Forces of Change

Rosemarie Kuptana

Surrounded by dramatic signs of climate change, the residents of Sachs Harbor in the Northwest Territories wanted to document these changes from their perspective.

Led by Rosemarie Kuptana, a Sachs Harbor resident, the Inuit community initiated a two-year project to document their observations. Among the project outcomes was the video, Sila Alangotok-Inuit Observations on Climate Change. (In the language of the Inuit, “sila” means climate and all things that surround us.) The 42-minute video has been broadcast (in whole or in part) on 14 major television networks.

Rosemarie Kuptana at home with her mother, Inuit elder Sarah Kuptana, in Sachs Harbour, Canada.
Photo from The Earth Is Faster Now (2002)