COMMON PROPERTY ISSUES AND ALASKA'S BERING SEA COMMUNITIES

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education

Dedicated to the memory of Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley whose wisdom, dedication, and courage inspired him to forge some of the first and most important connections between indigenous ways of teaching and learning and western higher educationIt was the end of spring semester here in Anchorage, Alaska. The snow was gone in all but the shadiest of places, but the trees were not yet in leaf, and a brown dust blew lightly over the still winter-flattened earth. It was a season of endings and beginnings. Finals were over, grades turned in, robes donned, commencement hats flung. Summer was on its way. Just before the faculty went off contract and scattered to the mid-May winds, we held the last meeting of our Ford Foundation-sponsored Difficult Dialogues project. We’d been working together for the past two years on strategies for engaging controversial topics in the classroom, including those especially difficult ones involving race, culture, and ethnicity. Everyone was exhausted: the sixteen faculty members around the table, the organizers and facilitators, the Ford Foundation representatives who had flown through the night to get here. Even the coffee pot was only half awake. We had this one last thing to do, and then we could all go home. We went around the room, each faculty member making a final report on what he or she had tried in the classroom and how it had gone. Some of the stories were exciting; others less so. But still the voices continued. Around two in the afternoon, we took a break, and the Ford Foundation evaluators asked to see our leadership team alone for a few final comments and questions. They told us they had seen enough. It was clear we had done what we said we’d done, had the effects on faculty that we had claimed. They were satisfied. Our project was one of the successful ones. We passed. It would have made a nice ending. But then, as everyone was just starting to relax, the Ford Foundation’s assessment expert leaned forward and said, “OK, off the record, what do you think you really accomplished here?” There was a moment of silence. The Vice Provost looked at the Psychology professor, the faculty development leader exchanged glances with both of them. Who would say what they all were thinking? It was Libby who broke the silence. Taking a deep breath, she said “I think, for the first time ever, we’re ready to begin.”Difficult Dialogues Initiative, Ford FoundationGround Rules / Indigenizing Education / Difficult Dialogues / One Day with Elders on the Land / Into Our Classrooms / Assessment / Pausing for Reflection / References and Recommended Readin

Traditional Knowledge and Contaminants Project and Resource Guide Project, Final Report

The goal of these projects has been to build capacity among Alaska federally recognized tribes to address their concerns about adverse changes in the environment. The University of Alaska’s Institute of Social and Economic Research and the Alaska Native Science Commission collaborated on both projects. Since the projects are complementary, we have combined the two final reports. There were seven components to the combined projects (component number five reflects the entire scope of work of the Resource Guide project): 1. Develop a traditional knowledge base 2. Develop a science knowledge base 3. Develop an integrated database 4. Develop a web-based resource guide for tribes wishing to act on their concerns 5. Design and implement a pilot program of mini-grants to tribes 6. Based on the mini-grant experience, recommend ways to support tribal actions Unlike many large scale testing projects where the testing laboratory is selected through requests for proposals, in this project several laboratories were integral to the design and implementation of the testing program. A major focus of the team’s activities in the Resource Guide grant was to identify laboratory resources that could meet the needs of Tribes in Alaska. Following consultations with a number of experts, the team decided that the National Institute of Standards and Technology Marine Mammal Quality Assurance Program and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Patuxent Laboratory offer two ongoing methods of identifying laboratories that meet rigorous standards for testing of the types most likely sought by tribes in Alaska. The team visited the NIST and USFWS laboratories and established ongoing relationships with both labs.Alaska Native Science Commission (EPA Assistance Agreements T-98022601 and T-98077301

Indigenous elder teachings on science, technology and other issues for the 21st Century

This will be a fascinating look at how the contributions of indigenous knowledge and ways of thinking can benefit people today. Larry Merculieff was born and raised in a traditional upbringing on St. Paul Island. In 2003, Larry was instrumental in gaining both federal and state recognition of Alaska Native subsistence rights to harvest halibut throughout coastal Alaska. Recently he founded Seven Generations Consulting

Living Peace Now

Larry Merculieff was born and raised with a traditional upbringing on St. Paul Island. In 2003, Larry was instrumental in gaining both federal and state recognition of Alaska Native subsistence rights to harvest halibut throughout coastal Alaska. Recently he founded Seven Generations Consulting. His focus for the discussion is the process of connecting with others. Dr. Christine Gehrett is an associate professor in Education. She teaches foundation courses in education, serves on the advisory board for the Alaska Educational Innovations Network (AEIN), on the Chevak advisory board, and on the Center for Community Engagement and Learning advisory council. Her focus for the discussion is peace from within. Dr. Greg Kimura is President and CEO of the Alaska Humanities Forum. A fourth generation Alaskan from Chugiak-Eagle River, he holds a M.Div from Harvard University, where he wrote a thesis on Zen Buddhism and Western philosophical thought, and a PhD from Cambridge University in the philosophy of religion. His focus for the discussion is the ontological state of being