Indigenous communities share how to live with wildlife

Abstract

The question of how humans can coexist with large carnivores is central to both rewilding and the protection of existing biodiversity. Human inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic have maintained relationships with polar bears for over 6,000 years. Writing in Communications Earth and Environment, Katharina M. Miller and a team of authors that includes Indigenous knowledge keepers documented insights from this relationship through participatory research with the local community of Churchill (Manitoba, Canada) using storytelling. According to the authors, Churchill forms “a unique social and ecological intersection of human-polar bear coexistence”, where local people live alongside bears, and scientists and tourists are drawn to visit. Miller et al. aimed to inform inclusive research and management strategies via thematic analysis of stories from Swampy Cree-, Sayisi Dene-, Métis- and Inuit-identifying contributors, which revealed extensive social, ecological and biological insights about polar bears. These included the increasing habituation of polar bears to humans, and incursions into towns as sea ice disappears; changing provincial and national management practices that contrast with the continuity of Indigenous community–bear relationships and sustainable harvests; and the importance of human awareness of bear behaviour and ecology to ensure safe coexistence. The authors note that weaving together Indigenous knowledge in research benefits both science and local communities by supporting proactive management, cultivating a culture of coexistence, improving safety education and awareness, and protecting tourism.

Original reference: Commun. Earth Environ. 6, 74 (2025)