Gaelic language and cultural education, and student mobility opportunities in Canada and Scotland. The project aims to teach partners about programing design at each institution and foster new relationships with Indigenous communities through virtual and in-person engagement. Anticipated activities include introductions and peer-to-peer engagement between researchers and staff at each institution, in-person cross-institutional/cross-cultural visits, and hopefully establishing a vibrant network of researchers and educators, including Indigenous educators, committed to advancing knowledge and innovation across institutions.
Duodji and Ilusivut (Arts and Crafts) as Pedagogy in the Circumpolar North
Project Partners: Memorial University (Sylvia Moore), Verdde Thematic Network (TN), Sámi University of Applied Sciences, Nunatsiavut Government, University of Alaska
This project supports the existing Verdde Thematic Network (TN) by strengthening research and networking activities that explore the use of arts and crafts, including duodji (Sámi) and Ilusivut (Inuttitut as a pedagogical approach to teaching and infusing Indigenous cultural knowledge in education. As the second research initiative for Verdde TN, it aims to build a network of scholars focused on Northern Indigenous and Circumpolar education, fostering collegial relationships through workshops that emphasize arts-based, hands-on activities. The research will respond to the TRC’s (2015) Calls to Action to have educators teach in culturally relevant and responsive ways. Local skills and knowledge are a critical part of the education of children and youth across the Circumpolar North, with impacts directly relating to the goals and objectives of Canada’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework (2019) including the nurturing of mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, addressing the longstanding inequities in education, and increasing the levels of education attainment.
Arctic WASH summer school in Canada and online course
Project Partners: Université Laval (Stéphanie Guilherme), Makkavik Corporation, Kativik Regional Government
Access to drinking water in Indigenous and Northern communities can be limited in terms of quantity and quality. Many communities are often subject to boil water advisories. Also, the limited access to water can adversely affect the population, such as their ability to meet basic hygiene needs which leads to significant health consequences. Health disparities associated with communicable diseases and environmental health remain prevalent between Indigenous communities and the rest of Canada: it has been apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but also for many decades prior to the pandemic the rates of Tuberculosis in these communities have remained significantly higher than the average rates in non-Indigenous regions of Canada. Publications highlight that the inability to follow public health preventive measures in communities, like frequent hand washing, was due to limited access to clean water. Also, northern water and sewage infrastructures are more vulnerable to weather conditions. With climate change, we need to develop appropriate technologies and management strategies for adaptation, which is not possible without a deep understanding of Northern realities. Based on a first edition in Sisimiut, Greenland, this international Arctic WASH summer school will take place in the Canadian Arctic (Nunavik). This summer school aims to train future engineers, researchers and managers to the awareness and understanding of indigenous Arctic context. To this end, this course will gather students, professionals, researchers, water and sewage stakeholders, and public health authorities from different arctic regions (Canada, Greenland, and Alaska), to collaborate on practical challenges and develop appropriate solutions.
New Pathways for Meaningful Engagement: Lessons from Northern B.C.
Project Partners: Memorial University (Mark Stoddart), UArctic Thematic Network (TN) on Arctic Sustainable Resources and Social Responsibility, Doig River First Nation, Copenhagen Business School,
Carleton University, University of Northern British Columbia
The programme of work will strengthen existing collaboration between the UArctic Thematic Network (TN) on Arctic Sustainable Resources and Social Responsibility and the Doig River First Nation (DRFN) in Northern British Columbia. Through this project, the TN will promote research and disseminate new knowledge, within academia and beyond, on meaningful consultation and engagement around energy development and natural resource extraction. These issues are crucial for climate mitigation, as well as for the livelihoods of Indigenous groups around the high North. The TN is multi-disciplinary with participants from legal studies, sociology, anthropology, political science, and international relations. The TN is also internationally diverse, with active members in Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.
