Collaborative Research: Gender, Environment, and Change: Exploring Shifting Roles in an Inupiat Community

这项环境人类学研究将提供一幅详细的民族志图片，说明阿拉斯加土著社区如何应对全球挑战，同时面对许多不确定因素，保留和实践他们的核心土著价值观。先前的研究已经确定，土著群体和妇女是受明显的政治、经济和环境变化影响的最脆弱人群。在这项研究中，这些研究试图审查对全球化进程和重大社会环境变化的性别反应，以及妇女在这些变化中作用的转变。本研究将深入研究阿拉斯加巴罗的性别、多代人对特定当代变化的反应，巴罗是一个Iñupiat以生存为基础的社区和北极斜坡地区的经济和行政中心。虽然人们普遍认识到妇女在本区域作为提供者发挥着重要作用，但需要对妇女不断演变的性质进行更多的研究。s ?工作?鉴于在混合经济转变、环境监管增加、石油和天然气勘探和开采累积以及明显的环境变化的背景下新的职业和教育机会。利用传统生态知识和政治生态学的理论框架，pi提出了几个主要的研究问题：1)最近当地生计的变化如何重塑巴罗在变化的时代中作为女性提供者意味着什么的话语和实践？2)女性之间有什么联系？工作和社区福利？3)最近当地生计的变化在多大程度上影响了妇女培育多样性和创造自我组织和自决机会的能力？4)妇女如何参与和领导地方和区域政治网络？研究设计以女性主义和参与式研究方法为指导；研究人员在他们的研究设计中建立了方法上的灵活性，使当地的研究团队和顾问能够帮助塑造项目的方向。该项目采用混合方法，结合了参与性观察、半结构化访谈、关键案例研究和社会网络分析。女人?妇女的作用在全世界土著管理战略中代表性不足，本项目认识到妇女是经常促进其社区福祉的被赋予权力的个人。因此，这项研究提供了一个重要的机会，通过重视妇女来探索人类学和资源管理中的应用问题。美国传统的生态知识及其在激烈转变时期的临时作用。研究人员还预计，这项研究将对巴罗社区有用和有意义，并将更广泛地应用于面临类似挑战的其他土著群体。他们希望他们研究的协作性和参与性，包括当地人参与研究过程，并提供额外的机会来提供培训和促进关于研究和伦理的对话，将对巴罗的研究和教育活动以及关于研究人员、研究项目和当地社区之间适当关系的国际讨论做出重大贡献。

This environmental anthropology study will provide a detailed ethnographic picture of the ways in which Alaska Native communities are responding to global challenges while at the same time retaining and practicing their core indigenous values in the face of many uncertainties. Previous research has identified indigenous groups and women as some of the most vulnerable populations affected by pronounced political, economic, and environmental shifts. In this study the researchs seek to examine gendered responses to the processes of globalization and significant social-environmental change and the shifting roles of women in the midst of such changes. This research will provide an in-depth study of the gendered, multigenerational responses to specific contemporary changes in Barrow, Alaska, an Iñupiat subsistence-based community and economic and administrative hub of Arctic Slope region. While it is widely recognized that women play important roles as providers in this region, more research is needed on the evolving nature of women?s ?work? given new vocational and educational opportunities in the context of shifting mixed economies, increasing regulation of the environment, cumulative oil and gas exploration and extraction, and pronounced environmental change. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of traditional ecological knowledge and political ecology, the PIs ask several primary research questions: 1) How do recent shifts in local livelihoods reshape discourses and practices on what it means to be a female provider in Barrow in changing times? 2) What are the linkages between women?s work and community well-being? 3) To what extent have recent shifts in local livelihoods impacted the ability of women to nurture diversity and create opportunities for self-organization and self-determination? and 4) How are women participating in, and providing leadership to, local and regional political networks? The research design is guided by feminist and participatory research approaches; the researchers have built methodological flexibility into their research design to enable the local research team and advisors to help shape the direction of the project. The project uses mixed methods, combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, critical case studies, and social network analysis. Women?s roles have been an underrepresented aspect of indigenous management strategies worldwide and this project recognizes women as empowered individuals who often foster the well-being of their communities. Thus, this research provides an important opportunity to explore applied concerns in anthropology and resource management by valuing women?s traditional ecological knowledge and provisional roles during a time of intense shifts. The investigators also anticipate that this research will be useful and meaningful for the community of Barrow and will have broader applications to other indigenous groups facing similar challenges. They hope the collaborative and participatory nature of their research, including local people in the research process and providing additional opportunities to provide trainings and foster dialogue about research and ethics, will make a significant contribution to both the research and educational activities in Barrow and international discussions about the appropriate relationships between researchers, research programs, and local communities.