On Thin Ice: The Challenges of Preserving Inuvialuit Cultural Heritage in a Changing Climate​

     With the far-reaching consequences of climate change surfacing more every day, it is urgent that we take an honest look at how the earth’s climate system has been disrupted by human influence, and confront the extent to which these changes threaten both our planet and our way of life.

     Looking at it from an anthropological perspective, the environmental hazards that face the Canadian Arctic require our immediate attention, as we are quickly losing the rich cultural heritage and significant historical evidence of this land. Polar regions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change because the temperature of the Arctic is rising at a rate of around two times faster than other areas of the world (Barr 2015).   

     This has contributed to a surge of environmental phenomena that jeopardize both the cultural heritage and the existing populations in the Arctic, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, permafrost thaw, extreme weather conditions and the decline of sea ice (Adams 2015, Barr 2009, Barr 2015, Egloff 2015, Friesen 2015, NASA 2013). I will be examining these phenomena through the experiences of one of the Indigenous groups who have already suffered great losses to their archaeological record because of these weather processes, the Inuvialuit people.

     While the protection of Inuvialuit and Arctic cultural heritage is incredibly important, this problem extends to cultural heritage across the globe (Egloff 2015). The crisis in the Arctic serves as a warning for the future of other areas of our planet, as the environmental changes occurring there are merely an accelerated example of the environmental consequences that will soon be felt worldwide (Friesen 2015). This is why broadening our understanding of how the environment is changing and adapting methods to prevent as much damage as we can is so crucial now.

     In terms of the ambition of this paper, I hope to draw attention the direct risk factors in the Arctic, how they damage Inuvialuit cultural heritage and identify some potential ways to mitigate those risks.

Destructive Environmental Processes

Permafrost Thaw

     One the most serious impacts climate change has had on Arctic cultural heritage is the rate at which permafrost is melting now (Friesen 2015). For the uninitiated, permafrost is frozen ground that has remained at or below 0°C continuously for at least two years. On the surface of the permafrost lies the 'active layer', topsoil that shifts between thawing in the warmer months and freezing again during the autumn. This thin surface layer is deepening with the rising temperature, which means that archaeological material that was once in a constant frozen state are now exposed to seasonal freeze-thaw cycles.   These fluctuations between states are particularly damaging to sensitive organic materials, which are endangered by heightened microbial activity, accelerated drying and higher chemical impacts (Friesen 2015). Under such conditions, Barr (2009) expresses a concern for the longevity of 'fixed' elements of Arctic cultural heritage, such as early Inuit settlements, burial sites, wooden huts and other firmly rooted artifacts, which are more susceptible to decay, mold growth and corrosion.

     Looking at the Inuvialuit perspective, the fact that most portable Inuvialuit artifacts are currently displayed in museums throughout the South and inaccessible to the ancestors of their owners (Lyons 2007) makes the loss of the artifacts close to them even more devastating.

Rising Sea Levels and Coastal Erosion

     Throughout the course of the next century, the height of sea levels are expected to consistently rise as a result of the warming global temperature. In terms of the role pollution plays in this, more than 90% of the heat trapped by human made greenhouse gases is absorbed by the planet’s oceans (NASA 2013). This leads to a rise in the sea levels by melting ice sheets and because water molecules move more as water heats up, taking up more space (NASA 2013). In 2006, the UNESCO World Heritage Center predicted that sea levels will rise by as much as 3 feet by 2100 (Adams 2015). In terms of the present, the sea level has risen by 20 cm in the past century (Adams 2015) and is already a catalyst for the increasingly more frequent and severe coastal erosion, which is particularly problematic for the Inuvialuit people.

     The Inuvialuit have historically relied on marine life resources for both subsistence and economic incentives (Barr 2009; Friesen 2015) and because of this, the majority of human settlement and activity among the Inuvialuit people have taken place along the coastal zone. Unfortunately, this means that the locations where the erosion is the most extreme tend to be the sites of the most significant cultural importance. Friesen (2015) discusses the loss of the Nuvuqaq to erosion, one of two sites in the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, an area which was used traditionally as an Inuvialuit whale hunting ground and could have improved how we understand precontact lifeways. He continues that on the remaining site, two of the houses that were in acceptable condition in 2004 were irreversibly damaged by 2013, showing an increase in the amount of coastal erosion.

