Labour dynamics, harvest cost and sharing behaviour in an Inuit mixed economy: How to adapt to a changing socio-ecological system?

The transition to a wage-based economy has altered the traditional sharing of country food practiced in many Northern communities, yet the degree of impact is relatively unknown. The trading of traditionally shared foods may not benefit everyone equally in the community, and decreased sharing may negatively impact vulnerable households that historically received food through the sharing networks. Sharing behaviour may also be linked to spatiotemporal variation in the availability of harvested species, the cost of hunting and fishing and labour market status of harvesters. We present the results of a multi-year harvest study paired with a socio-economic survey conducted in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. We strive to identify the direct and indirect costs associated with harvesting country food, socioeconomic barriers to harvesting, seasonal trends in harvesting, and how these factors interact to influence sharing behaviour. We investigate the costs and benefits of hunting and fishing efforts, and the relationship between employment and harvest and sharing practices. We examine the distribution of country food, and how sharing varies by season, type of hunter, group size and mode of transport. We discuss insights for current hunter support and food security programmes, and a potential guaranteed basic income for households in a mixed economy.