Dr. Ian Mauro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg. He holds a BSc in Environmental Science and PhD in Geography, from University of Manitoba, and was a SSHRC Postdoctoral fellow in Ethnoecology at the University of Victoria. He previously held a Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change at Mount Allison University.
As both a community-based researcher and filmmaker, Mauro works at the interface between the social and ecological sciences, and is a pioneer of multi-media methodologies, scholarship and education. He uses participatory video to collect, communicate and conserve local and indigenous knowledge, an approach that allows people who live on the land to tell their own stories, in their own language, and within the landscapes where their knowledge has been generated. He was awarded an “Apple Distinguished Educator” award for his approach in 2011.
His films - focused on genetically modified crops, sustainable agriculture and climate change - have been translated into numerous languages and screened globally at academic conferences, film festivals and venues such as the United Nations, Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic and the Royal Ontario Museum. He co-directed the influential Inuktitut language documentary Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change (www.isuma.tv/ikcc) with acclaimed Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and they continue to collaborate on a project focused on industrial development in the Canadian Arctic. Mauro’s most recent research documentary, Climate Change in Atlantic Canada (www.climatechangeatlantic.com), was toured across the region with Dr. David Suzuki.
Mauro has spent over a decade living with Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic, hunting and eating country foods, and learning to speak Inuktitut. His ongoing research in the Arctic, Atlantic and Prairie regions of Canada endeavours to help us better listen to the language of the land, and offer the world strategies for healthy human interaction with the biosphere.
Dr. Mauro can be contacted at: i.mauro@uwinnipeg.caSee more
In 2012, the National Council of Aboriginal Midwives was invited into five Aboriginal communites that expressed interest in bringing birth services closer to home.
In 2012, the National Aborignal Council of Midwives travelled to five communities across Canada. Each community developed their own vision for materntity care services and the return of birth to their land.
In 2012, the National Aborignal Council of Midwives was invited into five communities across Canada to speak about birth, past and present, the return of birth and what that would mean to Aboringal cultures, health, and nationhood.
Ian Mauro is a forthcoming Canada Research Chair in "human dimensions of environmental change" at Mount Allison University, in New Brunswick. He is both a researcher and filmmaker, with a PhD in environmental science, and his work focuses on hunter, farmer and fisher knowledge regarding environmental change, specifically issues related to food security and global warming.… Read more
Book screenings, rent or buy copies of Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change from our distributor Vtape. Contact Wanda at +1.416.351.1317 or email wandav@vtape.org.
Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change had its world premiere October 23, 2010, at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto. The complete film also streamed online simultaneously watched by more than 1500 viewers around the world. Following the film, a Q&A with filmmakers Zacharias Kunuk and Dr.… Read more
Additional Voices on Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change are being uploaded every day to the channel http://www.isuma.tv/ikcc/voices. Some in Inuktitut, others in English.
More discussion about Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change, other related human rights issues, see also IKCC at www.isuma.tv/ikcc
The National Aboriginal Council of Midwives exists to promote excellence in reproductive health care for Inuit, First Nations, and Métis women. We advocate for the restoration of midwifery education, the provision of midwifery services, and choice of birthplace for all Aboriginal communities consistent with the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.… Read more
The Arctic is warming double the global average, decreasing sea ice, making it easier to access and extract mineral and oil resources from the region, and this cumulative climatic and economic change has significant human and environmental health implications for Inuit and their communities.… Read more
James speaks about his work in Igloolik in terms of the effect of climate change on food security. He says this is mostly in terms of access rather than the health of certain species. Hunters get stuck in communities, unable to get out to hunting grounds. The thickening of the ice is taking much longer and people are relying on store foods more and more.… Read more
James discusses the polarity of the Inuit perspective on polar bears and the scientific one. Perhaps scientists have gotten it wrong as they are not there year round to fully understand it. Regardless of this the scientific community is often taken as gospel.… Read more
Technical Note: Sound volume improves after the first few minutes. Q&A with filmmakers Zacharias Kunuk and Ian Mauro following the world premiere of Isuma's new film Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change online live from the Al Green Theatre at the ImagineNative Film Festival in Toronto Saturday October 23, 2010.… Read more
James introduces himself and discusses how he works with the human dimension of climate change, specializing on the Inuit in the Arctic and adaptation. He talk about the changes that are happening in the arctic in terms of actual biophysical changes. The effects are severe, in the sea ice in particular and its effects on communities and animals alike.… Read more
Climate Change Scientist James Ford talks about adaptation to climate change. Inuit are adapting now, though traditional knowledge. There are some things that are making it difficult to adapt such as the cost of fuel, regulations, and hunting quotas. He talks about land skills training programs. For Inuit hunting is a way of life, not a hobby.… Read more
Cultural Ecologist George Wenzel, PhD, discusses the misrepresentation of the Inuit in the seal campaign by organizations such as Greenpeace. He says the Inuit were a relatively helpless community in these regards and didn’t fully understand the reasons behind the massive collapse of the European sealskin market.… Read more
Cultural Ecologist, George Wenzel, PhD, talks about the difficulty of the Inuit to adapt in the same ways as they have in the past. He discusses the danger of accidents in open water environments and how risky it is to get around in summer. He talks about how things are adapted and absorbed into Inuit traditional knowledge.… Read more
Senior Administrative Officer of Pangnirtung, Ron Mongeau discusses the effects of Climate Change in the Pangnirtung area, particularly the major impacts of the community's bridge collapsing due to erosion in 2008.
George introduces himself and talk about his area of research. He discusses Inuit hunting as a practice and a way of life. He states that hunting is a full-time job and wage employment conflicts with this in the Inuit mixed economy.… Read more