What is Inuit Observing?
Inuit Observing draws on traditional, multigenerational knowledge of sea ice and the land, integrated with lived personal experience. It involves applying these intertwined forms of knowledge to recognize patterns, anticipate change, and interpret how environmental phenomena—wind, weather, ice, currents, and temperature—interact dynamically to create moment-to-moment conditions. It requires continual awareness of the environment and attentiveness to the present, contextualized by memories of past seasons and events. Observation is not an individual act but a shared one, as information is exchanged among community members, discussed, and situated within a collective knowledge of daily conditions that span a broader geography than any individual could know alone. New expectations and insights are continually built from this communal knowledge, as the land and sea ice invite renewed attention each day.
Inuit Observing as a daily act of continuity connects the generations through shared attention to the land and its changes, and continuously adapts as those changes unfold.
Inuit Observing practices, as a method, are part of the broader constellation of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK), Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK), and Indigenous Methodologies. These frameworks emphasize knowledge as relational, contextual, and continuously renewed through lived experience on the land.
Inuit Observing as a daily act of continuity connects the generations through shared attention to the land and its changes, and continuously adapts as those changes unfold.
Inuit Observing practices, as a method, are part of the broader constellation of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK), Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK), and Indigenous Methodologies. These frameworks emphasize knowledge as relational, contextual, and continuously renewed through lived experience on the land.
NSIOP logo designed by James Jacque
Why do we do this work?
The program’s shared goals & values are to
These goals and values feed into the program’s mission statement:
Inuit observational methods - the primary methodology used to assemble the NSIOP dataset - are not only a way of producing information but an adaptive tool for continuing the Inuit way of living on the land despite the disruptions of climate change. These methods continue to equip Inuit to safely navigate the changing sea ice and inform on critical environmental connections and changes. They affirm that experience builds knowledge, and that learning through practice keeps people connected to the ice even as conditions evolve. For the Observers, sharing their knowledge is a way to strengthen trust in Inuit ways of knowing, so that younger people can read the environment with confidence, move safely across it, and carry forward the relationships that make Nunatsiavut home. It is a way of securing the future for Inuit in Nunatsiavut.
- Pass on Observers’ deep knowledge of the land
- Represent Inuit cultural values of learning by doing and by being out on the land
- Educate outsiders, promoting respect for Inuit knowledge and knowledge holders
- Preserve the unique, authentic voice of each of the Observers
These goals and values feed into the program’s mission statement:
- Inuit Observing sustains safety, wellbeing and cultural continuity
Inuit observational methods - the primary methodology used to assemble the NSIOP dataset - are not only a way of producing information but an adaptive tool for continuing the Inuit way of living on the land despite the disruptions of climate change. These methods continue to equip Inuit to safely navigate the changing sea ice and inform on critical environmental connections and changes. They affirm that experience builds knowledge, and that learning through practice keeps people connected to the ice even as conditions evolve. For the Observers, sharing their knowledge is a way to strengthen trust in Inuit ways of knowing, so that younger people can read the environment with confidence, move safely across it, and carry forward the relationships that make Nunatsiavut home. It is a way of securing the future for Inuit in Nunatsiavut.
Media and Downloads
NSIOP Informative Poster
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CMOS Bulletin Article
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J. Ocean. Tech Article
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ELOKA news article
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Book Chapter (coming soon)
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Funding, Sponsors and Partners
