BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Inuit pastoralism in South Greenland: Navigating the spectrum from
  wild to domestic herds in an era of rapid Arctic change - Professor Bruce
  C. Forbes\, Research Professor at the Arctic Centre\, University of Lapla
 nd 
DTSTART:20240306T160000Z
DTEND:20240306T170000Z
UID:TALK212383@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:86998
DESCRIPTION:Greenlandic Inuit are better known culturally for their huntin
 g of marine and terrestrial mammals\, fishing and dog-breeding. However\, 
 a century ago in South Greenland they initiated what is today a vibrant li
 vestock-based form of agriculture\, supplemented by fishing and hunting on
  sea and land. This followed some 500 years after the Vikings (Norse) had 
 abandoned farming and hunting in the same area. This study presents a link
 ed social-ecological and economic overview of pastoralism and hunting as s
 een from the perspective of local practitioners in South Greenland. Contem
 porary pastoralism in South Greenland has been characterized by small farm
 s raising mainly sheep and cattle\, with horses and dogs as support animal
 s when needed for herding and corralling. For the past 50 years\, semi-dom
 esticated reindeer have been added to the mix.  Hunting of wild ungulates 
 (muskoxen\, wild reindeer and feral sheep) has been a constant and highly 
 prized source of supplemental of meat\, hides\, wool/qiviut\, as well as s
 ignificant income from trophy hunting in recent decades\, alongside fishin
 g and sea-mammal hunting. Since WWII\, “pastoralist” practices have sp
 anned a wide spectrum from feral/wild to domestic herds in an era of rapid
  Arctic change. South Greenland thus contrasts both historically and at pr
 esent with the predominantly hunting-based cultures of North and East Gree
 nland. Our research is based on the co-creation of knowledge through parti
 cipant observation and interviews across the region. The findings reveal a
 n extremely high level of innovation ranging across household\, local and 
 regional scales\, including linkages to Denmark and the EU. Despite the re
 cent closure of a shrimp processing factory in the region\, with its comme
 nsurate loss of secure employment\, informants were primarily focused on t
 heir own individual and collective agency. We conclude that for its 100th 
 anniversary in 2024\, South Greenlandic Inuit have clearly established pas
 toralism as their “signature livelihood”\, via multiple animal species
  combined with hunting\, herding and fishing\, which is among the most inn
 ovative and least studied subsistence livelihoods in the Arctic.\n 
LOCATION:Scott Polar Research Institute\, main lecture theatre
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR