Research

Tamamta (All of Us): Transforming Indigenous and Western Fisheries and Marine Sciences Together

Lead Project Team: University of Alaska Fairbanks: Courtney Carothers, Jessica Black (Gwich’in), Charlene Stern (Gwich'in), Peter Westley, Seth Danielson

Funded by National Science Foundation

Tamamta, a Yup’ik and Sugpiaq word meaning 'all of us', is centered on elevating 14,000+ years of Indigenous stewardship and bridging Indigenous and Western sciences to transform graduate education and research in fisheries and marine sciences.

Tamamta website

Atautchikkun Iḷitchisukłuta: Coming Together to Learn

Key Project Team: University of Alaska Fairbanks: Courtney Carothers, Jessica Black (Gwich’in), Peter Westley, Seth Danielson; First Alaskans Institute: Liz La quen náay Kat Saas Medicine Crow (Haida and Tlingit), Barbara‘Wáahlaal Gidáak Blake (Ahtna, Haida and Tlingit)

Funded by National Science Foundation

Project Objectives

-Build and strengthen the relationships necessary to ethically and meaningfully engage western and Indigenous scientists fully in collaborative research to holistically understand Arctic change.

-Develop a mutually respectful process for co-creating research questions and conceptual model that will guide and form the centerpiece of a grant proposal.

-Provide a safe space for mutual learning through the inclusion and mentorship of Indigenous youth as the next generation of scientists and community leaders.

Indigenizing Salmon Science and Management

Funded by National Science Foundation & Salmon Connect Partnership; PI: Jessica Black (Gwich'in Athabascan) co-PI: Rachel Donkersloot

Inequities in the salmon system are paramount. These inequities stem from a historical context of colonialism, and are perpetuated in current management systems. These inequities are evident in many dimensions of the salmon system, including: the criminalization of subsistence, the dramatic loss of Alaska Native fishing rights, and the exclusion and marginalization of Tribes, Alaska Native fishing families and communities and Indigenous values and ways of knowing from science and management processes. These inequities have had significant effects on community health and wellbeing on multiple levels and affect the ability of future generations to learn, grow, and continue traditional lifeways. These issues will not be reconciled until Indigenous voices are meaningfully heard and given power to enact and participate in the decision-making processes. The goal of the Indigenizing Salmon Management is to use a deeply participatory approach to document the breadth and depth of Indigenous values, knowledge, management and governance systems connected to salmon across Alaska and to use this wisdom to improve the current salmon management systems in Alaska.

Project website

State of Alaska's Salmon and People: Social and Cultural Dimensions and Well-being in Alaska's Salmon Systems

Funded by University of California, Santa Barbara, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

Social and cultural dimensions workgroup (co-PI: Black): Alaska’s salmon ecosystems support a wide range of social and cultural values for people. Salmon are a cultural keystone species for many of the Indigenous cultures in Alaska and contribute to the physical, social, economic, cultural, spiritual, psychological and emotional well-being of people in communities across the state. They form the backbone of the commercial fishing economy and are highly valued for food procurement and resident and tourist recreation. Overall, salmon play integral and diverse roles in the society, cultures, and economies of Alaska. In this state of knowledge synthesis of the social and cultural dimensions of salmon systems in Alaska, we are exploring three guiding topics: (1) Social and cultural values and relationships between salmon and people (2) Trends in human populations and uses of salmon (3) Key threats to salmon-dependent communities

Well-being workgroup (PI: Donkersloot): Human well-being has been widely promoted as an important dimension of sustainability, and is increasingly gaining application in fisheries. Efforts to measure well-being and to incorporate these dimensions into resource governance and decision-making remain hamstrung by availability of data and broad assumptions about important components of quality of life and well-being. In the context of Alaska salmon systems, clearly defined measures are needed to create a baseline and monitor well-being variables, especially given current management concerns surrounding climate change, resource development, and in many cases, the alienation of long-standing fishing communities and local resource users from the resource base (e.g., out-migration of fishing permits from rural and Alaska Native communities). This ‘state of the knowledge’ synthesis is driven by a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural dialogue with the aim of understanding interdependencies between sociocultural and ecological systems, salmon-human con- nections and contributions to well-being in Alaska, and relationships between management and well-being. We pay special attention to well-being concepts inclusive of Indigenous people’s priorities and perspectives. Workgroup members include Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, practitioners, and knowledge bearers from diverse communities across Alaska, and other expertise representing a range of disciplines, organizations and governmental bodies.

