The environment of the Nunavimmiut as seen through their own eyes

摘要

This article reports the views, feelings and day-to-day experience of the Arctic environment by the Inuit people of Nunavik (Quebec, Canada), looking at the multiple dimensions of their surroundings. It focuses on understanding and characterising contemporary Inuit relationships with the environment, the meaning and the values given to the latter, and how they are evolving. Adopting a methodology that combines multi-generational Inuit photography, two short films by Inuit youth, interviews, and group discussions at community screenings provides an understanding of Inuit-environment interlinkages and brings forward an Indigenous representation of the Arctic. Analyses highlight how different generations express: (i) the characteristics of the environment as defined and perceived from the Inuit point of view; (ii) how Inuit-environment interlinkages sustain well-being, and (iii) how Inuit-environment interlinkages evolve in response to socio-environmental changes. Despite the major environmental and social changes experienced by the Nunavik Inuit over the past 50 years, their link to the environment remains rooted in history and tinted by their holistic viewpoint.