Multiple Knowledge Systems and Subsistence
One of seven research themes for the Economic and Social Science Research Program
Our local knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, and subsistence research can be broken down into the following sub-themes:
Bridging Traditional Knowledge and western Science to Inform Bering Sea Ecosystem management (BKIBS)
- The BKIBS project seeks to bring together Alaska Native TK holders, natural and social scientists, educators, and fisheries managers to develop indigenous conceptual models (ICMs) of the Bering Sea ecosystem using an interdisciplinary methodology, framework, and team.
- Contact: sarah.wise@noaa.gov
Community Subsistence Fishing Engagement and Dependence Indices
- Subsistence fishing activities are important to many coastal and interior Alaskan communities for food, community, culture, and traditions. ESSR is working to develop quantitative indices of community engagement in subsistence fishing activities over time in support of National Standard 8 as well as a static indicator of subsistence dependence to more completely describe the variety of ways in which Alaska communities interact with and are dependent upon the marine environment.
- Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov
Food Sovereignty and Indigenous Knowledge
- The NOAA and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Partnership is one of seven pilot projects as part of the NOAA Regional Collaboration Network commitment to sustained engagement with underserved communities. The pilot project, “Expanding and Connecting Tribal-Led Climate Change Capacity to Serve Indigenous Community Needs in Alaska,” supports Tribal climate resilience in Alaska.
- Contact: sarah.wise@noaa.gov
Multiple Knowledge Systems in Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs)
- The Arctic is undergoing rapid and unprecedented ecological and social change, requiring best available information to support responsive decision making . Marine management frameworks have increasingly embraced interdisciplinary research to guide climate-informed marine policy and resource management; however, there remains a lag in including multiple knowledge systems within research and decision-making. Ecosystem-based approaches such as NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment can provide important platforms to engage co-production methods to bridge Indigenous knowledge and western science.
- Contact: sarah.wise@noaa.gov