Fishing Livelihoods in the Mackenzie River Basin: Stories of the Délįne Got’ine

Chelsea Martin, Brenda Parlee and Morris Neyelle
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Chelsea Martin: Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
Brenda Parlee: Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
Morris Neyelle: Dene Elder, Délįne Got’ine Government, Délįne, NT X0E 0G0, Canada

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: Climate change is among the greatest challenges facing Indigenous peoples. The impacts of climate change cannot be understood as only ecological or through models and projections. In this study, narratives from Indigenous peoples provide lived experience and insight of how social and ecological impacts are interconnected. Through collaborative research with the Sahtú Renewable Resources Board in the Northwest Territories Canada in the period 2018–2019, this paper shares the stories of the Délįne Got’ine peoples of Great Bear Lake (GBL), and how warming temperatures in the region impact fishing livelihoods. Specifically, we address the question, “What are the impacts of climate change on the fishing livelihoods of the Délįne Got’ine people?” Narratives from 21 semi-structured interviews reveal insights on six dimensions of fishing livelihoods. Analysis suggests the specific indicators of ecological change of concern to fishers and how those impact livelihoods over the short and long term. Given that the majority of research on climate change involving Indigenous peoples in Canada has focused on the high arctic and marine environments, this work is unique in its focus on the subarctic region and on freshwater ecosystems and livelihoods.

Keywords: fishing livelihoods; subsistence fishing; Great Bear Lake; climate change; traditional knowledge; oral histories; Canadian subarctic; Mackenzie River Basin; Délįne; Sahtú Got’ine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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