Maura Hanrahan

Tracing Social Change among the Labrador Inuit and Inuit-Métis

Abstract Like other Indigenous circumpolar people, the Labrador Inuit and Inuit-Métis have experienced escalating social change through the post-contact period. This change can be divided into three phases: disruption, adaptation and transformation. The final phase—through the twentieth century and ongoing—has been a time of massive social change, marked by technological change, the introduction of wage labor, the entrenchment of the capitalist economy, industrialization throughout Inuit territory, the militarization of Labrador, and a new reliance on imported foods. Thus, through the transformation phase, the Labrador Inuit are undergoing the epidemiologic transition (from mainly infectious diseases to chronic degenerative conditions). This is a mixed experience for them and should be viewed as such. The nutrition literature provides us with much useful information about the effects of social change, particularly health effects, among the Labrador Inuit. It also helps us locate Inuit communities in the three phases of social changes.

Exploring Water Insecurity in a Northern Indigenous Community in Canada: The "Never-Ending Job" of the Southern Inuit of Black Tickle, Labrador

This study is one of very few studies of water insecurity in northern Indigenous communities in Canada. In this first phase, we aimed to understand the multiple dimensions and effects of long-term water insecurity in remote Indigenous communities in Canada and to identify coping strategies. This paper presents exploratory findings on water quality, access, use, impacts, and coping mechanisms in the Southern Inuit community of Black Tickle-Domino, Labrador. We used qualitative and quantitative methods and our research built on the participant observation of two research-team members. We also tested water samples and trained residents to do so. Chronic water insecurity is associated with poor community health, especially food security.