Andrew Arreak’s words are at the heart of Sikumiut, a groundbreaking initiative that monitors, documents and disseminates crucial Inuit knowledge regarding sea ice safety; Mr. Arreak is the SmartICE (Sea-ice Monitoring and Real-Time Information for Coastal Environments) northern operations lead and Sikumiut co-ordinator.

Memorial’s Dr. Trevor Bell, Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Dr. Katherine Wilson, director of knowledge co-production, SmartICE, nominated the initiative for the award.

Community-led

Sikumiut means “people of the ice” in Inuktitut.

The word was chosen by members of the SmartICE community management committee in Mittimatalik (also known as Pond Inlet), Nunavut, to describe who the committee is and what the committee does. Inuit elders proposed the idea of a community management committee to Drs. Bell and Wilson during a meeting in Mittimatalik in 2015.

People, ice and change

Ice holds profound cultural significance for Inuit, representing a connection to nature and a bridge to Inuit heritage.

Rapid climate change means that the documentation and sharing of this knowledge is more crucial than ever.

Sea ice patterns frame Inuit hunting and travelling seasons, impacting well-being, identity and culture. However, climate change makes the navigation of sea ice unpredictable and dangerous.

Unpredictable sea ice means greater risk for those travelling on it.

For generations, knowledge of safe sea ice travel was passed on orally from one community member to another.

However, colonization disrupted the transmission of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit – Inuit wisdom, or IQ – when it is most needed to adapt to a changing climate.

Close collaboration

SmartICE began as a community-university-government partnership between Inuit sea ice experts and Memorial researchers.

Over the past six years, it has transformed into an Indigenous-led, non-profit social enterprise.

SmartICE is now in operation across Inuit Nunangat and northern territories, empowering 38 communities to monitor and map their sea, lake and river ice.

Read the original article here: People of the ice (mun.ca)