Centering Arctic Peoples and Plants: Indigenous Rights and Molecular Treasures
Speakers:
Dalee Sambo Dorough, University of Alaska
Normand Voyer, Université Laval
This plenary explores potential pathways for diversifying our knowledge about the North. We begin by discussing how Arctic research can be Indigenized, and why it is crucial to foster genuine engagement of Indigenous Peoples when identifying and addressing priorities for future work. We then explore how Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems can be bridged through an investigation into the medical properties and chemistry of Northern plants.
Indigenizing Arctic Research: Imperatives for Genuine Engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Knowledge
Dalee Sambo Dorough, University of Alaska
The presentation will address the contours of Indigenous Knowledge, the importance of the direct participation of Arctic Indigenous Peoples, and potential priorities for the future Arctic research.
At the crossroads of knowledge: a molecular adventure in Nunavik and Nunavut
Normand Voyer, Université Laval
Contrarily to tropical ecosystems, organisms from northern ecosystems have been scarcely investigated by chemists to identify natural products they synthesized. By contrast, members of indigenous communities of Nunavik have developed an extensive knowledge on plants, lichens, animals and all other organisms living under harsh climate conditions. One example is the traditional use of the small labrador tea infusion for a good general health. Unfortunately, the North is warming up faster than anywhere else on the planet, impacting tremendously the life cycle of plants growing in northern ecosystems. What is the impact of climate change on the chemical substances composition of medicinal plants? How these changes alter their medicinal properties? How warmer temperatures affect the harvesting period? To answer to these questions and others, we have started a vast intersectorial research project that was coconstructed with members of the communities of Whapmagoostui First Nation and the Northern Village of Kuujjuarapik. We will describe the project origins and the synergies of combining traditional and scientific knowledge to the benefit of the northern communities and of the scientific community.