Graying of the Fleet in Alaska's Fisheries: Defining the Problem and Assessing Alternatives

Funded by: Alaska Sea Grant and North Pacific Research Board; Co-PIs: Rachel Donkersloot & Paula Cullenberg

This study seeks to better define the problem of the “graying of the fleet,” a pressing concern for the state of Alaska, and to assess and develop alternatives that will help address this growing problem. This ethnographic research project based in the vital commercial fishing regions of Bristol Bay and Kodiak, Alaska will: 1) document and compare barriers to entry into, and upward mobility within, fisheries among youth and young fishery participants; 2) examine the factors influencing young people’s attitudes towards, and level of participation in, Alaska fisheries; 3) identify models of successful pathways to establishing fishing careers among young residents; and 4) identify potential policy responses to address the graying of the fleet and develop specific recommendations consistent with the state and federal legal frameworks.

Project website

Check us out on facebook!

Recent press

Turning the Tide report

Leadership and Strength in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska

Funded by: National Science Foundation; Co-PI: Laura Zanotti

Since 2009, we have partnered with community leaders to collaboratively design a project that shares community members’ stories about living well in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. This project draws from the Iñupiat Values and the Iñupiaq Learning Framework as models for leadership, strength and healing. Our project goal is to collect these stories for the community and future generations. We use a community-based framework to show how women and men across generations build leadership, strength and community well-being. We root our work in a participatory and inclusive approach where research and learning projects are part of larger decolonization processes. (NSF link)

Project website

Best practices for researchers video

Fisheries Privatization, Sociocultural Transitions, and Well-Being in Kodiak, Alaska

(Funded by: National Science Foundation)

Scholars and fishermen alike view the privatization of fishing rights as a fundamental driver of change in fishing livelihoods and communities. Expanding upon ethnographic research conducted in rural fishing communities in the Gulf of Alaska, this project explores the social and cultural shifts linked to the privatization of fishing rights in the diverse fishing community of Kodiak, Alaska. This study has three primary objectives: 1) to understand how the privatization of fishing rights has been experienced across diverse human groups that participate in fishery systems, 2) to explore the relative importance and magnitude of the impacts of fisheries privatization compared with other ecological, economic, and technological drivers of change, and 3) to assess the relationship between the social and cultural shifts linked to fishery privatization and individual and community well-being. This ethnographic study, employing mixed methods of interviews, surveys, participant observation and archival research, will provide rich qualitative and systematic quantitative data to assess how regulatory and related changes affect the social and cultural dimensions of fishery systems and fishing communities. This study also informs resource policy development. As fishery economists, managers, environmental groups, and popular media sources increasingly advocate for the widespread privatization of marine resources, the social and cultural implications of these transitions need to be explored and documented. The research will provide insights on how the diversity of livelihoods and values can be better accounted for in resource management policy in the arctic, sub-arctic and beyond. (NSF link)

Project website

Climate Change and Subsistence Fisheries in Northwest Alaska

(Funded by: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Co-PI: Lopez)

This study documented local observations of climate change relevant to subsistence fisheries in three communities in Northwest Alaska: Noatak, Selawik, and Shungnak. Utilizing a participatory research design, scientists and community partners systematically documented traditional ecological knowledge of climate and related ecological changes that affect the harvest, processing, and practices of subsistence fisheries. This documentation, along with an analysis of the prevalence and perceived importance of such observations, informs adaptive subsistence management that can respond to changing environmental conditions

Subsistence Use and Knowledge of Beaufort Sea Salmon Populations

(Funded by: U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)

The designation of the entire Outer Continental Shelf of the Beaufort Sea as Essential Fish Habitat for Pacific salmon populations combined with local observations of increasing numbers of salmon in subsistence fisheries has generated a need for more information about salmon use, distribution, and survival in the North Slope region. This study addressed this knowledge gap by synthesizing relevant research and conducting ethnographic fieldwork with Inupiaq informants about changing salmon populations. This study provides a better understanding of the human and ecological environments that could be potentially affected by offshore oil and gas development in the Beaufort Sea. This study documents the historic and current importance of salmon as a subsistence resource and will also contextualize salmon among the suite of subsistence resources in this region.