Carving out Climate Testimony

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising several times faster than elsewhere in the world. This is resulting in ecological changes that are impacting the mental health and well-being of Inuit communities. This collaborative project is working with youth to address climate change. We are co-led by Inuk scholar Dr Karla Jessen Williamson and Dr Jen Bagelman, a non-Indigenous scholar, exploring two questions: (1) how does climate change impact Inuit youth and (2) what are the resilience factors that enhance mental health and well-being? Echoing the National Inuit Strategy on Research, we are exploring how changes to terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems impact mental health and well-being among Inuit youth. Our project supports an Inuit youth-led methodological pathway of unikkausivut (‘storytelling’) to document how this approach can be used as material and intergenerational methods to convey climate realities and shape policy that enhances resilience strategies. Dr Castleden was invited to join the team as a co-investigator for her experience in community-based participatory research. Funding: Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme.