scholarly journals The persistence of conflict avoidance among the King Island Inupiat

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Paniataaq Kingston
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Geography ◽  
Ethnic Background ◽  
Principal Investigator ◽  
Conflict Avoidance ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Place Names ◽  
Community Members ◽  
The North

Abstract During the summers of 2005 and 2006, a group of Ugiuvangmiut (King Island Inupiat) and western scientists participated in a project entitled “Documenting the Cultural Geography, Biogeography, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of King Island, Alaska.” The intent was to bring Ugiuvangmiut to King Island in order to document and map place names, as well as archaeological and subsistence sites. Throughout fieldwork, conflicts occurred between scientists, between community members, and between scientists and community members. As the principal investigator, I confronted one conflict in 2005, but my actions exacerbated long-standing tensions within the community and I was later advised by two community members that I should not have confronted the conflict. When conflict occurred again in 2006, instead of confronting the conflict, I chose to take a break from the project for several days. The result was that the overt conflict within the community lessened. Based upon these experiences and other examples, I conclude that conflict avoidance still persists among the Ugiuvangmiut. In addition, I “write against culture” (to borrow Abu-Lughod’s phrase) to explain how my mixed ethnic background and the backgrounds of two community members resulted in actions that run counter to conflict avoidance, showing that there are “multiple, shifting, and competing” cultural values at play. I end with suggestions for scientists conducting fieldwork in the North.

scholarly journals Delivering Post-Secondary STEM Education on the North Slope, Alaska: Resilience and Adaptation

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Nicholas-Figueroa ◽  
Raymond Barnhardt ◽  
Lawrence Duffy ◽  
Kriya Dunlap ◽  
Mary Van Muelken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
Boarding Schools ◽  
Tribal College ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Western Science ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
The North

<p>Prior to the 1960s, the majority of rural students seeking an education moved from their village to regional population hubs to attend boarding schools. Based on western curricula, boarding schools did not recognize traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Post-secondary education opportunities were only available in Fairbanks, Anchorage or Sitka, however, TEK or Alaska Native world views were not addressed in science course offerings. Upon gaining the right to provide education at the local level, the North Slope Borough (NSB) of Alaska incorporated Iñupiat educational philosophies into the educational system. The NSB, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, established Iḷisaġvik College, the only tribal college in Alaska. Now independently accredited, Iḷisaġvik offers 2-yr academic degrees and certificates in Allied Health programs, and is developing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. Iḷisaġvik seeks to broaden STEM education on the North Slope to meet the needs of employers and research in fields such as climate science. Courses bridging TEK and western science have been developed as a means of introducing STEM education to North Slope students. These courses include summer science camps, workshops, college curriculum, and internships. Relationships between local and visiting educators, scientists, community scholars, and Elders facilitate closing the TEK and western science gap.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Science, Education, Tribal College, Alaska Native, Traditional Ecological Knowledge</p>

scholarly journals Culturally Driven Monitoring: The Importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge Indicators in Understanding Aquatic Ecosystem Change in the Northwest Territories’ Dehcho Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7923
Author(s):  
Sydney Stenekes ◽  
Brenda Parlee ◽  
Cristiana Seixas
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Hydroelectric Development ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Quality Water

There is growing concern about the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems in northern Canada that are under significant stress from climate change, resource development, and hydroelectric development, among others. Community-based monitoring (CBM) based on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has the potential to contribute to understanding impacts on the environment and community livelihoods. This paper shares insights about culturally driven monitoring, through collaborative research with Kátł’odeeche First Nation (KFN) in the Northwest Territories. This research was initiated in 2018 to improve understanding of the changes occurring in the Hay River and Buffalo River sub-basins, which extend primarily across the Alberta and Northwest Territories borders. Drawing on 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with KFN elders, fish harvesters, and youth, this paper illustrates the kinds of social–ecological indicators used by KFN to track changes in the health of aquatic systems as well as the fishing livelihoods of local people. Utilizing indicators, fishers observe declines in fish health, water quality, water quantity, and ice thickness in their lifetime. Community members perceive these changes to be a result of the cumulative effects of environmental stressors. The indicators as well as trends and patterns being observed and experienced can contribute to both social learning in the community as well as the governance of the larger Mackenzie River Basin.

scholarly journals Regional Ranking of Marine Turtle Nesting in Remote Western Australia by Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Remote Sensing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 4696
Author(s):  
Anton Tucker ◽  
Kellie Pendoley ◽  
Kathy Murray ◽  
Graham Loewenthal ◽  
Chris Barber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Olive Ridley ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Green Turtles ◽  
The North ◽  
Aerial Photogrammetry

Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coastline spans multiple Traditional Owner estates. Marine turtle nesting distribution and abundance in Indigenous Protected Areas and newly declared Marine Parks were assessed by aerial photogrammetry surveys for the Austral summer and winter nesting seasons. Images of nesting tracks were quantified in the lab and verified by ad hoc ground patrols. The rankings of log-scaled plots of track abundance and density give guidance to regional co-management planning. Spatial and temporal differences were detected in that remoter islands had higher nesting usage and few terrestrial predators. The surveys found year-round green turtle nesting peaking in summer, as well as spatial boundaries to the summer and winter flatback stocks. Summer surveys recorded 126.2 island activities per km and 17.7 mainland activities per km. Winter surveys recorded 65.3 island activities per km and quantified a known winter mainland rookery with 888 tracks/km. The three highest density rookeries were found to be winter flatback turtles at Cape Domett, summer green turtles at the Lacepede Islands and summer flatback turtles at Eighty Mile Beach. Moderate to lesser density nesting by summer green turtles and winter flatback turtles occurred in the North Kimberley offshore islands. Traditional Ecological Knowledge and ground-based surveys verified the harder-to-detect species (olive ridley or hawksbill turtles) with irregular nesting, low track persistence and non-aggregated nesting. Higher-density rookeries may provide locations for long-term monitoring using repeated aerial or ground surveys; however, the sparse or infrequently nesting species require insights gleaned by Tradition Ecological Knowledge. Common and conspicuous nesters are easily detected and ranked, but better-informed co-management requires additional ground surveys or surveys timed with the reproductive peaks of rarer species.

scholarly journals The San values of conflict prevention and avoidance in Platfontein

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Mollema
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Interpersonal Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situation ◽  
Violent Conflict ◽  
Conflict Avoidance ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
Community Members

The aim of this article is to identify measures that can prevent violent conflict through the maintenance of traditional cultural values that guide conflict avoidance. Moreover, the article focuses on the concepts of conflict prevention and conflict avoidance as applied by the San community of Platfontein. The causes of the inter-communal tensions between the San community members are also examined. A selected conflict situation, that of superstition and witchcraft, is assessed as factors increasing interpersonal conflict in the Platfontein community. This investigation is made to determine if the San preventive measures have an impact in the community, so as to prevent ongoing conflicts from escalating further.

A Stream Is Always Giving Life: Communities Reclaim Native Science and Traditional Ways to Prevent Diabetes and Promote Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Satterfield ◽  
Lemyra DeBruyn ◽  
Carolee Francis ◽  
Aiko Allen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
Physical Inactivity ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Tribal Communities ◽  
Indian Country ◽  
Native Science

Rare in Indian country just sixty years ago, type 2 diabetes mellitus is now woven into the fabric of losses in tribal communities across North America. Westernized lifestyles, with coincident obesity and physical inactivity, are powerful risk factors for this relatively new "disease of civilization." The web of causation is thicker and wider than obesity and physical activity alone, intertwined by historical, economic, environmental, and sociological roots. As diabetes-related morbidity, disability, and mortality continue to increase in communities around the globe, many tribal elders recall when diabetes was almost unknown. They remember being taught how to stay healthy, lessons that were part of their "traditional ecological knowledge," a symbolic and informational knowledge that is grounded in cultural values and practices, and refined through generations of observation, experimentation, and adaptation. In these conversations, the elders' traditional ecological knowledge richly illustrates the cultural capital that supported their survival and helped maintain the health of their communities even when they had to face challenging times. The purpose of this article is to describe a number of dynamic, tribally driven efforts that draw on traditional ecological knowledge to address the problem of diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

scholarly journals Differential loss of components of traditional ecological knowledge following a primate extinction event

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 172352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Turvey ◽  
Jessica V. Bryant ◽  
Katherine A. McClune
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Hainan Island ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
History Information ◽  
Species Specific

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), an important component of the modern conservation toolkit, is being eroded in indigenous communities around the world. However, the dynamics of TEK loss in response to ecosystem change and disruption to social–ecological systems, and patterns of variation in vulnerability and resilience of different components of TEK, remain poorly understood. The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), a culturally significant primate, was formerly distributed across Hainan Island, China, but became extinct across most of this range within living memory and is now restricted to a single landscape, Bawangling National Nature Reserve. Gibbon-specific TEK (including folktales, natural history information and methods of gibbon exploitation) is still present in indigenous communities across seven Hainanese landscapes, but statistically significant differences in TEK content exist between landscapes with different histories of gibbon persistence: respondents from Bawangling and most landscapes that have recently lost gibbons report more gibbon-related folktales compared with landscapes from which gibbons have been absent for several decades. Species-specific folktales might have been lost more rapidly compared with other components of TEK because older community members are typically the ‘cultural repositories’ of stories, whereas knowledge about practical interactions with biodiversity might be shared more widely with younger community members.

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