Shifting Seasons and Threats to Harvest, Culture, and Self-Identity: A Personal Narrative on the Consequences of Changing Climate

Northern Indigenous communities are experiencing rapid climate change and disrupted seasonal transitions. The Teetł'it Gwich'in use a five-season calendar to measure the year, indicating the timing of seasonal events and associated cultural practices. From trapping in the spring, to fishing in the summer and fall, and hunting in the fall and winter, the Gwich'in have moved upon the land with the changing seasons. However, disrupted seasonal synchrony can disconnect cultural practices from suitable conditions, creating risks to self and culture. With warming temperatures, communities have observed slower river freeze-up in the fall and faster spring thaw, which has impacted the timing of when fishers can safely set their nets under river ice. Historically, freeze-up occurred in October, providing several weeks when fishers could set nets under ice while łuk dagaii (broad whitefish, Coregonus nasus) traveled downriver. Today, freeze-up often begins in November, and fishing during the łuk dagaii migration requires setting nets while the ice is thinner and the river is not completely frozen. This presents risks to individuals working to maintain a fundamental cultural practice. Here, Arlyn Charlie, a Teetł'it Gwich'in artist whose career focuses on culture and language, uses personal narrative to explore impacts of climate change on Gwich'in culture. Arlyn notes how these changes are making the traditional seasonal calendar unreliable, and explores how changing patterns among animals and the landscape no longer provide consistent, safe harvesting conditions. With a growing risk of working on thin ice, ongoing cultural practices are threatened.