Climate change endangers Nunavik hunters

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Erratic weather and changing ice patterns are leaving more Nunavik hunters stranded out on the land without traditional techniques to help them.

Nunavik elders, hunters and other residents recently told researchers about more than 100 problems they’ve been facing due to climate change, including the potential loss of traditional knowledge that helped them navigate the land and sea in past generations.

The observations will be published later this year in a major study written and sponsored in part by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. The document is meant to record Inuit observations of climate change across Canada, and how their communities are adapting.

The study is called Unikkaaqatigiit, Putting the Human Face on Climate Change. The Nunavik portion involved discussions with dozens of residents from Ivujivik, Puvirnituq, and Kangiqsujuaq.

In a draft copy of the report, Nunavimmiut paint a turbulent picture of the past 15 years, where winters have become warmer and summers have cooled down.

Elders interviewed for the study noted that over the same time period, they’ve had an increasingly hard time predicting the weather. Even the amount and quality of snow has changed.

Thunderstorms are striking unseasonably late in the year, normal rainfalls are petering out, and wind is blustering more often, at unprecedented speeds, they say.

Elders in Puvirnituq recounted how once-universal weather patterns have become obsolete. For example, they used to expect bad weather after a red and hazy sunset. They now find the opposite will happen.

Meanwhile, residents say more hunters are getting stuck while hunting because they don’t know how to deal with weather disruptions and strange ice and snow conditions.

The thickness of the sea-ice near the communities is less dependable, as it drastically thins out in some areas where it never did before.

Puvirnituq residents reported that the ice on lakes in the spring is only half as thick as it used to be.

Ivujiviq elders say even the stars can’t be counted on for navigation, as the Big Dipper constellation shows up in spots that don’t match up with previous sightings.

Elders worry their old knowledge will be lost because it won’t be needed anymore, while Inuit struggle to adapt to new conditions.

The weather is causing disruptions in animal migrations, as well, according to the residents.

Kangiqsujuaq residents said fish in their community aren’t swimming up the river anymore due to lower levels of rain. They suspect lack of rain causes the rivers to be much shallower and smaller in size.

Residents complained the low water levels in lakes are affecting them directly, making traditional water sources brown and murky. Hunters have started melting snow to drink, instead.

The study doesn’t only blame weather for all the drastic changes.

Hunters and elders believe local development projects are disrupting the local ecosystems in Puvirnituq and Ivujivik.

They claim animals are being poisoned by the James Bay hydroelectric dam, possibly by oil barrels left on the land.

The dam has also weakened local river currents, altering the timing of the ice break-up, and pushing hunters to travel further to find seals. Hunters complained repeatedly that the changes in sea-ice patterns force them to spend more money on gas.

Communities came up with several recommendations to deal with changes:

* halt all development projects, although they didn’t specify which ones;
* bring back dog teams, which are more dependable than skidoos on the land;
* and increase contact between youth and elders so knowledge can be passed on, before it’s lost.

The report’s authors say the information is “extremely valuable” whether or not science backs it up.

The study is backed by the Ajunnginiq Centre, the Northern Ecosystem Initiative, Environment Canada, Health Canada and the Quebec government.