Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Inuit communities across the Circumpolar North are dealing with complex, context-specific health impacts from climatic and environmental changes. To conduct environmental monitoring research and inform policy in ways that are centered on Inuit values and priorities, understanding the intrinsic, interconnected relationships Inuit hold with the land is essential. The goal of this research is to characterize environment and health metrics of value to Inuit Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Inuit in Rigolet and government members in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to identify important environment and health metrics, and explore why these metrics should be monitored. Focus group discussions were conducted with local and regional government members to discuss how monitoring these metrics can inform health policy in Nunatsiavut. Collaboratively developing values-based metrics helped articulate tangible and intangible Inuit health priorities. Analyses indicated that monitoring environmental changes is valuable for: promoting safety; generating and sharing knowledge; strengthening reciprocal relationships between Inuit and the land; and inspiring environmental advocacy efforts in the North. This research demonstrates the importance of developing environment and health metrics rooted in Inuit values and ways of knowing for sustainable monitoring strategies in the North that enhance Inuit wellbeing.