Igunaq: Collaborating on Inuit fermented food knowledge to advance food sovereignty and community wellbeing in the circumpolar North
Project Partners: University of Alberta (Amy Caughey, Sherilee Harper), community member Clyde River, Ilisimatusafik, Nunavut Arctic College, University of Aberdeen, Government of Nunavut
Circumpolar Indigenous peoples continue to articulate the critical role of traditional, local food (often called country food) within systems of health and wellbeing, and assert the right to these foods to achieve food security and food sovereignty. Inuit in Canada and Greenland have identified that Inuit country food knowledge is central to food sovereignty. This project seeks to advance country food knowledge sharing across circumpolar Inuit communities, with a focus on meaningful research to support community health and wellbeing. Bringing together Inuit researchers and Knowledge Holders, non-Indigenous academics with established relationships, and research programs within Nunavut, this project will work to advance food sovereignty within the circumpolar North through collaborative research on Inuit country food preparation and preservation practices. Story narratives can support the emergence of resilient and sustainable societies in light of climate change. Engaging children and youth as active co-participants is key to this research, which will record children and youth’s narrative experiences about climate change in a variety of forms, both analogue and digital, including artwork, photography, poetry, language, natural artifact collection, textiles, video recordings, podcasts, and theatre performances. There has been little research on how children and youth can be supported through their communities’ experiences of climate change (Sanson, Hoorn & Burke, 2019). The findings from the project will demonstrate how promoting children’s and youth’s voices in a socially and culturally responsive way can contribute to social cohesion, empower local leadership, facilitate active participation in communities, and inform policy development in addressing this global crisis.
Student Education, Development of Professional Skills and Networking across the Arctic (SEDNA) - Permafrost Networking Platform
Project Partners: University of Sherbrooke (Frederic Bouchard), Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR), The University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, Umeå University, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Oslo, University of Calgary
The project called “Student Education, Development of Professional Skills and Networking across the Arctic (SEDNA) - Permafrost Networking Platform” is an international, pan-Arctic initiative dedicated to students and early-career scientists working in the broad field of permafrost science. The SEDNA project brings together multiple permafrost professionals, research centers and groups, and governmental agencies/companies with the mission to provide opportunities for real-world experiences of professional work on permafrost.
SASS Participation in the GENI Growth Network Initiative - Phase 2
Project Partners: School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies (SASS) at the Labrador Campus of Memorial University (Scott Neilsen), Innu Parks, Masters of Governance and Entrepreneurship in Northern and Indigenous (GENI) Areas program, Circumpolar Comparative Case Studies (C3) Project and GENI Growth Network Initiative (GNI), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University of Saskatchewan, Laera Institute for Circumpolar Education, Umeå University, Yukon University, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and the Association of Canadian Universities of Northern Studies, Innu Nation, Centre for Sami Studies
Through these relationships, SASS faculty are collaborating with diverse researchers, scholars, and community members to co-develop and co-deliver a land- and place-based course in Labrador, which integrates the student-led co-creation and publication of Labrador-centered comparative case studies on topics related to Canada’s Arctic & Northern Policy Framework (ANPF). These case studies will serve as relevant teaching materials for the project participants and other Circumpolar- and Indigenous-focused study programs.
Lessons of the Land: New Genre Arctic Art And Land-Based Learning
Project Partners: Memorial University (Heather McLeod), Siunissaq, Utsjoki Sami High School and Utsjokisuun School, Arctic Circle Outdoor Council, University of Lapland, Nord University, Umea University
In this development project, they establish a hybrid realization model (digital and onsite) for a course for student teachers. Using dialogical and participatory art-based methods with Land-based education and digital media education, the activities embrace and promote respect, cultural sensitivity, and cultural and social sustainability in the Arctic region. This means involving and consulting local Indigenous, multicultural, and non-Indigenous communities about our activities and knowledge construction. First, a designed course is implemented and piloted in each country in collaboration with the partner university and local community or school. The digital art-based processes and outcomes are shared and communicated online across universities and partner communities in different Arctic countries. Next, the pilot course is analyzed and evaluated through discussion in a seminar connected to UArctic’s Arctic Sustainable Art, Design (ASAD) and Visual Culture Education Thematic Network’s Relate North Symposium and exhibition. The results will be disseminated onsite with participatory communities and shared with experts through ASAD network collaborative events and symposiums, and for wider audiences via onsite and virtual, online exhibitions. The project promotes Canadian Indigenous voices in a circumpolar worldview. The results will also be disseminated in open-access, peer-reviewed education publications.
Inuit Nunangat Student Knowledge Exchange
Project Partners: Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre (Gwen Healey-Akearok), Nunavut Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research, Centre for Arctic Health Research in Greenland, Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland
The Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, with partners in Nunavut and Greenland, proposes a project to foster knowledge exchange on sealskin preparation, essential for hunting clothing in Nunavut and Greenland's national costume. Objectives include sharing research on sealskin techniques, preserving Inuit cultural practices, exploring Inuit research methods, building research capacity, and engaging communities. This project aims to bridge cultural divides, celebrate traditions, and empower future generations by honoring Inuit heritage.
