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“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada

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  • Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee
  • Harper, Sherilee L.
  • Ford, James D.
  • Landman, Karen
  • Houle, Karen
  • Edge, Victoria L.

Abstract

As climate change impacts are felt around the globe, people are increasingly exposed to changes in weather patterns, wildlife and vegetation, and water and food quality, access and availability in their local regions. These changes can impact human health and well-being in a variety of ways: increased risk of foodborne and waterborne diseases; increased frequency and distribution of vector-borne disease; increased mortality and injury due to extreme weather events and heat waves; increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease due to changes in air quality and increased allergens in the air; and increased susceptibility to mental and emotional health challenges. While climate change is a global phenomenon, the impacts are experienced most acutely in place; as such, a sense of place, place-attachment, and place-based identities are important indicators for climate-related health and adaptation. Representing one of the first qualitative case studies to examine the connections among climate change, a changing sense of place, and health in an Inuit context, this research draws data from a multi-year community-driven case study situated in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada. Data informing this paper were drawn from the narrative analysis of 72 in-depth interviews conducted from November 2009 to October 2010, as well as from the descriptive analysis of 112 questionnaires from a survey in October 2010 (95% response rate). The findings illustrated that climate change is negatively affecting feelings of place attachment by disrupting hunting, fishing, foraging, trapping, and traveling, and changing local landscapes—changes which subsequently impact physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being. These results also highlight the need to develop context-specific climate-health planning and adaptation programs, and call for an understanding of place-attachment as a vital indicator of health and well-being and for climate change to be framed as an important determinant of health.

Suggested Citation

  • Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Harper, Sherilee L. & Ford, James D. & Landman, Karen & Houle, Karen & Edge, Victoria L., 2012. "“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 538-547.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:3:p:538-547
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.03.043
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emanuelsen, Kristin & Pearce, Tristan & Oakes, Jill & Harper, Sherilee L. & Ford, James D., 2020. "Sewing and Inuit women's health in the Canadian Arctic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    2. Harper, Sherilee L. & Edge, Victoria L. & Ford, James & Thomas, M. Kate & McEwen, Scott A., 2015. "Lived experience of acute gastrointestinal illness in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut: “Just suffer through it”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 86-98.
    3. Durkalec, Agata & Furgal, Chris & Skinner, Mark W. & Sheldon, Tom, 2015. "Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 17-26.
    4. Morton Ninomiya, Melody E. & Pollock, Nathaniel J., 2017. "Reconciling community-based Indigenous research and academic practices: Knowing principles is not always enough," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 28-36.
    5. Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson & Anna Hoad & Mei L. Trueba, 2024. "‘My appetite and mind would go’: Inuit perceptions of (im)mobility and wellbeing loss under climate change across Inuit Nunangat in the Canadian Arctic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Bélisle, Annie Claude & Wapachee, Alice & Asselin, Hugo, 2021. "From landscape practices to ecosystem services: Landscape valuation in Indigenous contexts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    7. Brubacher, Laura Jane & Dewey, Cate E. & Cunsolo, Ashlee & Humphries, Sally & Healey Akearok, Gwen K. & Gong, Crystal & Harper, Sherilee L., 2020. "Mapping the maternal health research landscape in Nunavut: A systematic search & critical review of methodology," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    8. Laura Cameron & Dave Courchene & Sabina Ijaz & Ian Mauro, 2021. "‘A change of heart’: Indigenous perspectives from the Onjisay Aki Summit on climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Alexandra Sawatzky & Ashlee Cunsolo & Andria Jones-Bitton & Dan Gillis & Michele Wood & Charlie Flowers & Inez Shiwak & Sherilee L. Harper, 2020. "“The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 45-66, May.
    10. Petra Tschakert & Jon Barnett & Neville Ellis & Carmen Lawrence & Nancy Tuana & Mark New & Carmen Elrick‐Barr & Ram Pandit & David Pannell, 2017. "Climate change and loss, as if people mattered: values, places, and experiences," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    11. Jason R. Holley & Katherine A. McComas & Catherine E. Lambert & Natalie P. Snider & Grace K. Tucker, 2022. "Responding to flood risk in Louisiana: the roles of place attachment, emotions, and location," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 113(1), pages 615-640, August.
    12. Nia King & Rachael Vriezen & Victoria L Edge & James Ford & Michele Wood & IHACC Research Team & Rigolet Inuit Community Government & Sherilee Harper, 2018. "The hidden costs: Identification of indirect costs associated with acute gastrointestinal illness in an Inuit community," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Katy Davis & James D. Ford & Claire H. Quinn & Anuszka Mosurska & Melanie Flynn & IHACC Research Team & Sherilee L. Harper, 2022. "Shifting Safeties and Mobilities on the Land in Arctic North America: A Systematic Approach to Identifying the Root Causes of Disaster," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-23, June.
    14. Ellis, Neville R. & Albrecht, Glenn A., 2017. "Climate change threats to family farmers' sense of place and mental wellbeing: A case study from the Western Australian Wheatbelt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 161-168.
    15. Megan J. Grace & Jen Dickie & Phil Bartie & Caroline Brown & David M. Oliver, 2023. "Understanding Health Outcomes from Exposure to Blue Space Resources: Towards a Mixed Methods Framework for Analysis," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, November.

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