"You can never replace the caribou": Inuit Experiences of Ecological Grief from Caribou Declines

Cunsolo, Ashlee; Borish, David; Harper, Sherilee L.; Snook, Jamie; Shiwak, Inez; Wood, Michele M.; C, The Herd Caribou Project Steering

doi:10.1353/aim.2020.0002

Cited by 46 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Our results characterize the long-standing relationship that Rigolet Inuit have with Mealy Mountain Caribou, and how the practice of harvesting these caribou permeates their culture, is vital for cultural continuity, and has connections for well-being that extend beyond the clear implications for food security. Rigolet Inuit shared stories and memories with pride and described activities of hunting, preparing, sharing, and eating caribou [60] as important for health and well-being. Our results illustrate how the imposition of a hunting ban by the provincial Government with no Inuit collaboration has altered the Inuit-caribou relationship.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being

et al. 2020

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Across Inuit Nunangat, Inuit rely on wildlife for food security, cultural continuity, intergenerational learning, and livelihoods. Caribou has been an essential species for Inuit for millennia, providing food, clothing, significant cultural practices, and knowledge-sharing. Current declines in many caribou populations—often coupled with hunting moratoriums—have significant impacts on Inuit food, culture, livelihoods, and well-being. Following an Inuit-led approach, this study characterized Inuit-caribou relationships; explored Inuit perspectives on how caribou have been managed; and identified opportunities for sustaining the Mealy Mountain Caribou. Qualitative data were collected in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada through 21 in-depth interviews and two community open houses. Data were analyzed using constant comparative methods and thematic analysis. Rigolet Inuit described: how conservation management decisions had disrupted important connections among caribou and Inuit, particularly related to food, culture, and well-being; the socio-cultural and emotional impacts of the criminalization of an important cultural practice, as well as perceived inequities in wildlife conservation enforcement; and the frustration, anger, and hurt with not being heard or included in caribou management decisions. These results provide insights into experiences of historic and ongoing colonial wildlife management decisions, and highlight future directions for management initiatives for the health and well-being of Inuit and caribou.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being

et al. 2020

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“…An emotion considered closely related to climate change worry and anxiety, as well as eco-anxiety, is ecological grief, or grief felt in response to environmental degradation and loss of species and beloved environments (3). Ecological grief takes many forms, differs based on place, culture, and geography, varies by individuals, is experienced differently over time and place, and is expressed through various emotional responses, including anger, frustration, fear, stress, distress, hopelessness, helplessness, and pre-and post-traumatic stress disorder (3,(63)(64)(65). Ecological grief is often considered a form of disenfranchised grief, or grief that is often unacknowledged publicly or reflected through socioeconomic and sociocultural structures and policies (3,66).…”

Section: Ecological Griefmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety, Worry, and Grief in a Time of Environmental and Climate Crisis: A Narrative Review

Ojala

Cunsolo

Ogunbode

et al. 2021

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

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Climate change worry, eco-anxiety, and ecological grief are concepts that have emerged in the media, public discourse, and research in recent years. However, there is not much literature examining and summarizing the ways in which these emotions are expressed, to what processes they are related, and how they are distributed. This narrative review aims to ( a) summarize research about the relationships between, on the one hand, negative emotions in relation to climate change and other environmental problems and, on the other hand, mental well-being among people in different parts of the world and ( b) examine studies that have explored the potentially constructive role of worry—for example, in the form of providing motivation to act. It is clear from this review that negative emotions regarding environmental problems are normal, and often constructive, responses. Yet, given the nature, range, and extent of these emotions, it is important to identify diverse place-based and culturally relevant strategies to help people cope. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Volume 46 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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“…Harvest also is an important part of the culture, identity, and customary and traditional ways of life for people in the region [ 109 , 110 ]. There is increasing recognition that loss of caribou and their migrations can convey considerable emotional and cultural toll on Indigenous people [ 111 , 112 ]. Thus, understanding natural variation in timing and destination of caribou migration, as well as how migration is affected by climate change and human activity, has direct impacts for Indigenous culture and for subsistence management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in winter site fidelity within and among individuals influences movement behavior in a partially migratory ungulate

Fullman¹,

Person

Prichard

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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Many animals migrate to take advantage of temporal and spatial variability in resources. These benefits are offset with costs like increased energetic expenditure and travel through unfamiliar areas. Differences in the cost-benefit ratio for individuals may lead to partial migration with one portion of a population migrating while another does not. We investigated migration dynamics and winter site fidelity for a long-distance partial migrant, barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) of the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd in northern Alaska. We used GPS telemetry for 76 female caribou over 164 annual movement trajectories to identify timing and location of migration and winter use, proportion of migrants, and fidelity to different herd wintering areas. We found within-individual variation in movement behavior and wintering area use by the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, adding caribou to the growing list of ungulates that can exhibit migratory plasticity. Using a first passage time–net squared displacement approach, we classified 78.7% of annual movement paths as migration, 11.6% as residency, and 9.8% as another strategy. Timing and distance of migration varied by season and wintering area. Duration of migration was longer for fall migration than for spring, which may relate to the latter featuring more directed movement. Caribou utilized four wintering areas, with multiple areas used each year. This variation occurred not just among different individuals, but state sequence analyses indicated low fidelity of individuals to wintering areas among years. Variability in movement behavior can have fitness consequences. As caribou face the pressures of a rapidly warming Arctic and ongoing human development and activities, further research is needed to investigate what factors influence this diversity of behaviors in Alaska and across the circumpolar Arctic.

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"You can never replace the caribou": Inuit Experiences of Ecological Grief from Caribou Declines

Cited by 46 publications

References 37 publications

“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being

“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being

Anxiety, Worry, and Grief in a Time of Environmental and Climate Crisis: A Narrative Review

Variation in winter site fidelity within and among individuals influences movement behavior in a partially migratory ungulate

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