Abstract
River systems globally are experiencing social-ecological changes that often impact Indigenous fishing practices, including climate change and resource developments. We explore the relationship between access to fish and well-being, and the determinants of access to fish amidst changing social-ecological conditions through interviews with 29 individuals across four Gwich’in First Nation communities in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Our interviews show that socioeconomic and environmental barriers are making it harder to access fish and that this has negative implications for well-being. Despite these barriers, access to fish continues to make positive, diverse contributions to well-being in Gwich’in communities through socioeconomic factors such as sharing networks and adaptive practices that are often part of ecological monitoring and land-based education and facilitate access to fish. Increasing our understanding of the relationship between access to fish and well-being, and determinants of access to fish, can contribute to land-based programs, land-use planning, and decision-making in Gwich’in territory and other river systems.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully thank all of the interview participants and youth assistants involved with this project, including Lorraine Francis, Walter Vittrekwa, Elizabeth Vittrekwa, David Thompson, Abe Stewart, Ernest Vittrekwa, Alice Vittrekwa, Bernice Francis, Mary Effie Snowshoe, Dwayne Semple, Richard Ross, Robert Buckle, James McDonald, Wally Tyrrell, John Jerome, Tom Wright, Margaret Gordon, Archie Norbert, Winnie Blake, Frederick Blake, Billie Veryl Inglangasuk, Jamie Benoit-Cardinal, Karen Benoit, William Tyrrell, Justin Elanik, Arlyn Charlie, Rayna Vittrekwa, and all anonymous participants and assistants. Mahsi’ choo as well to the communities of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Inuvik, and Tsiigehtchic for their warmth and generosity. Thank you to the local organizations and community members who were essential to planning this project, helping with logistics, and assisting with participant selection. We would also like to thank Emma Hodgson and Rachel Hovel for their collaboration, as well as all past and present members of the Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at UVic - especially those who assisted with this project in the field and lab: Kiyo Campbell, Chanda Turner, Zander Chila, Maliya Cassels, and Nina Moffat.
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Ethics approval for the research was obtained from the University of Victoria Human Research Ethics Board, and the project was approved by the Gwich’in Tribal Council Department of Cultural Heritage through a formal Research Agreement.
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Proverbs, T.A., Lantz, T.C., Lord, S.I. et al. Social-Ecological Determinants of Access to Fish and Well-Being in Four Gwich’in Communities in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Hum Ecol 48, 155–171 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00131-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00131-x