In a warming #Arctic, #Inuit #BearGuards protect communities
By Frey Blake-Pijogge, October 9, 2026
" #TraditionalKnowledge and specialized training are helping people adapt to a changing landscape as polar bears appear in new places and at different times.
"After retiring from a long career as a conservation officer with the Canadian government, Derrick Pottle devoted himself to guiding people on the land, carving, hunting, and training bear guards.
"Pottle, an elder and skilled guide from the Inuit community of #Tikigâksuagusik in #Nunatsiavut, founded #BearSafe Planning in 2005. The program trains and certifies students to guard against the polar bears and black bears found throughout northern Labrador. The three-day course is advertised as offering 'safety, protection, confidence in bear country.'
"More than two decades later, that work has taken on renewed urgency. As #ClimateChange reshapes the Arctic — particularly the #SeaIce #PolarBears rely on to travel and hunt — Inuit are seeing the animals at different times of year and in places they rarely encountered before. Pottle says those changes are increasing the need for people who know how to keep people and bears safe. That, he said, is the whole objective of the course.' "
Learn more:
https://grist.org/indigenous/in-a-warming-arctic-inuit-bear-guards-protect-communities/
#IndigenousNews #ClimateChangeAdapatation #LivingWithNature #Bears #BearGuards #ProtectingNature #ProtectingCommunities #TEK #TraditionalIndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousKnowledge