photo credit: Peter Power

The Canadian Arctic is changing, fast. Facing warming rates double the rates of the rest of the globe, Canadian northerners have no choice but to adapt to survive. Worry is pervasive in the region that already suffers from isolation, food insecurity, and chronic poverty. Parents must send their children to school hungry because the decline in wild game populations and good berry harvests can no longer balance their diets. Once routine, safe and prosperous hunting trips now leave families anxiously praying for the safe return of their loved ones. The weather has become unpredictable and the ice uncharacteristically thin. Cultural, traditional and physical survival hang in the air.

When most people think of the Canadian Arctic, it is the region’s majestic landscape that comes to mind. Magnificent boreal forests and sweeping tundra stretch across the region. The region contains a staggering 40% of the Canada’s landmass and includes 70% of Canada’s 200 000 km long coastline. It is so cold that 90% of the region is uninhabitable yet humans have lived there for 20 000 years. It is an icon of beauty and pride to all Canadians, north and south.

But for the 100, 000 people, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit, who call the Canadian North home this is a landscape at risk. They make up 56% of the population of the north, more than anywhere else in Canada, and stand to lose the most. Their cultures are so tied to the land, animals and plants of the region that their livelihoods, traditions, and mental and physical health are at grave risk. The indigenous people of the Arctic are already feeling the effects of climate change, and they are some of the least responsible.

As a proud Canadian, I refuse to accept such injustice as the norm. Throughout the semester I will examine the current and predicted impacts of climate change on the lives of the indigenous cultures in the North. I will explore gaps in policy that are leaving fellow Canadians behind. My hope is to expose current injustices and highlight proposed solutions. When you can’t reverse climate change, what can we do to strengthen the communities threatened by it?