“Ice Has Memory”: Reflecting on Scientific Expeditions in the Arctic

Ice is both the narrator and the protagonist in Utuqaq, a short film by award-winning filmmaker, Iva Radivojević. Narrated in Kalaallisut and brought to life by the voice of Inuit microbiologist, Aviaja Lyberth, Utuqaq tells those witnessing that: “Ice has memory. Ice remembers. Ice carries a message.” 

Invited by Rutgers University, Iva joined a group of climate scientists and documented their investigation of the ice sheet loss in Greenland. The second largest body of ice in the world, the Greenland ice sheet covers nearly 1.8 million square kilometres, which is roughly 80% of the surface of the island. According to scientists, that ice is melting seven times faster than in the 1990s. 

Utuqaq—meaning “ice that lasts year after"—provides a visual experience that contemplates the nature of Western scientific expeditions. The sentient ice in this film watches the scientists as they drill and prod, “There are visitors here. What do they want?” the ice asks in the opening scene, as the camera pans over a vast stretch of snow. 

“While filming, I kept thinking about how the history of science and expedition work is not free of colonialism,” says Iva who filmed Utuqaq in 2018 during an Arctic expedition to Greenland, “The scientists are visitors here.” 

In fact, Iva filmed the scientists at a distance to depict them in this way, hoping to capture from the perspective of spirit. “Somebody is watching them. They’re being observed by the spirits of the land, the spirit of the ice.” 

Scientific Expeditions in Greenland 

Greenland is an island with just 57,000 people—many of whom are Inuit. Over the years, there has been an increase of scientists travelling to Greenland to drill ice cores. Studying ice cores helps scientists understand past climate patterns, including how different bodies of ice were formed, and make predictions about melting rates and climate change.  

While studying ice cores provides scientific knowledge on climate change, it often doesn’t include Indigenous ways of being such as hunting, fishing, dogsledding, and camping out on the ice. For years, Inuits have adapted these activities based on changes to the ice. Understanding how these activities are central to their way of life could help enrich and contextualize the story of the ice that's being studied. 

By excluding the customs and cultures of Indigenous Peoples, scientific expeditions can contribute to erasure. These scientific findings are also generally published in Danish and English, overlooking a vast majority of Inuits who communicate solely in Kalaallisut and whose lives will be personally affected by the research being done. 

As the ice tells us in Utuqaq, "to these visitors the landscape is a symbol to be interpreted." By giving a voice to the spirit of the ice, Iva invites us to think about scientific expeditions from its perspective. When a storm hits and lasts for four days, prohibiting the scientists from working, it is the ice that tells us the visitors’ tools have frozen. 

“There are many climate change documentaries out there but my purpose [when making this film] was not to spoon feed information,” she says. “I wanted to make the ice the main character as a way for the viewer to understand what's really being lost.” 

For Iva, to have Utuqaq narrated in Kalaallisut was a way to address Greenland’s colonial history. "Narrating in Danish or English was out of the question,” says Iva, who recalls that Kalaallisut was not even an option when submitting Utuqaq to a film festival. “Not only did Kalaallisut not exist, Greenlandic didn't exist at all, they only had the option to put Danish,” she says. “This is a form of erasure and for me that’s why it’s so important to use languages in my films that are not English. It’s a way to celebrate other cultures.” 

Moving Beyond Western Approaches to Scientific Expeditions 

Of the 28 trillion tonnes of ice lost since the 1990s, 12 trillion tonnes are from the Arctic, including the Greenland ice sheet. It’s part of what’s causing global sea levels to rise at an alarming rate.  

When scientific research is collaborative and inclusive of Indigenous ways of being, research methods and storytelling, it can often lead to more ethical and equitable science. A National Inuit Strategy on Research released by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) outlines strategies for making Arctic research inclusive, such as incorporating Indigenous knowledge when defining the role of research in Inuit regions and communities.  

The ITK identified five priority areas in its strategy:  

• Advancing Inuit governance in research by working with the Government of Canada to create space for Inuit self-determination and Inuit research priorities. 
• Enhancing the ethical conduct of research by holding Western researchers accountable for adhering to existing ethical research guidelines and appointing Inuits to sit on research ethics boards in Canada. 
• Providing Inuit organizations with opportunities to access funding to conduct Inuit-led research. 
• Ensuring Inuit access, ownership, and control over data and information that will impact their people, wildlife, and environment. 
• Building capacity in Inuit research by establishing an Inuit university and investing in Inuit-led training programs to foster future generations of Inuit researchers, empowering Inuits with reliable broadband and internet access, and other measures.  

Similarly, the 2018 Fairbanks Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation emphasized the need for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in scientific research practices employed in the Arctic. It stated that Western researchers should "utilize traditional and local knowledge in the planning and conduct of scientific activities" as a way to advance scientific collaboration.

The Agreement, which was signed by all eight countries that are members of the Arctic Council, recognizes that through years of living on the land, using its resources, and observing changes in the environment, Indigenous Peoples have knowledge that is both culturally and scientifically valuable for Western researchers.  

Up to 80% of Greenland is covered in ice. For centuries, Inuits have relied on sea ice for transportation, for food and for other resources. They have expert knowledge, passed down through generations, on how climate change affects the snow, the glaciers, the fish and animals they hunt, and their livelihoods. This ice that scientists travel to Greenland to study is central to the Inuit way of life. 

“I wanted this film to speak on behalf of nature,” Iva says. With ice as the protagonist, we’re reminded throughout Utuqaq that ice knows the history of the Arctic, the kind of research being done there, and the impacts of climate change. As we’re told in the film, ice is “pregnant with the past and the future.” 

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Want more information about scientific expeditions? 

Watch Utuqaq to learn about the scientific exploration of Greenland from the perspective of ice.