Landscape of Tribal Communities: Context for Working in Rural Alaska
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. Federal agencies have been encouraged 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.
The “Day in the life of an Alaskan Tribe” schematic shows dozens of outside entities that Tribes engage with and receive requests from.
The “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.
Adelheid Herrmann presented on the complex challenges and opportunities for working in rural Alaska in a September 2024 webinar.
Description: Current funding opportunities for Arctic climate research and Indigenous priorities are needed but can simultaneously place a burden on Tribal communities in Alaska. The lack of capacity at the local level to receive and distribute these funds is challenging. Tribes, Tribal organizations and other rural and urban entities are left scrambling to access funding. Adelheid Herrmann, co-investigator at ACCAP, will discuss a set of resources she developed to help researchers, academics, and 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.
