{"id":1278,"date":"2016-02-17T01:15:30","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T01:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2016-02-17T01:18:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T01:18:59","slug":"cunsolo-willox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tony<\/a>By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0— Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, TedX Cape Breton<\/a>, Nov 25 2014.<\/p>\n

Health geographer, community researcher, and environmental advocate, Ashlee Cunsolo Willox visited 杏吧原创 University on February 5th to help convey the strong connections the Inuit have to the land, and the direct and indirect impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Cunsolo Willox was invited by the Rigolet community government to conduct narrative research regarding the impacts of climate change on health, where she identified, with the community, that mental health was a primary concern of community residents. Since then, she has worked with all five Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut, Labrador on a variety of community-led and community-identified research initiatives, including cultural reclamation and intergenerational knowledge transmission, suicide reduction and prevention, and land-based education and healing programs. \u201cI\u2019ve always said, that I work at a university, but [I work] for the communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Noah<\/a>The Canadian Arctic has the fastest changing annual temperatures, and \u201cthis is a big deal\u2026 because of the sea ice, and it\u2019s impacted ability to form,\u201d says Cunsolo Willox. In 2012, Cunsolo Willox and a team of Inuit researchers from the communities launched the Inuit Mental Health and Adaptation to Climate Change\u00a0project, to examine the relationships between people, places, cultures, environments, and mental health in the region.<\/p>\n

There are approximately 2600 people living in Nunatsiavut, spread between five communities: Nain<\/strong>,\u00a0Hopedale<\/strong>, Postville<\/strong>,\u00a0Makkovik<\/strong>, and\u00a0Rigolet<\/strong>. Each community is located on the coast, and winter freezing is critical for transportation, obtaining supplies, and following traditional hunting patterns and sea ice is incredibly important for each community.<\/p>\n

Nunatsiavut Inuit communities rely on, and thrive from, their natural environment; however, condition changes within the recent years has impacted their ability to access the land. Changes in annual temperatures have impacted animal migration patterns, weather behaviours, and sea ice integrity. Some Arctic animals are seeking cooler temperatures and migrating further north, while new animals, such as moose, are migrating into the Nunatsiavut communities. Changes in weather patterns, including increasing fog levels, wind speeds, and precipitation, are especially of concern as they impact sea ice formation and quality; sea ice that has traditionally supported travel, has a much shorter annual season.<\/p>\n

\"quote<\/a>Each change has an impact all aspects of Inuit lives and livelihoods and, as Cunsolo Willox and the research team discovered, the changes also have profoundly affected mental health, eliciting a major emotional responses across the region. Cunsolo Willox and the team identified from interviews with 120 people that \u201cthe biggest [effects] were those in mental health. The psychological impact of the changing climate was [initially] a big surprise.\u201d Cunsolo Willox relayed one story about learning from an Elder in Rigolet: \u201cShe was telling me about\u2026how the ice had changed. But what she wanted me to know most\u2026 was to understand the strong connections that Inuit have to the land. It\u2019s everything\u2026 if you can\u2019t get out on that land, it\u2019s like you\u2019ve lost a part of yourself. The land provides healing. It provides solace. It provides peace. So what happens if you can\u2019t access that land anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n

These findings inspired production of the documentary film, \u201cLament for the Land<\/a>.\u201d The film used interviews, scenery, and action shots throughout Nunatsiavut to conceptualize the deep connection between the Labrador Inuit and their homelands through their voices and lived experiences.<\/p>\n

Interviews for \u201cLament for the Land<\/a>\u201d revealed the importance of being able to access and connect with the land as a coping mechanism. Denied access to the land because of changing weather patterns meant loss of access to a place that supported reflection, and provided comfort. The inability to access the land due to insufficient sea ice formation directly and indirectly affects mental, and overall, health.<\/p>\n

