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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Dingman
Kunuk (Director) and Mauro‘s (Co-Director) production,
Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate
Change
(IKCC), depicts what I would consider an exquisite exposé of Inuit perspectives on observed
changes to the environment and culture as a result of global warming. Although the film is locally
rooted, it is globally relevant.
The film opens to the heartbeat of drums, immediately accompanied by keyboards then throat
singing. The tempo and rhythm gather speed to set a contemporary and stimulating tone. The
camera follows suit. A close shot of flickering flames pans out to the expansive morning sky, the
rising red sun beating in harmony with the soundtrack. Fifty-four seconds into the film, an
unidentified Inuk speaker states matter-of-factly: ―by observing the sky the weather is predicted.
Cloud formations indicated wind direction. Now it is different. First they form one way then they
quickly change, telling you a different story.‖
IKCC delivers a profound understanding of the local realities of climate change intermingled with
glimpses into contemporary Inuit culture. Filmed entirely in Inuktitut (with English subtitles),
residents of Resolute Bay, Pangnirtung, Igloolik and Iqaluit – totaling thirty-five in all – describe
changes on a wide range of issues including vanishing glaciers, to a bridge collapse that disconnected
towns people from the local health facilities, to the overall change in animal health and behavior.
Collectively, the stories suggest that climate change in the Arctic affects not only Inuit but also a
global population, regardless of location.
Indeed, although scientists are yet to make a direct link between Arctic warming and storm surges
elsewhere, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast of the United States in 2012, Mauro
noted: ―those changes that are happening in the Arctic are now starting to happen further south and
it should be a wakeup call for every citizen‖ worldwide that we need to respond (CBC, 2012). As an
environmental scientist, Mauro‘s work focuses on the human dimension of climate change precisely
because statistics and scientific models are difficult to understand even for scientists, as Mauro
admits.6 The human dimension, which is often overlooked by decision-makers, offers a ―compelling
message‖ that the science does not. Yet, like science it is the specificity of TK that ascribes strength
to the message.
Consider the format of IKCC. As the film opens, the initial scene comprises a series of comments
by unidentified speakers introducing the viewer to the land and Inuit traditional life. Hence forth,
each speaker is identified by name and location. Lasulusie Ishulutaq from Pangnirtung, the first
identified speaker, describes his childhood memory of awaiting the return of the community
hunter‘s dogteam. ―One at a time we‘d go out to listen. When we came in we were singing.‖ The
child that came in ―smiling‖ meant that the dogteam had been heard and all ―the children [would]
rush out.‖
As children, the elders encouraged the values of listening and observation; both were necessary
attributes that taught the future generation how to survive on the land and respect the environment.
Dora Pudluk from Resolute Bay and Elijah Nowdlak from Pangnirtung, give us a glimpse into Inuit
values passed down through the generations: ―our parents and grandparents taught us how to live,