The TUKTU research project was carried out from 2013\u20132017 (though it was informed by the ECOTRAD project, which took place from 2008\u20132009). Each year of the project, the research theme was redefined in order to align with the concerns identified by the population of Qamani\u2019tuaq. Each research assistant involved in the project also brought his\/her individual approach to tackling the issues, whether in terms of exchanging with inhabitants, constructing workshops, choosing suitable tools, or communicating their work and results.<\/p>\n
TUKTU project summary The TUKTU research project was launched in 2013 and was completed at the end of 2017. It was co-designed by a group of Inuit elders in a series of participatory workshops conducted in 2009 and co-facilitated by the late Vera Avaala, a Baker Lake resident who acted as a co-researcher and advisor in developing the TUKTU project.<\/p>\n Four main concerns identified by the elders were translated into research questions and served as guidelines for the project:\u00a0the future for Nunavut youth<\/strong>,\u00a0intergenerational knowledge transmission<\/strong>,\u00a0safeguarding a<\/strong> caribou-centred livelihood<\/strong>, and\u00a0mining impacts<\/strong>. The project also investigated ways to strengthen ties between\u00a0Inuit and Saami communities <\/strong>through a youth exchange<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Since 2013, an annual spring fieldwork visit has started with a community meeting to report back on the results of the previous year and to co-construct the research questions to focus on in the coming year. Each year, the new programme follows on from the previous year\u2019s programme to ensure continuity. The results are posted on the TUKTU project Facebook page to keep the community informed, and each year prior to their visit, new students and research assistants introduce themselves through a short video to get acquainted with the community.<\/p>\n The annual investigations carried out with the community from 2013 to 2017 found that Baker Lake residents feel that mining extraction generates positive opportunities (e.g. jobs, skills training and income), but also has negative impacts (e.g. environmental pollution, changes to caribou migration patterns, effects on social cohesion).<\/p>\n In 2013<\/strong>,\u00a0Anna Deffner worked with elders to develop the CARIBOU WHEEL, a radar chart showing the importance of the caribou to traditional life and evaluated the impacts of the Agnico Eagle gold mine on the community\u2019s caribou-centred livelihood. The Inuit\u2013Saami youth exchange project was initiated by the Baker Lake school and a caribou\/reindeer livelihood booklet created as part of an approach to strengthen the exchange. The TUKTU project also contributed financially to the Pauktuutit\/Tester study on the social and economic impacts of the gold mine on the Inuit women of Baker Lake.<\/p>\n In 2014<\/strong>, at the request of the community, Annabel Rixen focused on mining scenarios (1 mine, 2 mines, 0 mines) and evaluated these using a WELL-BEING WHEEL co-designed with Baker Lake residents in a series of participatory workshops. She explored alternative activities to gold mining and studied likely tipping point issues and resilience strategies.<\/p>\n In 2015<\/strong>, Elise Brunel went to Baker Lake with expertise in participatory video. She spent her time with six families out on the land, giving the video camera to her hosts to film what was meaningful to them. Mining issues were barely addressed in these videos; participants chose to discuss their caribou-centred livelihood and document other issues such as Inuit culture and language and the future for young people. Also in 2015, Am\u00e9lie Broage went to Sapmi in Sweden, bringing drawings, letters and questions from Baker Lake school students (grades 5 and 9) and presenting them to the Saami students in G\u00e4llivare and Karesuando schools.<\/p>\n Working with a network that includes local institutions, mining company representatives and residents, the project employed triangular collaboration to facilitate local planning during this transition period. This included exploring new avenues for alternative activities, as well as the possibility of recovering mining infrastructure for local use.<\/p>\n In response to local research interests, it was also decided to engage in a more accurate assessment of changes in caribou migration and the role of the mining industry in these (Warren Bernauer, 2015). To investigate mining impacts on migratory caribou, we took into account traditional ecological knowledge and the community\u2019s empirical observations of the land, comparing these with available scientific data (geographical surveys, wildlife and vegetation studies).This was developed in collaboration with the Kangiqsujuaq community of Nunavik and the G\u00e4llivare and \u00d6vre Soppero communities of Northern Sweden. A comparative study is planned, applying the methods developed in Nunavik and Qamani\u2019tuaq to Sweden in the BOAZU project.<\/p>\n In 2016<\/strong>, the TUKTU project continued with improved methodological tools based on outcomes from previous field trips, and a focus on strategic planning for future mining scenarios. These were in some flux as the gold mine was to be closed and a uranium mine opened, but this did not take place in the end. The TUKTU project was completed in 2017<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The TUKTU project also developed an ongoing Saami\u2013Inuit youth exchange<\/strong> to strengthen the ties between communities facing a similar paradox between mining offering employment opportunities yet having a negative impact on caribou hunting and reindeer herding. In the long term, this youth exchange may generate new ideas for sustainable management, Indigenous rights and economic alternatives to mining. As part of this programme, in both Saami and Inuit schools,\u00a0Anna, Annabel, Elise, C\u00e9cile and Am\u00e9lie<\/a>\u00a0developed short-term research projects co-designed and co-led by youths in conjunction with elders: one of these was a caribou\/reindeer livelihood booklet that will continue to be added to. Saami students produced similar materials that were then presented in the Baker Lake schools.<\/p>\n With the connections between Inuit and Saami schools now established, we have submitted an extension to this programme to Nordregio, a Nordic research centre, with a proposal to include a school in Northern Greenland in the exchange.<\/p>\n Results<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [expand title=\u00a0\u00bbFilms\u00a0\u00bb]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n To watch the videos, enter the password :<\/em> tuktu<\/p>\n The welcome<\/strong> (with<\/em> Jamie Lee Nagyougalik)<\/p>\n
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