Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears [Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut]: A Project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Inuit have been hunting polar bear for centuries and have built up a rich knowledge about their habitat and behaviour-a knowledge expressed in the oral history, Inuktitut vocabulary and cultural traditions- in Inuit Qaujimaningit, or IQ. The Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization of Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugaaruk and Cambridge Bay share concerns over the future viability of the polar bear population in the McClintock Channel Polar Bear Management Area and about the future integrity of the related IQ. The objective was to record and communicate, as accurately as possible, the IQ of Gjoa Haven residents related to polar bears. The lessons learned from this study will enable application as a model for studies of a similar nature elsewhere.