Inuit women, decision-making and contaminants.

This research addresses a fundamental human right- namely, the right to a food supply that is not inherently damaging to one's health. While this is a broad and far-ranging social justice issue in many parts of the world, in this study, I focus on how environmental contaminants pose a potential threat to food security in the circumpolar north. Contaminants represent a potentially significant hazard to the short and long-term health of Arctic natural and human environments and raise questions of environmental justice. This study investigated gendered dimensions of contaminant decision-making on the land, at home and in the community. Fieldwork was conducted in the Inuit village of Inukjuak, Nunavik, Canada and focused on the contemporary use of lead shot by local hunters. Exposure to lead through the consumption of traditional country foods harvested with the use of lead shot affects early neurodevelopment with potential long-term negative consequences. Lead shot is still sold locally and used as ammunition despite the 1994 imposition of a ban on the use of lead shot for hunting migratory gamefowl in Canada. This study was framed as an issue of environmental justice due to the threat to food security posed by contaminants including lead, the availability of lead shot in local stores and the failure of regional health authorities to adequately communicate the potential risks associated with lead shot use to the community. Drawing from aspects of standpoint and postcolonial feminist theoretical perspectives, this community-based study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. Thematic analysis was conducted on data gathered through interviews with Inuit women and men and compared with field notes, participant observation notes and relevant literature on lead as an Arctic contaminant, Indigenous women and decision-making and environmental justice. Survey research was also conducted with women and men involved in hunting activities in Inukjuak. Data collection took place with the involvement of local Inuit