Inuit experiences need to start being taken into consideration for the world’s future. When it comes to climate change, seeking our guidance on how to live sustainably will shape what happens to the Arctic. It’s time to listen to Inuit and Indigenous peoples of Canada who have already experienced life-threatening emergencies and are at the front lines of the disaster that is climate change.
Inuit have provided life-saving guidance to early European visitors who were unfamiliar with the severe conditions of this land we call home. The whole planet benefits from our frozen Arctic. Inuit still have much to teach to the world about how vital the Arctic is, not only to Inuit culture but to the rest of the planet.
Temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than anywhere in the world, and Inuit are guides as to how everyone can live more sustainably. As Inuit youth, climate change is affecting the foundation of who we are. Our identity, our food, our language, our culture are all at risk. In Greenland, glaciers are melting and the risks of tsunamis from landslides is growing. It is becoming more dangerous, and the elders’ wisdom is being challenged by this changing climate and unpredictable weather. Elders’ traditional knowledge is not being heard, and researchers are being respected more than our Indigenous Knowledge. There is more in the Arctic than just polar bears. The Inuit are working hard to strengthen our values in this changing society, but the land that we base the teaching from is changing. This all impacts that which makes us Inuit.
By Mary Binky Anderson, Ruth Kaviok and Sarah Jancke from the National Inuit Youth Council
