Keyword Indigenous

Told through the voices of 24 people from Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Lament for the Land weaves together the voices and wisdom of Labrador Inuit with stunning visual scenery to tell a powerful story of change, loss, and hope in the context of rapid climate change in the North. A collaboration between researcher Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo and the five communities of Nunatsiavut, this film brings attention to some of the most pressing climatic and environmental issues of our time, and the resulting mental, emotional, and cultural impacts on one of Canada’s oldest and most enduring cultures.

In March 2020, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) held its first National Climate Gathering on the traditional territory of the Ta’an Kwächän and the Kwanlin Dün in Whitehorse, YK. Over 300 First Nations experts, leaders, youth, women, knowledge keepers, and professionals gathered to discuss the urgent crisis of climate change. In 2019, the AFN passed a resolution declaring a First Nations Climate Emergency, and this Gathering was designed to bring together First Nations’ perspectives on climate impacts, risks, and opportunities.

For decades Inuit have been leading the conversation on climate change in Canada. Inuit writer and advocate Siila Watt-Cloutier has been at the helm of this work. “As Inuit, we rely on the cold, the ice, the snow. That is our life force,” she says. For her people, the cold and sea ice are at the center of culture, transportation, safety, health, and education. Climate change is impacting the Inuit way of life.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have respectfully lived with the natural world, and have a deep connection to the land, water, and ecosystems that are central to their cultures, languages, and livelihoods. Through this intergenerational experience and observation, Indigenous peoples were amongst the first to notice climate change and also have critical knowledges for navigating and adapting to it.

“Tariuq Takujannik - The Ocean From My Eye” explores youth perspectives of climate change through the lens of pinhole photography and participatory video. Students from Attagoyuk High School in Pangnirtung, Nunavut participated in a weeklong workshop about oceans, climate change, and photography. Building cameras from recycled materials, students took to the shoreline to create photographs, guided by the question: why are imaq (sea water) and siku (sea ice) important to youth? By engaging youth in creative, hands-on processes, we can share knowledge and find solutions for complex issues like climate change.

Joanasie Karpik is one of Nunavut’s most respected Elders on climate change. In 2017, youth and Elders gathered together at Sannirut, a popular camping spot near the community of Pangnirtung, for a video and storytelling workshop. Joanasie shares, “I’ve lived two worlds now”, speaking to the changes he has seen to the weather pattern over nearly 80 years of observation in Cumberland Sound. These unprecedented changes are outside of local knowledges of Elders and Joanasie shares, “today, because of climate change, we can’t use their knowledge in the same way.” We must work together to rise to the challenge of this new weather system.

For decades, Silla Watt-Cloutier has been a strong voice for communities and geographies on the frontlines of climate change. The Inuit author and advocate emphasizes the importance of understanding climate change as a human rights issue. “As Inuit, we rely on the cold, the ice, and snow,” Watt-Cloutier explains. “That is our life force... It isn’t just about the ice itself, it’s what the ice represents.” For her people, the Arctic’s cold and ice is at the centre of culture, transportation, safety, health, and education. Climate change is a threat to their entire way of life. But Watt-Cloutier is hopeful that “we can find solutions to this planet in peril.”

The circumpolar North is on the frontlines of climate change: the land, lakes, and lifeways of human and non-human species are rapidly changing. François Paulette, a Denesuline and member of Smith’s Landing Treaty 8 First Nation, has been a witness to these changes across his homeland. Through relationship building, trust, and balance between traditional knowledge and science, Paulette believes that important climate solutions are possible.

Montana First Nation is located in what was once rich oil and gas country in central Alberta. But as the oil wells began to dry up, the small community was faced with the enormous challenge of finding new employment for many of their members who landed out of work.