April 12 Community Discussions
On April 12, 2022, we held a community discussion circle about the long-term planning for Future Tuk at Kitti Hall. We enjoyed a meal together and discussed some of the challenges and opportunities to planning for the future relocation of Tuk. The goal of the meeting was to have a discussion about the process of adaptation decision-making, including relocation planning.
There were a few key themes that emerged from the meeting, but the most prominent was the need for more opportunities for the community to engage in decision-making. We identified ways to communicate events and feedback from research projects to the community more effectively, such as on the CBC noon hour radio program, bulletin boards (virtual and physical), Facebook-from the Mayor as well as other groups, newsletters and the community radio station. We also identified the importance of having representatives from the Council and from the TCC at community meetings.
Community members raised concerns about not having enough control of the work and research that is being done in the community. They felt that the monitoring programs, in addition to measuring the physical changes on the land and water, should respond to the needs of the community. The example of monitoring the fish types and how many fish were caught was provided. In addition, the research findings need to be communicated to the community.
In regards to adaptation planning, there is a need to come up with a harbour management plan locally, and there needs to be more support by different levels of government to support adaptation planning. Some of the attendees gave examples of adaptations used by other communities, such as Nome Alaska’s seaways, that continue to be effective as examples of areas to explore for in situ adaptations.
Throughout the discussion, concerns and opportunities about relocation emerged. Some of the questions that came up were: who has priority for moving to a new site, what will happen to the graveyard, and is relocation being proposed to build a deep sea port? Some of the concerns raised were that the government should not have priority in relocation, that lots needed to be big enough to accommodate smokehouses and sheds in addition to housing, and that this isn’t the first conversation about relocation. In addition, opportunities for more sustainable and cost effective living were discussed including the possibility of wind and solar power, building passive solar homes to bring down the cost of living, and learning from the experiences of other communities who have relocated.
In addition, the need to address social challenges was introduced, particularly education. The group was concerned about the number of students who had to upgrade their education after they graduated in order to be accepted to further education. One idea is to incorporate some of the relocation planning into the curriculum so that students could apply their education to their environment. It is hoped that this may keep students more engaged in their studies while also contributing their thoughts about the future of Tuk. The project will work with the school to identify options to make this happen.
It was clear throughout the conversation that land and water are important and need to be a priority. The need for immediate action to ensure that garbage at the dump, and any leaching, do not enter the waterways. It was brought up that since the road has been completed there have been more vehicles and garbage at the dump that needs to be shipped elsewhere. Opportunities to move the garbage south to be dealt with and to create a barrier to ensure garbage doesn’t enter the waterway was identified as a priority while the new solid waste site is created.
The concerns about the dump were also brought up during a youth meeting held earlier in the evening with the youth involved with TukTV. During this meeting Kearney facilitated a discussion about some of the hopes and concerns the youth had for the community. Some of the youth felt scared about the future because of climate change. When asked what they would like to see in a new community, they quickly identified that they needed a place to do sports, commenting on how difficult it has been to do this while the gym at the school has been closed. In addition to a gym, they said that a bigger Kitti Hall for community functions, more stores, a bigger baseball diamond, a skate park and an arena would be things they’d like to see in a new community.
We spent some time looking at a map of Tuk and the youth identified places that were important to the community and places they spent time. They said they spent a lot of time walking around but they identified Stanton’s, Kitti Hall, the school, their homes, Northern, the baseball diamond and the Point as important locations. They also highlighted the dump, Reindeer Point, the water reservoir, NT and the visitor centre on the map as being important. When asked what they priority for adaptation should be, they said that the dump was the number one priority. They were concerned that the garbage would get in the water and affect the fish. In addition, they said that houses at risk of erosion and flooding, especially the ones on the point, should be relocated. They identified Gruben’s yard as a good place to relocate houses if the yard was cleaned up.
The youth, in addition to the discussion group, were very engaged and serious about thinking about the future. It was clear that the youth understand the importance of including their voices in the planning and the responsibility they will have as the future decision-makers.
We will have many more opportunities to engage in the future, which we will post on the website and share broadly. In the future, we will do our best to incorporate the feedback on when and how to engage more community members in these discussions (no meetings on Tuesdays, advertise the events on CBC noon hour as well as Facebook and bulletin boards, etc.). In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any comments, feedback or ideas about the relocation planning process.
We appreciate everyone who came out to the discussion sessions and are looking forward to future conversations. Thank you for your continued engagement and feedback.
