Project 448704

Inuit have always relied on a varied diet that involves harvesting from a range of plant and animal species in every season. Even through periods of seasonal scarcity, the Inuit food system enabled Inuit to thrive over generations. However, today the incidence of food insecurity in Nunavut is the highest in Canada (four times the national average). In Arviat, Nunavut, the Aqqiumavvik Society addresses issues around community food insecurity, primarily by encouraging harvesting and consumption of nutrient-rich country foods. Aqqiumavvik's work is grounded in the holistic worldview of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit knowledge and values; IQ) and their associated community-developed research model. Guided by Aqqiumavvik, our diverse team will work together to investigate the potential for a coordinated community harvest of light geese to enhance food sovereignty in Arviat. Currently, a large population of light geese (Snow and Ross's Geese) migrates to nest around Arviat in spring and summer. Harvesting spring geese had long been an important seasonal contribution to food security in the region, until the 1910s when legislation banning goose harvesting disrupted Inuit knowledge, practices, and food systems. Although Arviarmiut (people of Arviat) are now actively harvesting spring geese again, Inuit understandings of - and relationships with - light geese have suffered. Arviarmiut recently recommended establishing a coordinated community goose harvest to contribute to community food sovereignty. This proposed harvest aims to address the overabundance of geese in the region while maintaining harmonious and respectful relationships with all forms of life. The goal of our Team Grant is to investigate the viability of such a harvest in the context of climate change. We will connect IQ and scientific ways of knowing in considering the interplay between human and goose population health, climatic change, migratory bird policy, and Inuit food sovereignty.