British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
14TH BRITISH ACADEMY POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP SYMPOSIUM
Abstract
'Belugas are our neighbours': Conservation and Crisis in an Inuit Hunting Community
Dr Martina Tyrrell
The Arctic is home many animal species, upon which Inuit continue to rely for sustenance. The relationship between Inuit and these animals, however, goes far beyond one of nutritional and economic dependence. For Inuit, the animals with whom they share the environment are sentient beings, filled with knowledge and awareness of one another and of human society, adapting their own behaviour to that of humans. Inuit know this based on lifetimes of living alongside animals and engaging with them in the hunt.
One important species for Inuit across the Arctic is the beluga whale, a small, white toothed whale that migrates annually in the shallow waters close to many Inuit communities. Belugas have long been a staple food for many Inuit, and the complex set of activities that surround the hunting, butchering and sharing of these whales is an important part of Inuit culture. Inuit in Nunavik, northern Quebec, hunt belugas as they migrate close to coastal villages in spring and autumn. Since the mid-1980s, however, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has sought to 'manage' these whales, in order to restore whale populations that they believe declined due to the commercial whaling practices of British and US whalers in the 19th Century. In the past decade, this management of whales has increasingly impinged on Inuit hunting practices. Inuit whaling is now partially criminalised, and subject to stringent rules which are anathema to Inuit customary hunting practices. Ironically, the presence of these regulations and hunting quotas has led to growing tensions and conflicts amongst Inuit hunters. Inuit view the management of whales as a form of cultural imperialism and draw comparisons with previous perceived imperialist initiatives by the Canadian government. Time will tell if recent moves towards political autonomy will lead to greater co-operation between Inuit and federal government agencies, as has happened in other regions across the North American Arctic.
Martina Tyrrell is a social anthropologist at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. Since 2000 she has conducted on-going research in the Canadian Arctic, exploring the social, cultural and economic role of the sea and marine mammals to the lives of Inuit. Through two case studies - beluga whale conservation and polar bear trophy hunting - her current research investigates the impact of scientific wildlife conservation regimes on Inuit hunting practices and on the culturally embedded social relationships that Inuit maintain with animals.