     Considering that over 70% of the world’s 15 largest cities are located along the coastline (NASA 2013) this is not a problem exclusive to the Inuvialuit, and puts an overwhelming amount of cultural sites, both historically and currently used, into serious jeopardy. Egloff (2015) explains that other causes of coastal erosion are wind-driven waves and the declining amount of summer sea ice cover, that results in more fetch.

Extreme Weather Conditions

     Another change in the weather that is associated with climate change is an increase in the amount of storms and extreme weather conditions that occur in the Arctic (Friesen 2015). The increase in storms will expose archaeological structures and artifacts elements such as more rain and the wind and the salt it disperses. These factors can cause structural damage and destruction, surface erosion and add moisture in porous cultural material (Adams 2015). When the increase of storms is combined with coastal erosion and rising sea levels, the area susceptible to damage and the amount of harm it can cause are intensified (NASA 2013). Kokelj and colleagues (2012) discuss how a violent storm in the Mackenzie Delta set off a chain of ecological impacts, destroying vegetation that is consumed by animals that the Inuvialuit have historically hunted, threatening that intangible aspect of their cultural heritage.

Loss of Sea Ice

     Over the past several decades, the amount of Arctic sea ice has been in serious decline and is now at record low values (NASA 2013). While I touched on the loss of sea ice, an unexpected way this decline threatens cultural heritage is through tourism, with the lack of ice making it easier for cruise ships to navigate the area. Barr (2015) explains that the influx of people heightens the risk of loose artifacts being vandalized or destroyed and the amount of foot traffic leads to trampled vegetation.

     It is important to bear in mind that while all of these elements are a cause for concern independently of one another, they exacerbate one another and their combined impacts can be devastating (Friesen 2015).

Solutions to Mitigate Cultural Heritage Loss

Identification

     The most important factor in finding the best solution is knowing the nature of the problem.  Promisingly, there has been a surge of research on Arctic climate change in the past several years, with early intervention being one of the main focuses of stopping irreversible losses to the global archaeological record.

     One of the leading scholars in this field is Professor Max Friesen, who through his work with the organization Arctic Cultural Heritage at Risk (Arctic CHAR), has worked to identify sites at the highest risk of destruction and with the most cultural significance to the Inuvialuit people, and excavate them, making comprehensive inventories while the sites are intact. Looking at methodology, Friesen’s (2015) 6 year plan to excavate sites on the Mackenzie Delta will combine Geographic Information Systems (Gis) modelling, helicopter survey, excavation and 3D laser scanning, for the purpose research and public access. Long-term initiatives such as these are essential to getting the most accurate information on how much damage cultural heritage sites face from climate change.

Collaboration

     During the past two decades, there has been an encouraging push towards collaboration between the anthropological and the Inuvialuit communities in researching the damage to cultural heritage sites from climate change and coming up with potential solutions to lessen the damage. A historically tense relationship, the Inuvialuit elders were reluctant to collaborate with anthropological community after being subjected to upsetting practices such as exhuming graves and taking remains without consent (Lyons 2007).

     Riedlinger (1991) was one of the pioneering anthropologists to look at how traditional Inuvialuit knowledge can be used with contemporary scientific frameworks to come up with the most complete picture of environmental concerns. Following in her footsteps, Kokelj and colleagues (2012) were able to combine traditional Inuvialuit experience with remote sensing and field data to find that the Inuvialuit registered ecological changes made from storm patterns before their archaeological counterparts.  Working together is essential in understanding what cultural heritage is the most valuable to the group it belongs to and combines perspectives to get a holistic view of the situation.

Innovation

     Thankfully, the emerging practices of sustainable and virtual archaeology are transforming our ability to preserve and share cultural heritage. Bruno and his colleagues (2009) discuss the rise of virtual databases of 3D artifacts, as well as virtual reconstructions of cultural sites. This innovative technology can be used to create virtual renditions of at-risk sites before they are lost forever, as well as creating 3D models of precarious artifacts that are available to be accessed by any interested party.

     In conclusion, we are now facing the crucial task of learning the nuances of our changing climate and responding to those concerns with educated and realistic solutions on how to mitigate risks as much as possible. There are no easy solutions to the impacts of climate change, but the damage to cultural heritage can be lessened by continuing to strive for a wide variety of quality research on evolving climate systems, identifying the sites most at risk and most valuable to their cultural affiliates, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration that uses Inuit expertise and scientific data and using innovative technology to recreate at risk heritage and make it broadly accessible.