Liz Pijogge and Max Liboiron operate an extensive, community-based plastic monitoring program in Nunatsiavut, the Inuit homelands in northern Labrador. The Nain community freezer and local hunters and fishers provide nearly all samples for monitoring plastic ingestion by animals, which creates a sampling design that prioritizes and accurately reflects Inuit foodways.
“We sample freezers, not species.”
– Max Liboiron
Initially, we focused on two of the main animals essential to Inuit foodways in Nunatsiavut: iKauit (Arctic char) and natset (Ringed seal). Working with an ever-expanding range of hunters and fishers in different Nunatsiavut communities, we now also sample aKigget (White partridge), pitsiulât (pigeon/Black guillemot), mitet (Common wider), niglet (Canada goose), kavaisitet (Salmon), and ogâtsuit (Rock cod/Greenland cod). Nakummek to all the hunters and fishers who provide samples from their catches and those who help coordinate collection at Base camp in the Torngats, through the Nain Community Freezer, or through other research, including Billy Fox, Ama Fox, William Fox, Donovan Pijogge, Snowden Pijogge, Richard Maggo, Peter Dicker, Edward Sillitt, Chaim Andersen, Manasse Pijogge, Sydney Dicker, Kayla Wyatt, Luke Lucy-Broomfield, Louisa Lucy-Broomfield, Malcolm Wolfrey, David Wolfrey, Edward John Flowers, Joey Angnatok, Leo Angnatok, Christian Merkuratsuk, Dave Shiwak, Inez Shiwak, Joseph Townley, Tyler Powell, Guido Rich, Natasha Healey, Liz Pijogge, Max Liboiron, Michelle Saunders, Chesley Ittulak, John Winters, Simone Daniels, Veronica Flowers, Nathan Kennedy, Lindsey Moorhouse, Robert Conway, Peter Jefford, Charlie Obed, Simone Daniels, Ricky Daniels, Destiny Solomon, Kennedy Winters, Taylor Shiwak, Julia Andersen, Brian Brown, Carabeth Faulkner, Jenna Jacque, Reuben Flowers, Nicholas Flowers, Elizabeth Tuglavina, Caroline Nochasak, and Geraldine Andersen.
In 2023, we received funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to strengthen the hunters portion of our work, allowing us to pay hunters directly via e-transfer before they go out on the land (to help pay for gas, bullets, and other needs) and to create sample collection kits to make collection easier. We hired professional Inuk youth artist James Jaque to illustrate cards detailing each step in the collection process.
Gathering guts / katitsuinik aKiaguni
Gather the entire gut, mouth to anus. If it’s a bird, be sure to get the crop. Don’t spill, as we need the entire contents of the gut. Place one gut per animal in a plastic bag.
Write the sample information on the outside of the bag in marker, or inside in pencil on a piece of waterproof paper: date, species, place, sample number (start with 1 and count up)
katitsuinik iluingajunik aKiagunnik, Kaninginnit anapvinganut. Timmianguppat, tigusigiaKavutit aKillitigutinganik. Asikkitailillutit, atugiaKagattigu ilonnanginnik aKiagunettunik. IliKattalugit atunik aKiagunnik pitagijanginnik ilillugit palâstik pommut.
Allalutit ottugautet Kaujigatsanganik silatânut pommut titigutialummut, upvalu iluanut titigutituinnamut Kausiligunnangitumut alakkasâjammut: ullunga, omajuk, inik, ottugautet numaranga (pigiasillutit 1 ammalu KummualiaKillutit)
Gathering feathers / katitsuinik isagunik
Pluck between 6-8 whole feathers from the centre of the bird’s breast/belly. More is ok too if they all come out in a clump. Place one bird’s feathers per bag or envelope. Write the sample information on the outside of the bag in marker, or inside in pencil on a piece of waterproof paper: date, species, place, sample number. These should be the same as the gut data.
Igitallutit akunga 6-8 iluingajunik isagunik KikKanganit timmiamit sapvinganit/nâmminit. Unuluanik piuluak agitajannit. Ilillugit timmiat isagungit atunik pommut upvalu allalijusiaKautimmut.
