INUIT SAY THE NORTHERN SKY IS MOVING

AND IT’S RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE

by isumatv

When the Inuit of Nunavut started noticing that the stars, moon and sun in their sky seemed to be moving, they knew this was an unusual occurrence. The phenomenon is caused by low altitude refraction—a result of the warming Arctic atmosphere—a determination reached only through a combination of Inuit traditional knowledge and modern day science.

           

A new film by UVic environmental studies postdoctoral researcher Ian Mauro, Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change, documents the knowledge of residents in Canada’s Inuit communities who see the impact the changing climate has every day on their lives and land. The film will have its premiere in Toronto on Oct. 23 at ImagineNative Film Festival.

 

Those who can’t make the event can join in virtually when is webcast live at 7 p.m. EDT at www.isuma.tv/ikcc.

 

           

Mauro teamed up with acclaimed Inuk director Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner) to produce the documentary.

           

“Trusting the knowledge of elders, we shared their perspectives with scientists,” says Mauro. “By linking different ways of knowing, we discovered that a warming atmosphere is actually changing the refraction index of the sky, which dramatically alters the visual landscape of the Arctic. This knowledge of objects shifting in the sky is actually proof of climate change.

           

“The film, the world’s first on climate change in the Inuktitut language, takes the viewer ‘on the land’ with elders and hunters to explore the social and ecological impacts of a changing Arctic. Perspectives in the film both support and challenge mainstream thinking, yet they leave no doubt that Inuit are on the frontlines of climate change and human adaptation.”

           

A portion of Qapirangajuq was screened in December 2009 at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. Mauro says the project is pushing digital research and filmmaking to a new level with respect to capturing oral history and telling the Inuit story. The film was supported by various agencies, including the Canadian Media Fund, Nunavut Film, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Health Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.

 

Visit www.isuma.tv for blogs about the film production and video footage of the interviews with Inuit elders.