łezhī Soóthän etsáy yuhųʼìng (Everybody work together in a good way)
Project Partners: Yukon University (Sandy Washburn), Sami Institute (SAKK); Sami allaskuva - Sami University of Applied Science
Łezhī Soóthän etsáy yuhųʼìng" (Everybody work together in a good way) - Will be a networking opportunity primarily on the Traditional Territory of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, with a focus on empowering cultural handicraft preservation and revitalization in circumpolar post-secondary institutions. The primary goal of this networking opportunity is to foster collaboration and dialogue among circumpolar post-secondary institutions and the First Nations involved in cultural handicraft preservation and revitalization. This includes enhancing connections between Indigenous communities and international partners, advocating for cultural preservation initiatives across the circumpolar North, and exploring methods to assist artists/students in promoting and selling their work at various levels. The networking activities in this project will focus on facilitating collaborative projects and knowledge-sharing sessions, offering hands-on teaching opportunities in traditional cultural teachings of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, conducting workshops and discussions on research and relationship building aligned with the Government of Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, integrating Indigenous perspectives into curricula and best practices, and providing support for students and artists in marketing and selling their work. Overall, these networking activities aim to create a supportive and empowering environment for Indigenous communities, promoting cultural preservation, economic development, and educational advancement.
Developing a Sustainable Tourism Workforce for the North
Project Partners: Nipissing University (Pat Maher), Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, Yukon University, University of Lapland, Umeå University, University of Iceland, UiT – University of Norway, University of Oulu, Aalborg University
“Developing a Sustainable Tourism Workforce for the North” is focused on enhancing student engagement in the pan-Arctic discussion on the opportunities and challenges of tourism at the periphery. The objective of the current project is to strengthen the work of the UArctic network through an examination of labour precarity and internationalization in the tourism sector, including different perspectives and experiences on the changing socio-economic and cultural diversity of those employed in the sector. The primary activity will be a working symposium (tentatively scheduled for late-October 2024 in Finland, and Iceland or Sweden for 2025). This funding allows a sustained presence of Canadian educators and students, particularly from the Yukon. This award will build upon 15 years of work within the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism and contribute to the on-going collaboration between seven UArctic institutions across Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Together they co-designed a research and education program on Northern tourism in 2016 which they have delivered annually through the UArctic. Their collaboration has resulted in numerous publications, (technical reports, book chapters, and journal articles), community workshops across all network member countries, presentations at international forums (i.e., Arctic Congress), and over 50 students have completed a UArctic Certificate in Northern Tourism.
Community-Driven Geospatial Monitoring for Hudson Bay Food Security
Project Partners: Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Abdul Raouf), Churchill Chamber of Commerce, Daluhay, University College of the North, Nansen Environmental & Remote Sensing Centre
This project brings together international expertise in geospatial technologies and community-driven education to create 1) a pilot Hudson Bay GIS platform and 2) facilitate initial connections between this application and the (Hudson) bay-wide education system through pluriversal technologies. The project is a first step towards linking Hudson Bay-wide environmental monitoring, Indigenous and scientific knowledge, and community-based (CB) planning, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prioritization. Recently, the United Nations Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development endorsed current project proposal partner Daluhay to address this challenge through ACTION 15.4 Bioregional Resilience – Professional Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Planning. This UN endorsement was built upon initial partnerships engaging Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s geographic-information-system (GIS) expertise and Daluhay’s social-process experience through the Canadian New Frontiers in Research Fund. Responding to this UN endorsement, this current project builds upon the decadal Daluhay Hudson Bay experience to lay a foundation for a bay-wide bioregional approach to knowledge sharing, environmental monitoring, and Action Research progressions for positive change. Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec border Hudson Bay’s 800,000 km2, populated by small, somewhat isolated communities, representing a significant Arctic communication and coordination challenge. A GIS platform will be used to host interactive maps and dashboards. Virtual training and knowledge mobilization will lead towards baseline examples of spatial socio-ecological planning, establishing connections for future collaboration with communities on this topic. Project partners, including Norwegian (Nansen Center) GIS-climate change expertise, will contribute to an inclusive, participatory approach to knowledge management and CB planning.
