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NUNAVUT - The people of Nunavut stand to benefit from scientific research that takes into account their cultural values, opinions and local knowledge, according to Nunavummiut involved in International Polar Year (IPY) projects.

“We can use scientific information in decision-making, but at the same time, there’s this call out there to not just use science, but to use IQ in decision making,” said Moshi Kotierk, a researcher with Nunavut’s Department of Environment.

Ooleepika Ikkidluak, a participant liaison for the Inuit Health Survey, was one of 100 Nunavummiut who helped carry out the 2007-2008 Inuit Health Survey. - photo courtesy of Ooleepika Ikkidluak

The Iglulik-born researcher has been conducting public opinion polls about polar bears, climate change and traditional knowledge in the communities of Kimmirut, Iqaluit and Pangnirtung.

A project under the IPY umbrella, Kotierk’s research was largely motivated by a scientific assessment of polar bears in the Davis Strait, the population from which the three communities hunt.

“Societal values, societal concerns, societal hopes and dreams, and things like that – that is the other aspect I’m trying to get at,” said Kotierk. “I’m trying to document that about climate change, about polar bears, in a way that it can be used in decision-making.”

He said giving Nunavummiut a voice in scientific research can help inform government policy and provide a basis for decisions made at the local and territorial level.

Ooleepika Ikkidluak, a participant liaison for the 2007-2008 Inuit Health Survey, said involving communities in scientific projects makes research more inclusive and less of an imposition.

“If people are planning research, they should get the help of local people,” she said. “Then it doesn’t feel like such an intrusion. I think local involvement really buffers against that.”

Knowing the results of the health survey would benefit Inuit, Ikkidluak helped welcome and comfort survey participants in their mother tongue, and familiarize them with the project.

“I knew it would benefit people individually because they'd have more health information they could otherwise not access,” she said. “They would get good baseline data to make cases for the funding requirements that have always been lacking. It will give some real numbers for governments to base their decisions on.”

Jamal Shirley, Northern IPY co-ordinator for Nunavut, said the public opinion polls and the health survey are good examples of why public participation and local knowledge are central to polar year research.

“One of the key priorities of the IPY program is to make sure the research is applied,” he said. “Using IQ has been recognized as important for a long time now.

“I’d like to think that some of the IPY projects are leading the way, or at least really building themselves around local needs and local knowledge.”

As such, IPY research proposals were evaluated on the level of local involvement and use of local skills and knowledge, Shirley added.

“IQ is used quite often and there’s a lot of uncertainty about how to apply it,” said Kotierk. “For me, it comes down to what do you define IQ as.”

While the original term, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, suggests traditional or old knowledge, the new term, Inuit Qaujimajangit, recognizes that IQ is also about present knowledge and values.

“It sort of suggests that it’s current and it’s living and it’s going on now,” said Kotierk. “Quite often people focus on the IQ principles and as long as you’re true to that, you’re applying IQ.”