Editing Cut 1 Abstract

International Polar conservation is sometimes presented as a success-story of population recovery and international ‘science diplomacy’. What is often left unconsidered in these celebrations are the more local impacts on Inuit-polar bear relationships that have emerged from- sometimes controversial- decision-making in the past, and the ongoing struggles to reconcile different ways of knowing and being across international conservation agreements and the territorial co-management regimes emerging from Indigenous Land Claims Agreements. In this cut, you are invited to trace along several co-created outputs that focus on the ongoing impacts of a polar bear hunting moratorium (2001-2004) and the substantial quota reductions implemented in the M’Clintock Channel Polar Bear Management Unit in Nunavut, Canada. These outputs center the experiences and testimonies of community members from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, who report a loss of income, -culture, and possibilities for -inter-generational knowledge transfers. Their “Voices of Thunder” and are shared through i) A 20 minute co-created motion graphic documentary, ii) An academic publication, iii) A webpage, and iv) A Testimonial Reading conducted by academic researchers of the BearWatch project.  This cut invites you to trace the coming about of these research outputs, and learn more about how their collaborative practices have been informed by principles of ethical engagement. 

<span class="return link" data-page-title="Voices of Thunder" data-section-id="2" data-encounter-type="return">[[Voices of Thunder#Quota Reduction Impacts|Return to Cut 1:Voices of Thunder]]</span>