Allalugit ottugattaugasuajop Kaujigatsanganik silatânut pommut titigutialummut, upvalu iluanut titigutikulummut Kaujisiligunnangitumut alakkasâjammut; ullunga, omajunga, inik, ottugautiup numaranga. Tamakkua atjigijanga aKiaguit Kaujigatsanginnut.
Collection Data / katitsutausimajut Kaujigatsait
Each sample needs its own information label. This can be done in permanent marker on the outside of the bag, and/or in pencil on a waterproof piece of paper. We need to know: The full date (day, month, year); The type of animal (species); The location (the name of the place, and ideally the latitude/longitude if you have it); Your name; If you can tell, the sex of the animal; If you can tell, the weight or length of the animal
Atunik ottugattaugasuajut namminik KaujigatsaKagialet nalunaigutimmik. Tamanna suliagijausok titigutialummut silatâni pommi, ammalu/upvalu iluani titigutikulummut Kausiligunnangitumut alakkasâjammut. Ukuninga KaujimagiaKavugut: Tainna ilonnanga ullunga (ulluk, takKik, jârik); Kanuittoninga omajuk (omajuit); Inigisimajanga (tainna atingata ininganit, ammalu nanelluasiakKomangât allalugit tigumiagunni); UKagunnaguvit, Kanuittomangât omaju; UKagunnaguvit, uKinninga ammalu takininga omajumut
Capturing sneaky plastics /
Tigusinnik takkaumajunut palâstikkisajait
We are studying plastics, and plastics are part of our clothes, our gear, and are in dust. Your kit includes some bags or dishes with double sided tape. Please leave these open while you gut your animal so it can capture any dust.
When you are packing up, take pinches of your clothes, hat, gloves, and any surfaces you gutted on (wood, wharfs, boat decks, paint). We need an example of all the plastics that might sneak into the sample!
Kaujisavugut palâstikkisajannik, ammalu palâstikket ilangagijauvut annugâttinut, piKutittinut, ammalu pujummut. Ipvit atuniattait pitaKavut pommk upvalu magganik maggolingajumik nipitinnitalik. Tamakkua ammasimainnagialet pilaligavit omajunnik tigusisonguniammat pujuKappat.
Pannailiguvit, tigusillutit annugânnit, nasak, aggajâk, ammalu Kanganettunut pilasimapvigisimajannit (Kijuk, itsavik, umiap sivunganit, minguagutimmit). Ilonnanginnik tigusigiaKavugut palâstikkisijannit takkaumagajattunut ottugattaugasuajunut!
Shipping / Aullatitsigiamut ottugautinik
Once you have enough samples, place them in a cooler or box and ship them to us. If you’re in Nain, just drop them off to Liz Pijogge at the Research Centre. Otherwise, bring them to PAL cargo and ship to: [details withheld for web]
Nâmmatunik pitaKaliguvit ottugattauniattunut, ilillugit nillisegutimmut upvalu itlivimmut ammalu aullatiniallugit uvattinut. Nainimeguvit, katagiattutuinnalugit Liz Pijoogge-imut Kaujisattet Ininganut. Asiagut, taunungaujillugit PAL atjatuttivinganut ammalu aullatillugit omunga:
Sampling through hunting means we do not do random sampling, where every member of a species of animals has an equal chance of being caught. We do judgemental sampling, meaning samples are taken because animals are more likely to be in one place and not another, because a population of animals can afford to be hunted in a particular place at a specific life stage (e.g. not when nesting), and because they are delicious. It also means that our samples cluster in ways that show the researcher’s relationships with other researchers and to hunters, and the relationships hunters have with particular areas on the land, like where their cabins are. We think this is beautiful sampling.
Since its beginning in 2017, this project has been funded by: the Nunatsiavut Government, Northern Contaminants Program (CB-10, with sample sharing from CB-13), Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring (ICBCM), POLAR Canada, ArcticNet (#72), The Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR), SSHRC (#435-2017-0567), the Dorothy Killam Foundation, Memorial’s MUCEP and ISWEP programs, Memorial’s Office of the Vice-President (Research), The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at Memorial University, the Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme (CINUK) including the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Regional Partnership and Research Program, and NSERC (DH-2022-00313).
