DOI: 10.5443/11404
title: Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP)

description: ISIUOP undertook extensive field research corresponding to the gathering of Inuit sea ice use and knowledge data. The numerous community visits were also used for verification of data previously mapped and documented. The data we collected include: (a) a characterization of seasonal sea ice conditions; (b) the extent and areas of sea ice use; (c) the nature and location of notable sea ice hazards; (d) key harvesting areas; (e) traditional and current ice (and land) routes; (f) Inuktitut toponyms (placenames) or terminology associated with ice features, conditions, or dynamics; and (g) shifts in patterns of sea ice use due to social and/or climatic change. The data permitted us to establish that (a) Inuit in all communities involved have developed a sophisticated body of knowledge, including an understanding of the dynamics and changes of this environment; (b) the importance of sea ice in Inuit culture and survival is still maintained, regardless of the changes experienced across the Inuit Arctic; (c) Inuit traditional trails are important human elements of the sea ice environment, and they link both sea ice and land environments; and (d) environmental changes have been observed in all communities. The observations reveal similar types and trends of changes (e.g. sea ice freezing later, breaking up earlier, and being generally less reliable and predictable). However, the degree to which the changes are affecting activities on the sea ice vary from community to community, and in some instances from hunter to hunter. Significant changes in the layout of sea ice trails and harvesting areas have been also observed (particularly seasonal changes). In addition, Inuit communities are open to new technologies and monitoring techniques that have the potential to reduce risk and facilitate use of the sea ice. Outcomes of the project were development of Igliniit technology and development and release of the Inuit siku (sea ice) Atlas (http://sikuatlas.ca), which offers some of the results in a multimedia format for educational purposes. The Igliniit subproject offers a new software interface for PDA/GPS systems, available in Inuktitut and English, that allows hunters to log their observations of the environment as they travel. This system was tested for two years, and the team is seeking new opportunities in Nunavut for applying it to efforts such as wildlife monitoring, resource/land use mapping, cultural inventories, and search and rescue.
description: Purpose: The Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP) built on previous sea ice research in Nunavut and Nunavik communities (for 4-8 years prior to the start of this project) and aimed to further document and map local sea ice expertise and experiences. Inspired by the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project of 1976, ISIUOP undertook collaborative investigations to document and map sea ice knowledge and use around several Inuit communities. These efforts will contribute to the provision of a new map conception where the dynamic nature, use, and importance of seasonal sea ice cover is portrayed according to current Inuit practices and perspectives, based upon the rich local knowledge base and oral history. The main objectives of the project are to (1) document and map sea ice conditions, uses, and hazards; (2) evaluate sea ice changes (and local impacts of change) over time; (3) investigate new technologies to map and/or represent the dynamic ice environment using the concept of cybercartography; (4) develop community-based monitoring/ice safety programs or materials; and (5) develop educational materials for Inuit youth, researchers, and governments. The project aimed to develop new technologies or protocols for community-based sea ice monitoring related to Global Positioning Systems (GPS), satellite imagery, and local ice/weather indicators to improve forecasting services and to develop new northern-focused multi-media educational tools through an online, interactive atlas framework. ISIUOP consisted of four sub-projects: (1) Mapping Inuit Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (C-SIKU) (Cape Dorset, Igloolik, and Pangnirtung, Nunavut); (2) Igliniit (Clyde River, Nunavut); (3) Nunavik Communities and Ice: Environmental change and community safety (Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq, and Umiujaq, Nunavik); and (4) Multi-media educational materials and online cybercartographic atlas development (Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre). Cybercartography and the innovative approaches to the management and presentation of data are playing a role in international data management approaches to scientific information for the International Polar Year and the team is involved in international collaborative endeavors with a number of nations around the world.
description: Summary: Conventional maps show terrestrial features in great detail, while bodies of water are outlined and often left ¿blank.¿ In the North, hunters and trappers make great use of sea ice to travel, establishing trails and camps, collecting a wide range of knowledge as they go. The aim of this project is to fill in the blanks by providing a snapshot of Inuit knowledge and use of sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, including documentation of variations in sea ice features and hazards, traditional and current ice routes, and Inuktitut placenames and terminology. The information collected is being assembled into a dynamic, multimedia map that will represent spatial information in an audiovisual manner, accessible to Inuit communities and the general public.