Diving Into The Arctic - Jill Heinerth discusses the shrinking ice coverage in the Arctic

05/24/20 • 40 min

Jill Heinerth is an award winning, world renowned Canadian diver, cave diver, author and filmmaker. Her achievements include making TV series for PBS, the National Geographic Channel and BBC. She has consulted on various movies for directors including James Cameron. Jill is the author of the bestseller, INTO THE PLANET - My Life as a Cave Diver and has produced documentaries including We Are Water. Her work with Arctic on the Edge and the recent documentary Under Thin Ice is fascinating. Jill was the first person to dive inside iceberg caves of Antarctic and has penetrated further into an underwater cave system than any woman in history! In this episode we discuss with Jill her evolution as a diver and cave diver, her travels to Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) Nunavut Canada, the importance of Inuit knowledge and wisdom, the shrinking ice coverage of the Arctic regions, the speed of this change, animal feeding cycles out of sync, the importance of Arctic ice in the food chain, the connectivity of humanity, facing our fears and next steps related to climate change, and the implications of COVID-19

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COVID-Distancing On The Land In The Arctic

Melissa and Daniel Rogers live in Inuvik, Northwest Territories in the Canadian Arctic. Melissa is of Gwich'in and Inuvialuit decent and Daniel is Inuvialuit. Melissa and Daniel were both raised with a close connection to the land and when the COVID crisis struck they didn't wait for the virus to surface in the Arctic, they left town and headed to their traditional camp North of Inuvik. In this episode we discuss why Melissa and Daniel returned to the land, living in a tent in -30 temperatures, harvesting fish and caribou for food, their family histories, climate change in the delta and much more.

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Reclaiming Inuit Identity in the Aftermath of Colonialism Through Artistic Expression-Avianna Mackenzie

Realistic and diverse representations of Inuit women and their relationships to their bodies is something that Canadian, Iqualuit, Nunavut-based artist Avianna Mackenzie has made a central theme in her digital illustration practice. Creating art that combats colonized views and understandings of womanhood and femininity, Avianna's work is created with a clear message of destigmatization and reinforcement of positive body image. Much of Avianna's work is inspired by interactions she observes and exchanges in on social media, a place where women are both granted agency over their own bodies and representation while simultaniously policed by others who seek to either shame or hyper-sexualize them.

On this episode we discuss Avianna's connection to her culture, colourism in the Inuit community, the motivation behind Avianna's art, battling the untruths of and misconceptions created by colonialism and religion, the role adopting traditional tattoos has played in Avianna's claiming her identity, challenges facing the Arctic and much more!

For more information on Avianna's art you can visit "Ulliaq Creations" on facebook and @ulliaq_creations on instagram.