Springtime in the Delta: the Socio-Cultural Importance of Muskrats to Gwich’in and Inuvialuit Trappers through Periods of Ecological and Socioeconomic Change

Abstract

Global socioeconomic and ecological changes strongly impact Indigenous communities by affecting food security, physical health, and overall wellbeing. Throughout the 1900s, residents of the Mackenzie Delta in Canada’s western Arctic relied heavily on the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) for food, fur, and culture, but recent changes to ecological and economic conditions have altered the nature of this relationship. We investigated the role of muskrats in the cultural traditions and land-based livelihoods of the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit residents of the Mackenzie Delta through interviews and meetings with over 70 community members. Although the role of muskrats has changed over the last 100 years, muskrat harvesting continues to offer Delta residents a meaningful way to remain engaged in, perpetuate, and strengthen their cultural identity and land-based traditions among generations, and ultimately, to foster individual and community wellbeing.