When Alexandra Langwieder began her research on polar bears in eastern James Bay in 2021, she wasn’t just gathering data. She was entering into a relationship with the land and its people. A PhD candidate at McGill University and a member of its Northern Wildlife Knowledges Lab, led by Murray Humphries, Langwieder recognized that Cree Knowledge Holders offered a depth of insight that no satellite image or scientific model could match. Today, her work is part of a growing movement that brings together Indigenous communities, academic researchers and government agencies to understand how climate change is affecting polar bears and other sea-ice-dependent species in James Bay and Hudson Bay.
This collaboration recently received a significant boost through a grant from the Weston Family Foundation’s Northern Biodiversity Research Program worth $2.5 million over three years. The grant supports an interdisciplinary research team that includes Langwieder, the Mushkegowuk Council, the Eeyou Marine Region Management Board, academic institutions and federal and provincial partners. The goal: to weave Western science with Cree knowledge and produce research that not only advances ecological understanding but also addresses the priorities of the Indigenous communities in the region.
“Local knowledge plays a huge role in shaping our research,” Langwieder said. “We’re able to build and test hypotheses that come directly from people’s lived experiences on the land, insights you’d never find in the scientific literature.”
Community-led research
That learning began in earnest when she arrived in the region, supported by her first Weston award in Northern Research, at a time when local concerns about polar bears were growing. Communities reported more frequent bear encounters at camps, raising safety concerns and disrupting traditional harvesting practices. In response, the Cree leadership identified polar bear research as a high priority, making this the first community-led polar bear project in the area.
Local partners on the east coast of James Bay advocated for non-invasive research methods. While researchers in other Arctic regions capture and handle bears to track movements and collect biological samples, Cree communities asked Langwieder to avoid handling the bears. Instead, the team turned to techniques such as hair snares and camera traps, methods that respect animal welfare while still producing high-quality scientific data.
These ethical choices are part of a broader approach that weaves Cree knowledge systems into every stage of the project. Community members contribute decades of observations about polar bear behaviour, sea-ice conditions and shifting wildlife patterns. These insights not only inform scientific questions but also help researchers interpret complex genetic and ecological data. “Formal interviews with Knowledge Holders are a key part of what we do,” said Langwieder. “They provide in-depth context that helps us understand the bigger picture of polar bears in James Bay and what the numbers from the field are actually telling us.”
Sea-ice survey
The team’s research focuses on three main goals: understanding how polar bears use the last remnants of sea ice as melt seasons grow longer; identifying what makes the James Bay bears genetically and ecologically unique; and developing maps and predictive models to show where bears are likely to live in the future. These tools aim to support conservation planning, regional co-ordination and peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife.
Sea ice is central to the polar bear’s survival. As the ice melts earlier in the season, bears lose crucial time to hunt seals, their primary food source, before entering periods of fasting. In James Bay, it’s not clear how this may affect the bears. Langwieder’s collaborators are conducting an ice survey to identify where the last ice lingers each spring, offering critical insight into the narrow feeding windows that shape polar bear health.
Genetic data gathered by the biopsy darts and hair snares is helping researchers track individual bears, assess how far they travel and understand whether management should be region-wide or community-specific. Whether the bears travel between east and west sides of the Bay and how loyal they are to their summer habitat are not well understood. A planned seal survey in 2026, in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, will further enhance the picture by updating decades-old data on seal populations and helping determine how much food is available for the bears.
“What’s exciting is the integration of different approaches, from high-tech remote surveys to on-the-land Cree Knowledge and fieldwork,” Langwieder said. “And because our team includes decision-makers, the research can directly inform conservation policies.” Polar bears are a flagship species, she explained, with enormous ecological and political weight. Protecting them means safeguarding the entire Arctic ecosystem.
Shared responsibility
The collaboration is about more than data, it’s about trust, respect and shared responsibility. Langwieder said her understanding of the land has changed through conversations with members of the Cree communities.
“As someone new to the region, I’ve learned things that I never would have encountered through academic study alone. This approach has made the research far more dynamic and deeply shaped the direction of my PhD,” she said.
That philosophy is at the core of the Northern Wildlife Knowledges Lab, where Langwieder chose to pursue her doctorate. The lab is based at Macdonald Campus.
“I joined the lab because of its approach to co-create research from the ground up with local communities,” she said. “That value system really resonated with me. Research shouldn’t be disconnected from the people who live on the land and hold deep knowledge of the ecosystems. I came to James Bay hoping to build true partnerships, not just carry out a pre-set project with community support.”
Now, with an expanding network of collaborators and funding to match the scale of the questions being asked, that vision is becoming a reality. The work is helping scientists, communities and policymakers alike to navigate an uncertain future, one shaped by climate change, but grounded in the enduring strength of Cree Knowledge and the power of partnership.