Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #77: Healthy Knowledge: Linking Traditional Knowledge with Wellness Research, Education and Practice in Greenland, Nunavut and Alaska.  (Building a Healthy Knowledge of Wellness)

Outline
This project documents traditional knowledge of wellness and healing practices in aboriginal communities in Nunavut, Alaska and Greenland. It will identify areas where traditional knowledge can inform existing wellness research, programs and practices. This project defines wellness as a culturally mediated sense of overall well-being. Components of wellness may include, but are not limited to, physical, mental, spiritual, and environmental health, and are mediated through cultural lenses that include identity, place, traditions, and ways of knowing. The project will begin in April 2007 with regional symposiums in Greenland, Alaska, and Nunavut. Participants will include wellness, health, and cultural workers, elders, youth, scientists and educators. At these events wellness issues and practices will be identified and documented. A research methodology and framework for incorporating traditional knowledge into wellness research will also be developed. This framework and methodology will guide data collection in communities about wellness issues and practices during the months of May – September 2007. A second circumpolar symposium will be held in November 2007 in order to evaluate the research framework and methodologies used and the data collected. Data collected during the project year will be used to publish a base-line characterization of wellness issues and healing practices in the three project regions. The research framework and methodologies will be published in order to inform future wellness research in polar regions. The culmination of this project will be the launch of a Circumpolar Wellness Resource and Data Centre that can support an international network of wellness organizations, researchers and practitioners. Objectives • Identify and document traditional knowledge of community wellness and healing practices in Nunavut, Alaska, and Greenland. • Identify areas where traditional knowledge can inform existing wellness research, programs and practices. • Identify research methodologies and frameworks that promote the inclusion of traditional knowledge of wellness and healing. • Facilitate international collaboration and sharing of data and resources relating to wellness in Polar Regions. Outcomes • Publish an overview of wellness issues, traditional knowledge, healing practices, resource centres, experts, and practitioners throughout Alaska, Greenland and Nunavut. • Publish research methodologies and frameworks that promote the inclusion of traditional knowledge of wellness issues and healing practices. • Publish accessible educational and resource materials that highlight relationships between traditional knowledge and wellness. • Creation of a Circumpolar Wellness Resource and Data Centre that will support an international wellness network and promote the sharing of wellness data, resources, and educational materials.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project will identify ways in which traditional knowledge systems can contribute to a better understanding of how changing environmental and socio-political processes influence wellness issues and healing practice in polar regions. The creation of frameworks and methodologies that incorporate traditional knowledge, as well as the creation of a Circumpolar Wellness Database and Resource Centre will facilitate future collaborations and inform and support future wellness research, education and practice about wellness issues.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
At this time we are developing relationships with Inuit Circumpolar Conference – Greenland, Alaska, and Canada, and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Regional symposiums will take place in Nunavut, Greenland and Alaska. Primary data collection will take place at the community scale in at least two communities in each of these regions.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 04/2007 – 03/2008            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
This project will require no significant logistic support/facilities. However, we will require computer hardware and software for database and website management, as well as video equipment, and editing software for the creation of multimedia educational, resource, and research publications. The major expense of our project is transportation to and from research sites and for symposiums.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
This project will leave a Wellness Data and Resource Centre that will support future wellness research, education and practice throughout Nunavut, Alaska and Greenland.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency
Commercial operator
Own support
Other sources of support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This pre-proposal has been reviewed and is being submitted by the Canadian Steering Committee (CSC). Ongoing discussions will integrate this pre-proposal into a larger network of related national and international initiatives. The CSC has initially sorted this pre-proposal into: Healthy adn Sustainable Communities: Traditional Knowledge and practices

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New

This project is a new autonomous proposal that is support and informed by the work of Ilisaqsivik Family Resource and Wellness Centre in Clyde River, Nunavut.

How will the project be organised and managed?
This project will be managed and coordinated by Ilisaqsivik Society, an established non-profit family resource and wellness centre in Clyde River, Nunavut. Ilisaqsivik Society currently manages an annual budget of approximately $800,000 and has 10 years of experience successfully managing and executing community and regional wellness programs. This project will also establish a Project Steering Committee that will include representatives from participating communities, wellness centres, and institutions.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Digital video technology will be used throughout this project and video captured of elders, wellness workers, and youth talking about wellness issues and healing practices will be made accessible to community members, wellness workers, and educators through a variety of multimedia outlets including the internet, DVDs, CD ROMs, as well as printed material.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
This project will comply with IPY 2007-2008 Data Management Strategy and will include in its budget a Project Data Manager. One objective of this project is to create a Circumpolar Wellness Data and Resource Centre. This centre will facilitate access to and storage of data, and will be staffed by qualified data and resource managers. This centre will use computer and internet technologies in order to ensure that data and resources are easily searchable and accessible.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Potential sources of funding include Health Canada, Nunavut Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, Kakivak, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Canadian Department of Education, Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
We have only recently begun to establish contacts in Greenland and Alaska. However, we anticipate that our contacts and project members in these areas will increase as we promote this project idea during the first months of 2005.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Mr Jakob Gearheard
P.O. Box 150, Clyde River, Nunavut


X0A-0E0
Canada

Tel: (867) 924-6565
Mobile: no
Fax: (867) 924-6570
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation