Alaska Native Peoples are disproportionately affected by rapid climate change, including shifts in extreme events as well as long-term change. In response, more funding than ever before is being directed toward the Arctic and climate change. Simultaneously, Arctic research is shifting to center Indigenous knowledge and co-production with communities and Tribes. A December 2023 executive order from [American] President Biden called for federal agencies to work together to boost funding and support for Tribal nations. In 2024, the National Science Foundation began requiring researchers to gain approval from Tribal governments for proposals that may impact Tribal resources or interests.
This energy toward Arctic climate research and Indigenous priorities is both needed and taxing for Tribal communities in Alaska. Adelheid Herrmann, co-investigator at ACCAP, developed a set of resources to help researchers, academics, federal and state agencies working in rural Alaska understand the current landscape and complexities of Tribal communities.
Herrmann’s graphics help people visualize the overwhelming number of external and internal forces that Tribes and Tribal members deal with daily. The “Day in the life of an Alaskan Tribe” schematic shows dozens of outside entities that Tribes engage with and receive requests from. Her second graphic, “Internal stressors Tribal members face” focuses on activities and stressors that individuals juggle while trying to protect their livelihoods, culture and subsistence ways of life.
Herrmann combined the graphics into a short article that covers other important factors that academics and researchers should know, such as: capacity limitations at Tribal organizations; the complex governing system within Alaska Tribes; and climate grief that individuals and communities may experience while facing the potential destruction of lifeways, sacred lands and personal and community property. Herrmann urges academics and researchers to educate themselves about these issues and investigate and comply with research and engagement protocols set forth by Tribal entities.
the full document with graphics is available as a PDF on the right side of this page under 'Related files'.