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

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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?