The CBC reported today:
A new Ottawa-based research centre will help bridge the divide between Western science and Inuit knowledge about Canada’s Arctic, national Inuit leader Mary Simon announced Tuesday.
The Inuit Knowledge Centre, also known as Inuit Qaujisarvingat, will help scientists “interact fully and appropriately” with Inuit in northern communities, while also helping Inuit access Western science systems.
“Inuit and Inuit communities have been studied by Western scientists since the time of first contact, and some of these relationships have served us well,” Simon, who heads up the national Inuit organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, stated Tuesday in a release.
“But the current processes and practices can be greatly improved.”
Simon said that Inuit knowledge is based on observation, hypotheses and experimentation, similar to science.
She added that Inuit knowledge is often undervalued in Arctic science and policy, but “it can stand on its own and in many instances can work with the scientific process to provide new depth, perspective and context.”
The new centre will offer training materials on appropriate research processes and practices for researchers going to Inuit communities, Simon said.
Inuit Qaujisarvingat will be based at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s headquarters in Ottawa.
-source: CBC online
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Susan, an interesting article ! We can benefit and learn from the Inuit