Gjoa Haven wants to conduct traditional knowledge research
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Gjoa Haven (May 14/01) - It's been a while since elders had a feed of polar bear meat.
The community was allowed to hunt four bears this season, and that meat has long since been eaten.
A pending moratorium on polar bear hunting in the M'Clintock Channel means it could be some time before elders get to taste the rich meat again.
"The elders' biggest concern is that someone is telling them they can no longer eat polar bear," said Louis Kamookak, the chair of the Gjoa Haven Hunters and Trappers Organization.
"That's like going south and telling people they can no longer eat chicken or pork. It's the diet you're brought up on," he said.
Kamookak is just one of the hamlet residents who have spoken out against the M'Clintock Channel polar bear quota reduction and moratorium in recent months.
The decision
The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board reduced this season's quota to 12 bears from 32 and said no bears were to be harvested next year. The decision was made after the government's Department of Sustainable Development conducted a scientific study which showed the bear population to be about half of what was estimated.
Hunters from Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Cambridge Bay -- all three communities hunted in the Channel -- objected to the decision for several reasons. Not only did it result in the death of the sport hunts and a considerable loss of income, but community members said the data was inaccurate and didn't include traditional knowledge.
The hamlet now wants to do a study of its own, using traditional knowledge. Kamookak submitted a funding proposal to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board in April. He said the application had received favourable response so far.
He also said all seven of the Kitikmeot settlements placed the issue at the top of their priority list during a regional wildlife meeting held in Gjoa Haven earlier this month.
"M'Clintock Channel came out on top of everything. It was a top priority and we had the support of all the communities," he said.
In-depth study
While Kamookak was unsure if the results of the hamlet study would overturn the wildlife board's decision, he said he hoped their research would prove to decision-makers that communities were responsible and should have more control over the animals in their area.
"The government in the past was not seeing that we have the experts in this community. They're studying the polar bear all their lives," said Kamookak.
Elders, local bear hunters and youths will conduct field studies and record denning habits, bear activity, biology, hunting and feeding and migration habits.
Changing ice conditions and the way they affect polar bear habitat will also be recorded.
Kamookak said the study would create a much more accurate and realistic body of knowledge about one of their primary food sources.
"We want to bring forward how much the community knows about polar bear populations and activity," he said.
Kamookak will be in Cambridge Bay this week to meet with Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk during the Legislative Assembly session.
While there, Akesuk is expected to make an announcement about how the government plans to assist hunters and guides in the area with the hardship caused by the decision.
