Four Scholars Awarded Scholarships for Northern Research
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2024-2025 ACUNS Awards Program. Supported by donors, the annual awards are presented to top scholars in Canadian universities who are conducting research in the natural and social sciences, humanities, health, and interdisciplinary studies. This year’s recipients cover a range of research topics in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Three of the projects focus on the intersection of land and people, on changing nature and the consequences for northern inhabitants who rely on them. The fourth project asks important questions about program quality and considers approaches to evaluation that involve the voices of those so often overlooked. Now in its 42nd year, the ACUNS Awards Program continues to be proud to help Canadian Northern Studies students undertake cutting edge research in the North. Join us in congratulating these worthy recipients!
Maria Ramirez Prieto
PhD Candidate
Public Health Sciences
University of Waterloo
Project: Experiences and Food Security Supports within the Country Food System: Exploring Inuvialuit Youth Perspectives in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Founded in principles of community-based research and community-identified priorities, this project explores the contemporary significance of country food for youth in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Intertwined with cultural and traditional practices, country food harvesting, preparation, and consumption are paramount for food security and the preservation of Inuit Knowledge and culture.
Alongside Inuvialuit co-researchers, this project uses a multifaceted approach including Photovoice methodology, talking circles with youth and Elders together, and family group interviews to illuminate nuanced experiences with country foods and transmission of knowledge and skills across generations to support youth food security.
Maria Ramirez Prieto is a Colombian-Canadian PhD Candidate at the University of Waterloo and a SSHRC doctoral fellow. Relationality and collaboration are at the core of her research, working alongside Inuvialuit co-researchers and community members in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NWT. She brings a background in Nutritional Science and International Development with a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph.
Alicia Pouw
PhD Candidate, Geography
Wilfrid Laurier University
Project: Navigating Frozen Waters: Assessing the Impact of Seasonal Snow Changes on Northern Lake Ice Safety
Alicia’s research investigates the impact of changing seasonal snow on lake ice conditions, and consequently, the safety of ice roads and winter recreational trails in northern Canadian communities. Accelerated warming in Canada’s Arctic and Subarctic affects lakes crucial for ice roads and winter trails, which connect isolated communities economically and culturally. The construction and safety of these transportation routes depend on lake-ice conditions, which are highly influenced by snow that can slow black ice growth or promote weaker snow ice formation under specific conditions.
By combining field data, remote sensing, and numerical modelling, her research works to improve snow parameterization schemes for a spatially distributed lake ice model. The research will focus on lakes near Yellowknife and Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.
This scholarship is named for Dr. Blake, the late quaternary geologist who spent over 50 Arctic seasons in Canada, Greenland, and Svalbard, Norway and whose career was spent almost entirely at the Geological Survey of Canada.
The Dr. Jim McDonald Scholarship for Northern Research ($5,000)
Funded by ACUNS with the support of the McDonald family.
Katy Pollock
DSc. Candidate, Rehabilitation and Health Leadership
Queen’s University
Project: Towards Child Inclusive Daycare Evaluation in the Northwest Territories
Katy is a settler researcher who lives and work on Chief Drygeese Territory in Somba K’e (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories). She is a doctoral candidate in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University, and an applied research and evaluation professional in the Government of the Northwest Territories. Katy grew up in Nova Scotia and her work and volunteerism has since taken her across Canada and the north in the non-profit and public government sectors. She is passionate about supporting community-based programs that serve children so that all children can thrive.
Katy’s project is guided in part by the 1989 UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, Article 12.1, that children have the opportunity to express their views, and that their views are considered in matters that affect them, and focuses on determining how daycare programs can begin to gather children’s input when evaluating childcare programs, including investigating possible barriers and their mitigations. The project will then develop evaluation plans with sample tools to support this work.
This award is named in memory of Dr. Jim McDonald, a renowned anthropologist, professor (UNBC), and former president of ACUNS.
Nathaniel Holloway
MA, Geography
University of Ottawa
Project: How are Pond Inlet community members perceiving of and adapting to the increased prominence of aarluk (Orcinus orca; killer whales) near their community?
Nathaniel Holloway is a keen outdoor enthusiast and gamer, who is currently pursuing an MA in Geography at the University of Ottawa with the Environment, Society and Policy Group under the supervision of Jackie Dawson. Climate warming has seen species extend their ranges northward. One such is aarluk (also known as killer whales). Working in Pond Inlet with local residents and hunters, his project will gather community knowledge on recent changes to the behaviours, diversity, and quantity of aarluk and other culturally significant species (e.g., narwhal) near Pond Inlet; develop an inventory of practical changes prompted by the presence of aarluk; and survey and analyze changes to community perceptions of aarluk and changing hunting, health and safety, and purchasing practices.
This award is made possible by an endowment from the children of the late Peter and Kay McGeer. The McGeers were avid travellers who had a special affinity for the Arctic and its inhabitants.
The annual ACUNS Awards Program supports post-secondary students in diverse disciplines of northern studies who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to northern communities. Funding for the awards comes from the Canadian Northern Studies Trust and private donors. Since 1982, ACUNS has helped more than 700 students reach their academic goals. Our awards alumni have gone on to successful careers in northern research, academia, politics, law, and the arts. To learn more about our past recipients, please see our Annual Reports, found on our Members page.
We are very grateful to our donors who make these scholarships possible.
Thank you also to our ACUNS Awards Committee for adjudicating all the candidates.