The following 4 projects have been supported under the Indigenous & Northern Relationship Development Fund and will take place over the next year:
School of Arctic Strengthening sustainability in the fisheries through knowledge sharing
Project Partners: Memorial University (Erica Hurley), Mi’kmaw of Western Ktaqmkuk, Elmastukwek First Nation, Chiefs in Bay St. George, University Centre of the Westfjords
The purpose of this initiative is to build new relationships, share knowledge, and learn about advances in strengthening sustainability initiatives in the fisheries as well as fisheries innovation. More specifically, Team members plan to travel with Mi’kmaw leaders from Western Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) to Iceland to attend the Fish Waste for Profit Conference as well as meet with Icelandic leaders in the fisheries and fisheries innovation system. The Fish Waste for Profit Conference provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the reutilization of fish processing by-products, and Iceland is internationally renowned as a pioneer in the reutilization of fish waste and fisheries innovation. Attending the Fish Waste for Profit Conference in Iceland and meeting with leaders in fisheries and fisheries innovation, will provide the opportunity to strengthen and develop relationships with leading experts that can help to inform strategies for self-determined and sustainable fisheries innovation in Western Ktaqmkuk.
Building respectful relationships for residential school research
Project Partners: Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Abdul Raouf), University of Saskatchewan, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation
Technical expertise in ground penetration radar and mapping will be combined with archival research and community knowledge in this future project, once team members have developed sufficient trust for collaboration. Planned activities include a community event at the Residential School site, hosted exchanges between team members to build relationships and capacity in technical skills, and team planning meetings to solidify roles and responsibilities. Team members have not collaborated previously, and we anticipate that proposed events will foster respectful relationships through shared experience in advance of the research commencing.
Northern Narratives: Building Co-Management Networks Through Storytelling
Project Partners: Yukon University (Bronwyn Hancock), Labrador Campus of Memorial University, Torngat Secretariat
The goal of this project is to contribute to relationship-building and communication between the academic and practitioner co-management communities in two northern regions: the Yukon and Labrador. It will result in a co-produced series of twelve podcasts featuring co-management experts across the Yukon, alongside their counterparts in Labrador. For the academic and co-management institutions featured on the podcast, the opportunity to learn from one another through meaningful discussions in an accessible setting offers a unique opportunity for truly authentic relationship-building. The podcast aims to feature northern voices and share approaches, challenges, and solutions, further contributing to the building of a northern co-management network of practitioners and researchers.
Expanding the Conversation on Northern Tourism
Project Partners: Nipissing University (Patrick Maher), Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, Vancouver Island University, Yukon University, University of Lapland, Umeå University, University of
Iceland, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University of Oulu, Aalborg University
“Expanding the Conversation on Northern Tourism” is concerned with enhancing the pan-Arctic critical discussion on the opportunities and challenges of tourism at the periphery. The objective of the current project is to strengthen the work of the network through an examination of the workforce dynamics in the tourism sector, including different perspectives and experiences on the changing socio-economic and cultural diversity of those employed in the sector. The primary activity will be a working symposium (tentatively scheduled for late October 2024 in Pyhä, Finland), which would add educators, students, and industry/community members from the Yukon Territory. This award will build upon 15 years of work within the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism and contributes to the ongoing collaboration between seven UArctic institutions across Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Together these institutions co-designed a research and education program on Northern tourism in 2016, which they have delivered annually through the UArctic.
Ihdzi' Ihle Ts' e & SAKK Knowledge Transfer
Project Partners: Yukon University, Sámi Institute (SAKK), Sámi allaskuva - Sámi University of Applied Science
In May of 2019 Yukon University - Mayo Campus put on a community hide tanning program that was well received by the community and led the way for the next 3 years of arts and culture related programming. A group of devoted students have emerged over the course of these programs, all of whom have personally felt the effects of hard drugs in our community, losing sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, family and friends. This project is proposing to take these students to visit the Sámi people of northern Finland and Norway and engage in workshops on the Sámi ways. This knowledge exchange is planned for November 2023, as requested by the Sámi Institute in order to align with the reindeer harvesting season. The opportunity to visit the Sámi (and in the future host them in Mayo, Yukon) would expand the students cultural knowledge of other Indigenous peoples in the Circumpolar north.
