Deeper Sense of Place, A: Stories and Journeys of Collaboration in Indigenous Research

Indigenous and Western Science Partners in Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation in Alaska

179 Indigenous and Western Science Partners in Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation in Alaska SARAH F. TRAINOR Alaska is “ground zero” for climate change in the United States. Statewide, average annual temperatures have increased 3ºF since 1949, with the greatest warming occurring in the winter months, averaging nearly 6ºF warming. Alaska’s Indigenous peoples are arguably disproportionately affected by a changing climate in part because of their close connection to the land for nutrition and cultural identity (Trainor, Chapin, et al. 2007; Trainor, Godduhn, et al. 2009). Ecological conditions are changing, affecting subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering (Huntington and Fox 2005). Sea ice extent, thickness, and dynamics are changing, affecting subsistence hunting and coastal erosion, which threatens homes and community infrastructure (Markon, Trainor, et al. 2012). Lakes are draining and drying, affecting water fowl and fish habitat (Riordan, Verbyla, and McGuire 2006). River and stream temperatures are changing, which can contribute to fish disease and stress (Kyle and Brabets 2001). The timing and character of seasons are changing, affecting subsistence hunting, gathering, and fishing and creating unsafe travel conditions on partially frozen rivers and bays (Berner and Furgal 2005; Krupnik and Jolly 2002). People are observing insects, plants, and animals that they have not seen before in their home regions (Krupnik and Jolly 2002). During a year-long process to create climate change adaptation policy recommendations , a dedicated Health and Culture Adaptation Advisory Group1 was part of the Governor’s Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change. Much attention and publicity have been focused on Shishmaref, Kivalina, and Newtok, communities that are among those in need of immediate relocation (Lempinen 2006). However, more attention to the Indigenous perspective in discussion of climate change policy and adaptation is needed. I compiled the information presented here from a series of workshops, video conferences, and discussions focusing on climate change impacts and adaptation in Native communities, hosted by the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and 180 INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE PARTNERS Policy (ACCAP) at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF), between November 2007 and April 2009. ACCAP is one of several Regional Integrated Science and Assessment (RISA) programs in the United States, funded by the Climate Program Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).2 In operation since 2006, ACCAP’s mission is to assess the socioeconomic and biophysical impacts of climate variability in Alaska, make this information available to local and regional decision makers, and improve the ability of Alaskans to adapt to a changing climate. In its first three years of operations (2006–2009), ACCAP hosted several projects that engaged Alaska’s Indigenous peoples in climate change science outreach and adaptation planning. This chapter interprets three of these events as a way of describing how I have come to understand a deeper sense of my own place as a white, Western-trained social scientist working with Alaska Indigenous peoples on climate change impact assessment and adaptation planning. I also derived ideas and perspectives in this chapter from discussions and commentary during workshops, field trips, and interviews conducted as part of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, interdisciplinary Human-Fire Interactions project funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs.3 Interactions: Dialogues, Discussions, and Workshop Preparing for Climate Change Workshop, Kotzebue, Alaska In November 2007, ACCAP hosted a two-day climate change adaptation workshop in Kotzebue. This workshop was a response to a request for information and assistance in planning and preparing for continuing climate change impacts in the Northwest Arctic Borough. The workshop was organized in conjunction with Maniilaq Association (the regional Native nonprofit service organization), the Northwest Arctic Borough (NWAB), the Chukchi Campus of the University of Alaska, and the City of Kotzebue. NWAB employees also engaged the NANA Elder’s Council (NANA is the regional Native for-profit corporation). The goals of the workshop were to explore ways that research at the University of Alaska can address the information needs of people in Northwest Alaska; provide community members an opportunity to discuss and develop specific plans to prepare and respond proactively to current and projected future changes; engage community members in current research at UAF, particularly in the Social Vulnerability to Climate Change of Alaskan Coasts.4 A central focus of this project was to identify specific weather patterns and combinations that most affect economic activity in the region. ACCAP provided travel funding for representatives from the NANA Regional Elders Council and from tribal and city governments in each village in the region [3.141...