\u201cInuit are people of the sea ice. If there\u2019s no more sea ice, how can we be people of the sea ice?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Cunsolo Willox identified that these rapidly changing conditions impact the already over-burdened health systems, the path to health sovereignty, and the overall Inuit culture. Climate changes have yet added another colonial stressor that is out of their control. \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand the past,\u201d suggests Cunsolo Willox. Residents in Labrador were the first to have contact with European settlers more than 300 years ago. There is a long history of interaction, which includes residential schools, and relocation, and has resulted in intergenerational trauma. \u201cAnd yet, they have such a rich culture. There is so much beauty in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Cunsolo Willox\u2019s \u201cheart and mind are in Labrador because [she\u2019s] been there so long, [she has] relationships, and [has] seen so much evolution.\u201d When asked what continues to inspire her, Cunsolo Willox simply responds \u201ceverything; it\u2019s the beauty of the land; it\u2019s the list of endless questions; it\u2019s the discovery and sense of pride; the shared ownership of research; the communities.\u201d While respect and willingness within the communities have eliminated most challenges, there are still barriers and hurdles at the provincial and federal governance level, especially as they relate to the funding of such interdisciplinary work. Despite these challenges, Cunsolo Willox \u201ccannot imagine life without this work. I never expected it, and now, I cannot imagine working anywhere else. It\u2019s changed me as an individual and my world-views; my interconnectedness. What I\u2019ve learned from the people I\u2019ve worked with, to listen to their wisdom, [it] has been a huge privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"quote<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos by A. Cunsolo Willox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences \u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.\u201d\u00a0— Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, TedX Cape Breton, Nov 25 2014. Health geographer, community researcher, and environmental advocate, Ashlee Cunsolo Willox visited 杏吧原创 University on February 5th to help convey the strong connections the Inuit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[68,1,202],"tags":[209,249,29,248],"yoast_head":"\nAshlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land - CHAIM Centre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences \u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.\u201d\u00a0-- Ashlee Cunsolo Willox,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CHAIM Centre\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/\",\"name\":\"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land - CHAIM Centre\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-17T01:15:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-17T01:18:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/8729723af1fbe55a7efe1e874cdfd06b\"},\"description\":\"By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences \u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.\u201d\u00a0-- Ashlee Cunsolo Willox,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CHAIM Blogs\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/category\/blogs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Environmental Determinants\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/category\/blogs\/environmental-determinants\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/\",\"name\":\"CHAIM Centre\",\"description\":\"杏吧原创 University\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/8729723af1fbe55a7efe1e874cdfd06b\",\"name\":\"CHAIM Centre\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9674d448938d2533dcd6452157d1bfba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9674d448938d2533dcd6452157d1bfba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CHAIM Centre\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CHAIM_Centre\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land - CHAIM Centre","description":"By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences \u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.\u201d\u00a0-- Ashlee Cunsolo Willox,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CHAIM Centre","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/","url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/","name":"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land - CHAIM Centre","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-02-17T01:15:30+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-17T01:18:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/8729723af1fbe55a7efe1e874cdfd06b"},"description":"By Ariel Root, Department of Health Sciences \u201cThe land is everything. It\u2019s family, it\u2019s kin, it\u2019s friends. It\u2019s a part of you.\u201d\u00a0-- Ashlee Cunsolo Willox,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/2016\/cunsolo-willox\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CHAIM Blogs","item":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/category\/blogs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Environmental Determinants","item":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/category\/blogs\/environmental-determinants\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Ashlee Cunsolo Willox: Lament for the Land"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#website","url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/","name":"CHAIM Centre","description":"杏吧原创 University","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/8729723af1fbe55a7efe1e874cdfd06b","name":"CHAIM Centre","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9674d448938d2533dcd6452157d1bfba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9674d448938d2533dcd6452157d1bfba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CHAIM Centre"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/CHAIM_Centre"]}]}},"acf":{"Post Thumbnail":{"ID":824,"id":824,"title":"ashlee-cunsolo-willox","filename":"ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","filesize":59297,"url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/cu-events\/winter-2016\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox\/","alt":"","author":"5","description":"","caption":"","name":"ashlee-cunsolo-willox","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":547,"date":"2015-08-20 01:04:25","modified":"2015-08-20 01:04:25","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":240,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox-160x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":160,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":300,"gallery-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","gallery-thumb-width":184,"gallery-thumb-height":230,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":300,"banner":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","banner-width":240,"banner-height":300,"people":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox-200x200.jpg","people-width":200,"people-height":200,"post-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox-240x230.jpg","post-thumb-width":240,"post-thumb-height":230,"rotator-image":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","rotator-image-width":240,"rotator-image-height":300,"video-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-content\/uploads\/ashlee-cunsolo-willox.jpg","video-thumb-width":240,"video-thumb-height":300}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chaimcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}