Circumpolar Education Program on Environmental Change and Resilience
Project Partners: University of Alberta, University of Alaska Anchorage, Thematic Network on Arctic Plastic Pollution, GRID-Arendal, Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education, Live It Earth
The goal of this workshop and panel is to establish new relationships and strengthen existing ones to collaboratively develop a locally-centred and student-focused education program on environmental change and resilience across the Arctic. This program will build on past educational experiences to develop a flexible education opportunity that takes place online and in-person with opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and knowledge mobilization for students K-12 and post-secondary levels. A panel will highlight case studies and experiences from recent education and engagement projects from UArctic partners. Following that, a workshop will take place among the partners to view an example of a past education program, discuss and share ideas to co-create an education program on environmental change and resilience in the Arctic.
Land as Relationship: Indigenous Land Practices in the Circumpolar North
Project Partners: Dechinta Research & Learning Centre, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Sámi allaskuvla - Sámi University of Applied Sciences, Mearrasiida Foundation Norway
This research collaboration will culminate in the development and delivery of the "Alternative Economies" Conference located in both Yellowknife, NT and a location to be determined in Norway. This will take place in winter, January to March of 2025.
Facilitating Children’s Voices in Storying the Landscape of Climate Change in Northern Communities
Project Partners: Memorial University, University of Lapland, Leeds Beckett University
Storying the landscape is a crucial means to preserve wellbeing, even in the most difficult circumstances; climate change has become very apparent in the everyday lives of Northern communities, but there is insufficient documentation of the resultant experiences and challenges to everyday living. Thus, participants will be offered a range of arts-based opportunities to surface personal, localized, and community reflections on climate change and its mitigation. Engaging children and youth as active co-participants is key to this research, which will record children and youth’s narrative experiences about climate change in a variety of forms, both analogue and digital, including artwork, photography, poetry, language, natural artifact collection, textiles, video recordings, podcasts, and theatre performances.
The following 4 projects have been supported under the Indigenous & Northern Relationship Development Fund and will take place over the next year:
School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies Participation in the GENI Growth Network Initiative
Project Partners: Memorial University, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, University of Saskatchewan
This project will develop relationships between faculty in the School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies (SASS) at the Labrador Campus of Memorial University, community partners in Labrador, scholars and their partners responsible for the related Governance and Entrepreneurship in Northern and Indigenous (GENI) Areas program, the Circumpolar Comparative Case Studies (C3) Project, and the GENI Growth Network Initiative (GNI). Through these relationships SASS faculty will collaborate with diverse scholars and community partners to build an innovative pedagogical model that will deliver land- and place-based schools that integrate the creation of comparative case studies that will serve as relevant teaching materials for us and other Northern- and Indigenous-focused study programs around the world.
Indigenous Land Practices in the Circumpolar North
Project Partners: Dechinta Research & Learning Centre, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
The Indigenous Land-based Practices Network Development collaboration will bring together researchers and community members from Denendeh and Sapmi to meet in person, and share research priorities and practices. From an initial series of virtual and in-person visits in 2022 and 2023, this project will centre on building relationships between Elders and knowledge holders in Denendeh, and community members and researchers from Mearrasiida Sea Sámi Centre, Sámi University of Applied Sciences and UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Building on the methodology of "Land as relationship," this project will centre relationships on and with the land in order to determine opportunities for research collaboration, and reciprocal learning from difference.
Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre
Project Partners: Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, Innuttaasut Peqqissusiannik Ilisimatusarfik/Center for Public Health in Greenland
The objective of this project is to bring graduate students and early career researchers together from both Kallaalit Nunaat and Nunavut in a learning exchange and participation in the Qaujigiartiit Qaujisarnirmut Pilimmaksaijut (Research Skills development week). This project will support the initiative to strengthen relationships across Inuit Nunangat (between Kalaallit Nunaat and Nunavut). Although, Kalaallit Nunaat and Nunavut are geographically close, there are no direct routes connecting the two places. These funds will provide the opportunity to cover travel costs to attend the Qaujigiartiit Qaujisarnirmut Pilimmaksaijut, a 5-day course delivered by Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre and the Nunavut NEIHRs (Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research). This course is tailored to support training opportunities for Nunavut-based researchers to enhance their skills and knowledge in research. This course brings western and Inuit epistemologies, where deep thought, and meaningful discussions can take place, knowledge can be shared, and new ideas cultivated.
Harmonizing Climate Change with Schools through Community Partnerships
Project Partners: Memorial University, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Alta ungdomsskole, Skoleveien, McDonald Drive Junior High
