Hosting an Open House on Arctic Char: Lessons Learned in Nain, Nunatsiavut

By Dylan Seidler and Sarah Hobbs

Arctic char are an important, irreplaceable cultural and dietary staple for Nunatsiavummiut (Seidler, 2024). As char are so intertwined with the people of Nunatsiavut, there is a lot of local knowledge, passed down over generations on how char populations have shifted over time.  Our project combines fisheries knowledge and information with federal studies and outside research studies to document the shifts in the char fishery, values associated with the fishery and char populations over time for a holistic understanding of the past, present and future of Arctic char. In addition to working in  partnership with the Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat, Torngat Fish Producers Co-Operative and Nunatsiavut Government Department of Lands and Natural Resources, this project aims to gather Nain community perspectives and develop outputs that are locally relevant.

As a follow up reflection from Sarah’s blog about her first visit to Nain, we wanted to write a separate blog sharing our experiences at our recent open house held from July 12-13 in Nain Nunatsiavut (See Sarah's Blog "Beyond the Field Guide: Reflections from Nain"). This open house was a big success with over 50 community members in attendance. We hope this blog can provide some insights as to effective ways to engage with community members to share initiatives and form partnerships and some lessons learned.

Before the Open House 

Advertise Well: One key for an effective open house is to make sure the community members know about it and feel welcomed to attend. In Nunatsiavut Facebook is the primary method of communication. Each community has a bulletin board where people can post about events they plan to hold in each community. Prior to traveling to Nain, Sarah and I considered the logistics and chose the days to host. We then advertised our open house a week before on the facebook page and two days prior. Sarah and I arrived in Nain on Wednesday in order to spread the word about the open house in person for two days prior to hosting it. We put flyers up at groceries stores, the Nuantsaivut Offices, the hotel and the post office.

Advertise the Event on Multiple Platforms: If we could do one thing differently prior to the open house, it would have been to build in more time to get the word out. We would advertise the event on facebook a month in advance as we found that most members of the community found out about this event on facebook, not through the physical flyers. Each time you post on the page, a new audience sees it. Second, while we were able to do a radio interview at the OKâlaKatiget society or local radio station, we were not able to schedule this until after our open house. The radio interview provided more individualized context on our project and was translated into Inuktitut. If we were able to do the interview prior to the open house we could have brought more people in then just sharing our poster.

Having community connections beforehand: For first-time visitors, establishing connections in the community can be challenging. In a place like Nain, where many people know one another, word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to share information. Looking back, it would have been helpful to spend a few extra days in the community before the open house, or to arrive with more pre-established relationships, so the word could spread earlier. Once the event began, we noticed that many attendees came because friends had already visited and passed along what we were doing, showing just how powerful community connections are for outreach.

Timing and Dates: Being flexible about dates and times is useful. We were prepared to switch our days and timing if an event came up. Keep an eye out on the facebook board and make sure there is not a sudden event in the community, such as a funeral. If such an event arises the respectful thing is to cancel the event and reschedule. Regarding days of the week, community members often go out on the land one day over the weekends, therefore having the open house over two days was useful. One week day and one weekend day might be ideal. In the future people are more likely to show up in the afternoon hours. We initially booked ourselves from 9-5 and found this was a long time. For future planning it is best to shorten the hours to a specified window while being open to extending the hours if explicit interest is stated.

Seasonality: Our open house dates happened to coincide with a heat wave in Nain. While we had one fan the location of the room meant that the room was very warm during our first day of our open house. We provided extra drinks to attempt to accommodate this, but this still impacted the number of visitors to the open house on day one. It is important to consider shifting timing of events if there are weather considerations.

Space: We opened the room we booked a day early to set up a space. While having a lot of different activities are useful, it is important that the materials brought still make sense in the overall room set up. For example, we knew we would be walking individual groups around the room and had introductory posters set up as an initial guide into activities. We walked ourselves through the process beforehand which helped prepare us for the event.  

 Incentive to Attend: In addition to explaining the nature of the open house it is useful to have a raffle or door prize set up. This incentivizes people who may be hesitant to come to the event to submit their names. Incentives proved to be a great way to encourage attendance, and once people arrived and began talking with us, it was clear they were genuinely interested in what we were doing. This allows for different conversations and allows for the open house to reach a broader audience.

