Traditional Knowledge Transect: Engaging Communities in Discussions of Environmental Change through a Dog Sled Expedition Across Northeastern Alaska

在阿拉斯加，气候和环境变化的当前和潜在影响是许多社区最关心的问题。许多阿拉斯加村庄正在寻找应对这些影响的方法，从天气和冰情变化导致的越来越不安全的狩猎条件，到严重的海岸侵蚀导致的家园搬迁。经常发生的情况是，社区和社区成员的个人观察、声音和需求没有被听到，因为它们被困在对北极变化的概括和对北极地区可能经历的广泛预测中。近年来，北极社区的声音越来越大。北极土著居民经常通过与北方研究人员的合作，公开表达他们的观察和关切。本项目在此工作的基础上，重点关注两个重要主题，以理解北方地区近期环境变化的人类层面：1)传统的环境知识和当地对变化的反应是理解变化本质以及适应变化的可能性和需求的关键。2)寻找创造性的方法，让北极土著人民参与研究，了解他们的知识和关切。研究人员将访问阿拉斯加圈、育空堡、威尼斯、北极村、卡克托维克和普拉德霍湾/死马的六个社区，沿着从州中心到北海岸的样带，使用快速农村评估（RRA）方法的一种变化来收集社区的基线信息。该项目将加入Go North！狗拉雪橇探险计划于2005年2月开始。利用狗和陆地旅行作为我们讨论和活动的切入点，我们希望与社区建立一种不同于通过标准研究方法发展的关系。该项目将解决气候变化的关键问题，其影响，以及阿拉斯加农村社区的潜在反应和适应。穿过“向北走！”在线教育的努力，我们将与学生互动，我们的研究，我们的发现和我们的经验，就像在“去北方！”2004年在西北地区和努纳武特的旅行。核心研究问题：1)在RRA/样带方法允许的水平上（即更多的社区，相对较短的时间），在气候和环境变化的局部影响方面，样带沿线社区之间的主要异同是什么，以及社区如何感知和讨论气候变化？2)社区对样带方法（通过狗拉雪橇考察）的反应如何，这种方法与其他方法和方法相比如何，并对北方社区参与气候和环境变化研究有何贡献？

In Alaska, present and potential impacts of climate and environmental changes are of primary concern for many communities. Many Alaska villages are looking for ways to cope with these impacts, from increasingly unsafe hunting conditions due to changing weather and ice conditions, to the relocation of their homes due to severe coastal erosion. It often happens that individual observations, voices and needs of communities and community members, are not heard because they get caught in generalizations of Arctic change and broad projections of what Arctic regions are likely to experience. In recent years, the voices of Arctic communities have been getting stronger. Arctic indigenous peoples have been speaking out about their observations and concerns, often through collaborative work with northern researchers. This project builds on this work and focuses on two important themes in understanding human dimensions of recent environmental change in the North. 1) Traditional knowledge of the environment and local responses to change are key to understanding both the nature of changes, and the possibilities and needs for adapting to change. 2) Finding creative ways for engaging Arctic indigenous peoples in research to understand their knowledge and concerns.Researchers will visit six communities in Alaska-Circle, Fort Yukon, Venetie, Arctic Village, Kaktovik and Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse-along a transect from the center of the state to the north coast, using a variation of the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) approach to gather baseline information from communities. The project will join the Go North! dogsled expedition set to begin in February, 2005. Using the dogs and land travel as our point of entry for discussions and activities, we hope to forge a different relationship with communities than would be developed through standard research approaches. The project will address crucial topics of climate change, its impacts, and potential responses and adaptations in rural Alaska communities. Through the Go North! online educational effort, we will interact with schoolchildren about our research, our findings, and our experiences, as was done successfully on Go North!'s 2004 journey in theNorthwest Territories and Nunavut.Core research questions: 1) At the level allowed by the RRA/transect approach (i.e. larger number of communities, relatively short amount of time), what are the key differences and similarities between communities along the transect in terms of local impacts of climate and environmental change, and the ways climate change is perceived and discussed in the communities? 2) How do communities react to the transect approach (via the dogsled expedition), and how does this approach compare and contribute to other methods and methodologies for engaging northern communities in climate and environmental change research?