First-ever detection of microplastics in the Sámi rivers and lakes.
Gwich’in knowledge reaching back to Myth Time unveiled.
Local observations of marine species, fish and birds shows priorities for Western Greenland.
Faroe Islands communities share their 20-year-long observations of pilot whales, marine pollution and sea birds.
Russian Indigenous and Siberian communities pinpoint tundra fires, preservation of nomadic lifestyles and White Sea ecosystem changes.
All of this and much more are unveiled today as a part of a unique Event Database of Indigenous Knowledge across the Arctic and boreal.
EU Horizon Project “Arctic Passion” and Snowchange have worked with hundreds of Indigenous and local knowledge holders since 2021 to prepare these Event Databases across the North. The communities want to share their knowledge of the changing Arctic. Additional support was received from Oceans Wide Small-Grants Programme of Snowchange.
Many past environmental events that Arctic societies have lived through remain largely unknown to contemporary scientific study. We have developed a living database that can be added to and expanded to cover the whole region.With a respectful engagement with Arctic co-researchers community- embedded IK-LK has the potential to transform and provide a more complete view of the past environmental change, enhance present monitoring activities, and to build trust between local and scientific communities. Indigenous staff was positioned as key co-researchers who also own all their knowledge. Free, prior and informed consent was implemented in each action.
Released today, these Event Databases serve as unique repositories of climate and ecological change. They also translate observations from local languages into English and present contemporary weather and ecological monitoring and use of cultural indicators, visual and oral histories and other means to establish baselines of change. Event Databases also reconstruct key events and offer historic depth to many changes at present.
Central node for all Databases is the Arctic Seas portal. Below each community Database can be accessed directly. Some of the communities will join the wider whole during the summer so the Arctic Seas portal will be updated through the season.
The Skolt Sámi Event Database focuses on discovery of microplastics both in the Näätämö river basin, region’s lakes and the Neiden Fjord. Accompanying this are the first-ever Skolt Sámi ethnobotanical overviews and drone documentations of melting palsa permafrost sites. A science paper summarizes the key findings of the interplay between Indigenous knowledge and science.
Gwich’in knowledge has been curated over the past three years with knowledge holders and experts of oral history. Presenting accounts starting from the Myth Time all the way to 2000s the Gwich’in home area is highlighted both in photos and in oral history. Drawing on hundreds of hours of expert testimony from Gwich’in elders, the database is a vital effort to centre on-the-land, lived experiences of climatic change in efforts to tackle climate change.
Hunters, fishers and researchers from the PISUNA Project and the Snowchange Cooperative present a new database of Inuit observations of climate, ecological and cultural change in western Greenland. Drawing on oral histories, self-documented videos and photos, and a decades-long Indigenous observation programme, the database is a vital effort to centre on-the-land, lived experiences of climatic change in efforts to tackle climate change in Greenland and the Arctic more broadly. The site also contains important reflections on Greenlandic history and collaboration with scientists.
Faroese sheep farmers, fishers, bird hunters, researchers and the Snowchange Cooperative present a new database of observations of climate, ecological and cultural change in the Faroe Islands. Drawing on oral histories gathered over a twenty-year periond (2003-2023), photos and detailed hunting and fishing data, the database is a vital effort to centre on-the-land, lived experiences of climatic change in efforts to tackle climate change in the Faroe Islands and the Arctic more broadly. Whilst Faroese people are not Indigenous there is a wealth of knowledge and a large cultural heritage on the islands that was an important component of the Arctic Passion.
Several Indigenous knowledge holders and nomadic communities were a part of the Arctic Passion and Snowchange partnership until the War of 2022. They managed to work for a bit less than a year. At the outset of the War we exchanged with all teams and the unifying decision was made that the people involved wanted to share their work, knowledge and findings. In order to achieve this aim we present these materials as instructed by the communities:
Khanty researchers and the Snowchange Cooperative present a new database of Khanty observations of climate, ecological and cultural change in the Siberian taiga and tundra spanning centuries. Drawing on 15 oral histories from Khanty elders, as well as self-documented videos and photos, the database is a vital effort to centre on-the-land, lived experiences of climatic change in efforts to tackle climate change in the Eurasian North.
Herders, fishers and researchers from the Kola Peninsula and the Snowchange Cooperative present a new database of observations of climate, ecological and cultural change in southern Kola and the Ponoi River.
Chukchi and Yukaghir researchers and the Snowchange Cooperative showcase observations of climate, ecological and cultural change in the Kolyma River bain, NE Siberia.
Unalakleet, Alaska and Dease Lake in Canada will report their findings during the Summer 2024. They will be made available at Arctic Seas Portal.
