Cree community representatives and scientists from both western and eastern James Bay gathered in Montreal January 20-22 to address growing concerns about polar bears. Organizers agreed the workshop was a success and aim to hold more every 3-5 years.
As polar bears increasingly approach communities, the Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board (EMRWB) and Cree Trappers’ Association have developed public safety resources and protocols with the goal of peaceful coexistence. Participants shared information on the growing number of bears, their body condition, diet and behaviour.
The EMRWB invited the Mushkegowuk Council to co-host this first joint polar bear workshop to share knowledge and collaborate on common concerns. The format with participants from every single coastal community was designed to gather as much as information possible.
“Our mandate is to make informed management decisions, so with bears moving across the bay it wouldn’t make sense to have this huge knowledge gap from the Ontario side,” said Angela Coxon, EMRWB director of wildlife management. “The Ontario coastal communities are quite isolated and they’ve been left out in a lot of efforts for research.”
Alongside the wildlife boards of Nunavik and Nunavut, the EMRWB has traditionally managed polar bear populations by implementing quota and non-quota limitations based on the best available traditional knowledge and scientific information. Governments have requested considering management measures in the EMR south of the overlap area.
James Bay polar bears are affected by warming temperatures and sea ice loss, and questions remain about their ecology and ability to adapt. Research suggests these bears may be genetically distinct from those further north.
“The interest was there from the Ontario side to collaborate in research and develop common protocols, for example, how to handle a defense kill,” explained Coxon. “They shared the same concerns about land user safety.”
There are more frequent bear encounters on island camps, resulting in scary moments. As a protected species, they may only be killed in self-defence. As a protected species, they may only be killed in self-defence. Flash blanks, shell crackers and special screamers and bangers can be aimed near the bear as a deterrent.
“A family at their fishing camp had to put down one this fall,” said George Natawapineskum, EMRWB and CTA local officer for Wemindji. “It didn’t want to go away and kept coming back. Finally, one of the family members was trying to get in the outhouse and the other family members had to put it down. When it’s aggressive, you have to.”
As Inuit have hunted polar bears for food and clothing for millennia, the meat from animals killed by the Cree is shipped to their northern neighbours via Air Creebec. Coxon learned at the workshop that the pelts of bears killed in self-defence on the Ontario side are more often used for clothing.
Southern polar bears experiencing a rapidly changing climate might be expected to be skinny and in precarious health, but encounters and research suggest quite the opposite. McGill University PhD candidate Alexandra Langwieder alongside the EMRWB, CTA and Cree coastal communities have conducted a research project since 2021.
Community-based monitoring employs non-invasive methods rather than GPS-connected collars. The team collects samples from hair snares and camera-trap stations, which polar bears trigger by approaching the fish-scented liquid bait placed between triangle-shaped barbed wire.
“It became a model of community-led polar bear research in Canada,” Langwieder told the Nation. “It’s helpful to have these remote cameras be the eyes in places where people aren’t. The big change this year is that the Mushkegowuk communities will be starting their fieldwork. We set up about 40 [stations] on the east coast and about 30 on the west coast.”
The project helps determine bear habitats during ice-free months, revealing concentrations around Charlton Island and Twin Islands far from the mainland. While the first island is covered in trees, the latter is closer to tundra with little vegetation except short shrubs.
“We’re going to hopefully answer questions about the polar-bear diet using stable isotopes,” explained Langwieder. “It’s a way to measure what an animal is eating through the chemical components of their tissue. The idea that you are what you eat. Maybe there’s something specific about James Bay that they’re supported by.”
When CTA officers retrieve samples, switch memory cards and refresh bait, they also map den locations. Natawapineskum said the east sides of the Twin Islands are popular for denning. Wemindji youth he hires to assist with sample collection gain valuable training as bear guides.
Chisasibi youth Alice Neacappo-Soosay was recently hired as a research assistant after a few seasons of fieldwork. In November, she worked with Reggie Scipio to interview Elders about polar bear behaviour following a “train the trainer” safety workshop that blended traditional knowledge with modern safety skills.
Mushkegowuk Council is organizing a coordinated response to polar bear interactions. Ontario Cree witness extensive denning on the mainland, with bears near Peawanuck reported venturing 150 km inland over muskeg to hunt beaver. While they have worked with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources to lure bears away, it sometimes takes days for them to arrive in the fly-in communities.
“Attawapiskat is only 19 km from Akimiski Island, where there’s usually 40 to 50 bears most of the year,” said Lawrence Martin, Mushkegowuk director of lands and resources. “They usually stay on the island but nowadays they’re starting to come to the shoreline. Last winter, a woman was attacked getting on a skidoo in front of her house.”
The monthly meetings with Eeyou Cree will help find collaborative solutions. Martin even suggested they could work together on marine conservation areas to co-manage all of James Bay.
“It sets an exciting stage for polar bear management to move forward in a more holistic and comprehensive way,” said Langwieder. “Communities in Nunavut’s Fox Basin are starting this project now because of the work in Cree communities. Others are excited to see Indigenous communities in the driver’s seat of polar bear research.”