Erica Dingman is an
Associate Fellow at the World Policy Institute, United States of America.
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Communicating Climate Change:
Arctic Indigenous Peoples as Harbingers of
Environmental Change
Erica Dingman
Through various science-related and media channels Arctic indigenous peoples and western society have moved closer to a balanced
account of Arctic environmental change. Focusing on the role of polar scientist and Inuit media makers, this article articulates the
process through which a cross-cultural exchange of environmental knowledge is beginning to occur. At the intersection of
Traditional Knowledge with western science and new media technology, a nascent but significant shift in practice is providing
pathways to a ‗trusted‘ exchange of Arctic climate change knowledge. Potentially, both could influence our global understanding of
climate change.
Introduction
While the influence of Arctic indigenous voices on our Western understanding of climate change is
not readily discernible in mainstream media, advances in media technologies, decades of indigenous
political organization and shifting attitudes toward Traditional Knowledge (TK) and its relationship
with Western scientific research have greatly contributed to the broader lexicon of environmental
knowledge.