Welcome to our new Inuvik staffer

The films were all produced under the auspices of  funding by International Polar Year. We shared a dinner of chilli, bannock and fresh fruit and vegetable platters while the films rolled. This approach is a common meeting tradition up here, both as an enticement to attend and to encourage an earlier start.  There were elders and families, kids and teenagers, locals and visitors. Over and over again the films spoke about what we know and what we don’t know about the land and sea across the Arctic, and the people who live on it and those that study it. And those that do both.
And we have hired one of those to become our marine spatial planner here in Inuvik. After consulting with anyone who would meet with us (and almost everybody did) we put together our job posting, decided on the facets and experience we were looking for, and are happy to welcome Dan Slavik to WWF-Canada and our work in the Beaufort Sea. Dan is no stranger to the Western Arctic. While he looks young to me (but, then again, anyone under 45 looks young to me), he has lots of experience up here, having spent several spring and fall seasons, doing research on Traditional Knowledge and Polar Bears. He has visited every Inuvialuit community and spent three months in one of the most remote, Sachs Harbour.

(c) Dan Slavik/WWF-Canada
He has, we think, the personal attributes we were looking for as well as experience working with diverse groups, where finding the way through often conflicting objectives to shared decision-making is crucial for success. And as part of his studies at the University of Alberta, he has experience with GIS and Conservation Planning.
Dan starts up here in May so we can have some time together, and then spends some time in the south for orientation to WWF. We also hope to get him to Alaska to meet our WWF colleagues there, because planning in the Beaufort Sea is just not about Canada. He will relocate to Inuvik in July. He’ll be busy and he is thrilled to be joining us.
And, oh yes, what was the foot stomping and whistling about? Well every time the Inuvialuit folks heard something they liked, they used it as a vote of support. One quote in particular sticks in my mind:  it was a young leader saying “What’s on the land is more important than what’s underneath it. Sometimes it was to make fun – a person they recognized, a comment made that created laughter. Another observation was that the films were interviewing too many men – where were the women? More laughter and foot stomping then. These films were not preachy, not professional wonders, but in seeing their land, hearing scientists and community members talk about it, the films totally engaged the audience. It was a good evening.