Infrastructure Development and Community Food Security in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Impacts of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway.

Inuit food systems are culturally and geographically distinct, and experience challenges frominterconnected socio-political and ecological factors. The relative remoteness and isolation ofArctic communities contributes to a high cost of living, coupled with high costs to ship and storeperishable, nutritious food. As a result, food security remains a persistent obstacle for many Arcticcommunities. In response to these challenges, alongside the need to increase access toresources and create opportunities for economic growth, road infrastructure development projectshave become increasingly favored in northern regions. The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH),the first all-weather road to Canada’s Arctic coast, represents one such project. Although the ITHis a relatively small road project, it exemplifies global trends in road-building and Indigenousrights, underscoring the critical intersections between infrastructure development and Indigenouswell-being. The impact of new roads on Arctic Indigenous communities remains largely underresearched. My research addresses this gap through a collaborative case study with the hamletof Tuktoyaktuk, a community in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) which gained all-seasonroad access with the 2017 opening of the ITH. Drawing on findings from community focus groups,interviews and a household survey currently underway in Tuktoyaktuk we are examining localperspectives on the impacts of the ITH, including key trends connected to food access,harvesting, travel and community wellbeing.