Kawerak’s Social Sciences Program hosted the Regional Tribal Research Priorities Gathering, January 26-29, in Nome. Over 50 Tribal Council representatives from the region’s Tribes came together to discuss priorities for research in their communities. Some of the delegates brought years of experience in working with or witnessing research in their communities. Others were fairly new to exploring questions around research. What brought everyone together, (besides Vanessa Tahbone’s amazing baked salmon, Darlene Katchatag’s delicious beef stew and Lucy Valdez’s tasty tacos,) was a shared commitment to seeing our communities thrive.
Native Village of St. Michael delegate Theresa Kobuk said, with her health background, that she came into the week’s conversation with a focus on health and well-being for her people. She vocalized the need to focus research on health issues in our communities, not just with Elders but with younger generations, also. St. Michael sees health concerns on the rise with a diverse range of ages of their community. Theresa said she learned a lot from listening to the conversations over the week, connecting and learning with others.
“Finding out what others are experiencing in their communities, things we have in common, was a real eye-opener,” she said.
Alexis Rexford is a Caleb Scholar and Kawerak Higher Education Scholarship recipient currently living in Fairbanks and attending University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). She attended the week’s gathering as a delegate for the Native Village of Gambell. Alexis said she was looking forward to connecting with others from her home region and to learning about shared priorities and research experiences. Alexis said she knows that not all research done in the region has been beneficial.
“There has been harm done. But I feel hopeful for cooperation,” she said.
Alexis hears of work being done on the part of researchers connecting with communities and honoring Indigenous knowledge.
“Our systems are the blueprint. Western science is starting to catch up,” she said.
The Social Science team invited facilitators to host conversations throughout the week, helping to guide the delegates in discussions about their research experiences and community goals for the future. This behind-the-scenes team included both Kawerak staff and Alaska Native scholars with ties to the region. A special thanks to Kawerak staffers Spencer Weinstein, Gabe Smith, Vanessa Tahbone, Jeff Collins, Amanda Toerdal, and Sigvanna Tapqaq for holding conversation space and making the gathering in Nome possible.
Facilitators that joined included Warren Jones, Margaret Rudolph and Kristen Reece. Warren has roots in the region and currently works with Indigenous Leadership Institute on helping Tribes establish or grow Indigenous guardians and stewardship programming. Margaret is a Tribal member of King Island and Alaska Native scholar in a postdoctoral fellowship at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at UAF where she “researches the researchers.” Kristen is also at UAF’s IARC in Fairbanks as a master’s student and a Caleb Scholar in the current cohort studying earth systems science and sustainability. These Alaska Native scholars also shared their experiences in a panel presentation for the gathering.
Conversations included communities’ experiences with scientific researchers, noting what worked well and what didn’t. Delegates also brainstormed and collaborated on topics of interest on-the-ground in our communities. Discussions touched on a variety of topics including salmon population decline, food security, the high cost of living, climate change, infrastructure challengesand more.
With this information discussed and documented, Kawerak’s Social Science Program can move forward with their work, connecting with researchers and applying for grant funding, with a renewed focus on our communities’ priorities, an grounded in the wealth of knowledge and accumulated wisdom our region holds.
Stacey Lucason, Julie Raymond-Yakoubian and Lisa Ellanna organized the weeks’ events with a lot of on-the-ground support from Kawerak staff Dylanne Nassuk and Kawerak Accounting. Stacey said it really was a team effort.
The issues and priorities identified by participants during the gathering will be put into a report and sent to the Tribal Councils in the region for their additional input and review.
