Collaborative Research: Salmon Stewardship: Mapping a Cultural Keystone and Building Genomics Capacity for Alaska Native Peoples

这个以社区为基础的项目将土著知识与对基奈半岛三种鲑鱼的基因组研究相结合。研究人员将从考古环境中恢复的鲑鱼遗骸中产生长时间读取的从头基因组，并将其与同一地点的当今鲑鱼的基因组进行比较。分析将探索这些种群两千年来的基因组结构和进化历史。基因组工作由Kenaitze Elders的人类学研究补充，该研究将记录鲑鱼的土著生态知识。该项目整合了科学和土著知识，以重建自接触前时代以来鲑鱼和Kenaitze人之间的动态联系。该项目利用了古代DNA分析模型和方法的最新进展，并响应阿拉斯加土著研究和教育优先事项。部落成员，学生和博士后研究员将合作分析鲑鱼基因组，而部落对鲑鱼和鲑鱼使用的观点将通过档案研究，访谈，调查和焦点小组记录。这项工作的更广泛影响包括建立当地基因组学研究能力，培训学生和博士后研究员，以及提高对土著生活和鲑鱼相互依存关系的理解，这是许多阿拉斯加土著社区的文化基石。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This community-based project combines Indigenous knowledge with the genomic study of three species of salmon on the Kenai Peninsula. Investigators will generate long-read de novo genomes from salmon remains recovered from archaeological contexts and compare them to genomes of present-day salmon from the same location. Analyses will explore the genomic architecture and evolutionary history of these populations over two thousand years. The genomic work is complemented by anthropological research with Kenaitze Elders, which will document Indigenous ecological knowledge of salmon. This project integrates scientific and Indigenous knowledge to reconstruct the dynamic links between salmon and the Kenaitze people since pre-contact times.This project capitalizes on recent advances in models and methods for analysis of ancient DNA and responds to Alaska Native research and education priorities. Tribal members, students, and post-doctoral fellows will collaborate in the analysis of salmon genomes, while tribal perspectives on salmon and salmon use will be documented through archival research, interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Broader impacts of this work include building local genomics research capacity, training of students and post-doctoral fellows, and enhanced understanding of the interdependence of Indigenous lives and salmon, a cultural keystone for many Alaska Native communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.