KIVALLIQ - Former Nunavut commissioner Peter Irniq is leading researchers into three Kivalliq communities to gather information on the mining industry.

Peter Irniq and university professor Arn Keeling, right, were in Rankin Inlet gathering information on the mining industry this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Irniq, Emily Cameron, Memorial University professor Arn Keeling and University of British Columbia professor Frank Tester are scheduled to spend time in Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and Arviat.

Keeling will be part of the team in Rankin and Baker.

The group is looking at the history of mining and gathering information on how people feel about the industry; both its pros and cons.

Keeling said Memorial has a big project on abandoned mines in Northern Canada, which represents the historical side of the initiative.

He said another focus is to look at contemporary mining issues.

"I'm a historical geographer and I work with a historian at Memorial," said Keeling.

"We've been doing research work in a number of different communities, mostly in the NWT, but also in the Yukon, Northern Quebec and Labrador.

"Rankin is a new addition to the list of Northern communities we're studying the history of mining in.

"Peter is working with Frank, and we're also working with Emily to gather not just opinions on mining but how people engaged with and participated in mining."

Keeling said they're gathering data on such topics as how mining has affected local lifestyles, and how it may have changed use of the land.

He said he's excited to have the chance to document the stories and experiences of the first generation of Inuit who engaged in wage labour through mining.

"This was the first generation off the land, and they moved into communities and accepted industrial work.

"There were a lot of changes to their lives because of that, and those stories are passing with that generation.

"But there's a few of them left, and one goal of the research is to talk to those people and record their stories and experiences so we can give their communities the opportunity to save and preserve them."

Keeling said the group is also doing archival research to look at government and company policies on employment, development and the environment.

He said another issue they want to explore is how people adapted to the closure of mines in the past.

"Mines always close, either because of market conditions or the exhaustion of the minerals.

"Rankin is a great example of that, and we want to learn what people did after the mine closed and how the community survived.

"In some cases in the NWT, the communities haven't survived.

"One community we've been looking at is Pine Point, which no longer exists because they literally dismantled the town when the mine closed."

Different towns have different experiences when it comes to the mining industry.

Keeling said the research should eventually lead to a composite picture being put together on the history of mining in the North.

He said there's a more contemporary connection in the Kivalliq, looking at what the recent boom in mining activity has meant for communities in terms of opportunities and challenges.

"Part of our job is to figure out what the connections are between the contemporary angles and the historical data.

"People's perceptions are often shaped by past experiences with the industry, any time a mining company comes along with a new proposal to develop a site.

"People always bring up the history, and the mining company will counter by stating it's never done anything like that in the past.

"That perception of today's proposals being shaped by past experiences is a way in which we can connect the past and the present."

The Kivalliq research is being funded by ArcticNet to study adaptation and industrial development in Arctic communities.

Keeling said ArcticNet is well-known for its' researchers work on climate and environmental change.

"Researchers are increasingly interested in these kinds of sets of social-scientific questions around adaptation, whether it be to environmental change from climate change, industrial development, or other kinds of change in the North.

"And it's important for critical perspectives of mining to be heard, as well as the celebratory perspectives.

"That way, people have the information they need to make decisions about what's best for their community and local environment.

"We have to look as factually, and fairly, as we can to both sides, so communities have the chance to make the best decision for their futures."

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