The Importance of Food: Free food and snacks draw audiences that may be uncertain or apprehensive about attending an open house. It is important to consider the type of food you serve. We served smoked Arctic char and this was a very big draw as char is an important staple for many people in Nain.  When preparing for our event we underestimated the amount of food needed and ended up going back to the store to get more food. It is important to build this contingency plan if you are hosting an event over multiple days. By serving food at the event we were able to speak with community members who otherwise would not have attended.

The display showing food brought for each day of the open house. Smoked char and veggies/snacks as well as drinks. 

During the Open House

A picture of us during open house set up in front of the introductory posters

Persistence:  We found out that there is no such thing as being too pushy when it comes to letting people know about this event online. Our first morning no one showed up to our open house, and we started to worry that no one would. Our friend in the community, an Inuit Research Coordinator suggested we post the food and the event again and sure enough people then began to show up immediately. Community members have busy lives, it is important to keep reminding them of the event.

A photo of the reminder update and photos on the Nain Facebook bulletin board. There were several reactions on the day of.

Expect the Unexpected: During the event and throughout preparations it is important to not have any expectations. As much as planning factors in, you do not know who will show up or how many. Keep in mind that in smaller communities, getting only a few people to show up still means the event was a success. Whether two people attend or fifty, any opportunity to speak with community members should be considered a success. It’s important to adjust how you define success, valuing the conversations and lessons that emerge from the process rather than focusing on the specific outcome. While the unknown element can create stress and anxiety it is useful to acknowledge that you have done all the preparations you can and just take each day as it comes.

Wide Variety of Activities: It is important to have the open house format be interactive, as this allows for more rich conversations where community members can share their thoughts, ideas and opinions. The lecture format will not engage people. You want to allow people to be active participants. This means listening to their stories and responding with your own. We had several open comment boards and an interactive map that engaged people and allowed them to share old fishing stories. We had a variety of community members at the open house event from elders, to families, to individual fishers. Having a variety of activities allows for community members to choose the level to which they would like to be engaged. We also made sure to have a separate activity for children (coloring pages) as many people in the community brought their entire family to the open house.

A display of some of the posters and activities around the room during the open house.

A display of the kids colouring pages

Reflection poster with comments from open house participants

After the open house 

Extending Methods: During the open house, an Inuit artist came to the event. We were able to speak to her about the ways char factors into her art work and set up the possibility for future collaborations. The next event will ideally include art pieces and other interactive mediums for people to contribute to. When developing ways to share information, it is useful to consider how to develop a wide variety of activities and speak to community members about the types of things they have an interest in.

Following-up: It is important to be clear about when you plan to next visit the community and how you plan to continue to share outcomes of the project. If you promise to return to a community it is essential to follow up and plan another event. This open house was held during the project prior to results being fully developed. It was helpful to determine if this project was relevant to community-specific concerns.

Maintain Connections: During the open house, we established a group of initial contacts, who we continue to update even while not physically present in the region. One great method is to friend people on facebook as email communications are less common in the region. You can even post updates or create pages if your project has lots of photos and videos to share.

Facilitating Future Research: For Sarah, who was planning to conduct interviews in Nain after the open house, the event served as a valuable platform to connect with potential participants. She kept a sign-up sheet available in the room, which allowed her to share information about her project and give community members the option to express interest in taking part. This approach not only helped her get her foot in the door but also generated momentum, as individuals who signed up often suggested others she could interview.

Taking Time to Reflect: When organizing an event like this, it’s important to make space for reflection. Keeping a fieldwork journal is a useful way to do so. At the end of each day, writing down the highs and lows, noting what worked well and what could be improved, helps capture lessons while they’re fresh. Even quick notes jotted down during the open house about conversations you wanted to remember, can later be expanded into more detailed reflections. This practice not only provides something valuable to look back on but can also serve as a resource for other researchers undertaking similar work in the future.

 

Resources

Seidler, August 28, 2024,  “Char and Inuit Food Security: Experiences at the Char Monitoring Station Fraser River, Nunatsiavut, Bailey Lab Blog https://www.meganbailey.ca/post/char-and-inuit-food-security-experiences-at-the-char-monitoring-station-fraser-river-nunatsiavut