Inuit hunters have a new tool at their disposal thanks to the SIKU mobile app and web platform.
Named after the Inuktitut word for sea ice, SIKU allows Inuit hunters to upload a wide variety of environmental data, wildlife observations and traditional knowledge into one online platform.
“We’re copying what our parents used to do, but in modern ways,” Lucassie Arragutainaq, manager of the Sanikiluaq Hunters and Trappers Association, told the Canadian Press
I think it’s very important to connect traditional knowledge with technology because Inuit and so many other indigenous groups have oral histories,” said SIKU regional coordinator Candice Pedersen.
Inuit hunters montior the sea ice conditions while using the SIKU mobile app. (Photo: Arctic Eider Society)
“Each community has a different area that they travel in the winter. They have a different piece of the puzzle and were trying to put that together to get the big picture.”
Joel Heath, Executive Director, Arctic Eider Society
While out on the ice, users can catalogue observations about dangerous conditions, document wildlife sightings and share hunting stories in one all-encompassing platform.
SIKU also documents modern weather, sea ice and satellite imagery, while allowing information to be logged in various languages and dialects.
“So, it can track you like a GPS could, and you could say, ‘Oh there is some dangerous ice here, I’m going to take a photo of it.’ It’s going to take your GPS coordinates and then you can go back to the community, you could post it and inform other community members about these potentially dangerous conditions.”
The platform was developed under the guidance of the Arctic Eider Society, a Nunavut based charity, focused on Indigenous-driven solutions to social justice issues in the Arctic.
“If we were to take a photo and tag it with Inuktitut ice terminology or tag it with a species or certain conditions, then that would be written down and then Inuit could mobilize that,” said executive director of the Arctic Eider Society, Joel Heath.
The SIKU mobile app allows users to upload a variety of data into one all-encompassing platform. (Photo: Arctic Eider Society)
The group had previously developed an online prototype for their own operations, based on oceanographic observations, contaminant sampling and Inuit knowledge. However, they decided to change focus to make the platform more widely available.
“It was working so well, like how could we make this available for everyone else to use? So, the best approach seemed to be let’s work with Inuit to make a social media network by Inuit and for Inuit that Inuit are driving.”
The group held consultations in 20 communities to assess the needs of different areas across Nunavut.
“Each community has a different area that they travel in the winter. They have a different piece of the puzzle and were trying to put that together to get the big picture.”
Puasi Ippak tests out the Siku mobile app. The online platform is geared to meeting the unique needs of Inuit while hunting on ice or land. (Photo: Arctic Eider Society)
The app is available for anyone to use within the Inuit Nunangat and Heath said they plan to expand after receiving interest from other Indigenous groups.
Heath said that he wants to see more Inuit in positions of authority when determining research priorities in Northern Canada, and he hopes that SIKU can help facilitate that.
“It gives Inuit the tools to be able to do their own projects and start from scratch…if they want to start documenting seal health conditions ever, they can just get together and say everyone let’s try and systematically do this with the app and the app allows a way to mobilize that data.”
SIKU was officially launched in December 2019. It is available as an online platform at SIKU.org, while the mobile app runs on Android and iOS.
