Power and participation: narrative framings of disaster, climate change, and health in Arctic North America

Disasters are the outcome of social, political, and economic conditions and processes, particularly in the context of climate change. However, dominant narratives of climate change and health persistently frame climate change as an external threat and driver of harm. This obscures the root causes of disaster, such as inequity, colonialism, and poor governance. There are increasing calls to shift dominant narratives on climate change to encompass the root causes of disaster, and interest in the re-telling of climate change and health narratives from Indigenous perspectives. This thesis critically analyses the root causes of disaster for Inuit in Arctic North America (a region experiencing rapid climatic change), the ways that these are addressed in narratives about climate change and health, and how these narratives are constructed. Specifically, it focuses on the ongoing disruption of time spent on the land, which is reported to impact the physical and emotional health of Inuit as a ‘creeping disaster’, and which has been linked by some to climate change. First, based on the ‘forensic investigations of disaster’ approach, the literature is systematically reviewed, using qualitative causal analysis, to identify the root causes of constrained mobility for Inuit in Arctic North America. It identifies barriers to time spent on the land, which are driven by processes of governance and inequality, as opposed to environmental hazards. Second, narrative analysis is used to unpack how Canadian government policy frames the problems, solutions, and responsibilities of health and climate change. Findings suggest that dominant narratives do not engage with the social determinants of health or root causes of disaster, and fail to propose solutions that address inequality, power-relations, or colonialism. Narratives that do engage with these issues are marginalised by the power of the dominant narratives, and do not appear to be shaping proposed solutions. Third, as there are suggestions that increased engagement of Indigenous Peoples in research and policymaking may pluralise these policy narratives, this thesis critically examines engagement with diverse knowledge types in research exploring climate-sensitive processes in an Arctic setting. Findings suggest that the degree of power afforded to Inuit in the research processes is frequently limited or not detailed, suggesting a need for clearer reporting and greater engagement in research design. This thesis, therefore, argues that dominant policy narratives of climate change and health in Arctic North America conceal the root causes of harm and propose solutions that fall short of addressing them. Opportunities to shift the narrative are missed due, in part, to limited attention to power in participatory knowledge production. The intense focus on climate change as an external driver of harm in narratives about Arctic North America is problematic. In the context of climate change, action is needed that addresses the root causes of harm, including colonial legacies, power imbalances and inequities. We need shared narratives that can push us to imagine and engender this change.