In Their Own Words
I stumbled upon the site for the Inuit people of Canada, Alaska, and the Arctic while doing some global warming research, and they have put together great book that describes the significant changes they are seeing in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.
Most of us have heard that the ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, but this book goes beyond the science and gives the native people a voice in describing not only what they see, but how it’s different from the past, how it’s affecting the animals and plants in their ecosystem, and how it’s ultimately affecting their traditional way of life.
You can download the book Unikkaaqatigiit: Putting the Human Face on Climate Change Perspectives from Inuit in Canada for free here as a PDF.
The book is an:
“extensive partnership project between ITK, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Makivik Corporation, Labrador Inuit Association, the Nasivvik Centre for Inuit Health, the Changing Environments program at Laval University, the Ajunnginiq Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization, and communities across the Arctic.”
There are maps, food webs and charts for all you infographics junkies out there, but my favorite part is all the quotes from the meetings that were convened to study the issue. Hear what’s happening in the Arctic from the people who know the land, and who are deeply afraid by what they see.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
