Geoengineering on Indigenous lands and waters: Sophie Crump, ‘A critical lens on geoengineering in Inuit Homelands’, Frontiers Policy Lab, 24/09/25 | settler colonial studies blog

Geoengineering on Indigenous lands and waters: Sophie Crump, ‘A critical lens on geoengineering in Inuit Homelands’, Frontiers Policy Lab, 24/09/25

05Oct25

Excerpt: Inuit have an interconnected and inter-reliant relationship with the land, waters, and ice across their homelands which include Kalaallit Nunaat/ Greenland, Canada, Alaska (United States), and Chukotka (Russia). Drastic changes in the Arctic place Inuit on the frontlines of climate change. Thawing permafrost and eroding coastlines undermine built infrastructure and entire Inuit communities face relocation. Increasingly unpredictable freeze-melt patterns of sea ice threaten Inuit food security and sovereignty. Wildland and forest fires, as well as rain-on-snow events are reshaping the landscape and affecting the health of animals, the land, and consequently Inuit themselves. While the impacts of climate change are felt globally, the urgency to act and adapt is not new to Inuit, who have been raising the alarm about climate change for decades. The oceans, sea ice, and glaciers across Inuit homelands are sites of increasing interest for proposed climate intervention and geoengineering projects. These waters and ice are central to a healthy ecosystems, Inuit food sovereignty and traditional economies, and they support transportation and connectivity for Inuit, while also contributing to global weather and climate systems. In pursuit of solutions to climate change, some geoengineering experiments have already been funded and carried out in Inuit homelands, while others remain in scoping or conceptual stages. The Arctic Ice Project (formerly Ice911) faced strong vocal opposition from Alaska Native groups and environmental NGOs for solar radiation management (SRM) experiments conducted on a lake near Utqiaġvik, Alaska in 2017, and ceased operations in 2025. Although the Greenland Ice Sheet Conservation (GRISCO) project made some efforts to engage Inuit in Ilulissat, Greenland, a more formal approach is required to uphold the rights of Inuit. In 2025 researchers determined that this seabed curtain experiment was not feasible in Sermeq Kujalleq. The Real Ice Project has been conducting sea-ice thickening experiments since 2024 in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. This project has engaged directly with Inuit in the community and received support from the Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization, as required by Nunavut research permitting processes. Engagement with Inuit through brief advisory meetings, employment as field assistants, or open town halls does not, however, fully address the obligations of these projects to Inuit as rightsholders.

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