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Publication Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Cross-Cultural Research(2015-03-06) Barnhardt, RayThe initiatives outlined in this article are intended to advance our understanding of cultural processes as they occur in diverse community contexts, as well as contribute to the further conceptualization, critique, and development of indigenous knowledge systems in their own right. Just as those same initiatives have drawn from the experiences of indigenous peoples from around the world, the organizations and personnel associated with this article have played a lead role in developing the emerging theoretical and evidentiary underpinnings on which the associated research is based. The expansion of the knowledge base that is associated with the interaction between western science and indigenous knowledge systems will contribute to an emerging body of scholarly work regarding the critical role that local observations and indigenous knowledge can play in deepening our understanding of human and ecological processes, particularly in reference to the experiences of indigenous peoples. This article addresses issues of relevance to underserved populations in Alaska and other geographic regions inhabited by indigenous peoples. It provides a much-needed impetus toward organizing research and education support structures that contribute to the broadening of an infrastructure fostering the use of multiple knowledge systems and diverse approaches to research. The international scope of the initiatives described provides multiple benefits derived from the economies of scale associated with linking numerous small-scale populations, as well as increased applicability of outcomes associated with the extensive opportunities for cross-cultural comparison.Publication Why Did They Do That? An exploration of explanations as to why Europeans behave as they have towards Native People(2015-03-06) Kaliss, TonyThe purpose of this paper is to encourage deeper understanding of the Native- European interaction by focusing on the question of Why Europeans acted as they did towards Native peoples. I encourage this because I'm not satisfied with the answers I have seen to this question, because answering it is central to understanding the Native- European interaction, and, lastly, because exploring and answering this Why has become timely and essential. Being dissatisfied, it follows I provide my own Why answer--and I do so below. However, it became clear in developing this paper that just as important, perhaps even more so for encouraging a deeper understanding, is an exploration of the process of how this basic question has been approached. This led me to several other Why questions: Why hasn't the basic issue of European motivations been more fully explored, considering the enormous amount that has been said and written about the Native- European interaction? Why have so few writers, Native or non-Native, even asked Why? Why do people begin to ask Why at a certain point in time and not another? And why are the Why's offered inadequate--in my opinion? All this led me to structure the paper as follows. First are some comments about levels of knowledge. Second, I report on a survey of the works of 14 writers in which it might be expected that the Why question would be taken up, which means discussing both the absence and the presence of Why answers. Third, I critique the several Whys I did find. Fourth, I give my own Why answer. And Fifth, I suggest some reasons why the Why question has not been more asked or explored.Publication Cooperative Cross-Cultural Instruction: The Value of Multi-cultural Collaboration in the Coteaching of Topics of Worldview, Knowledge Traditions, and Epistemologies(2016-03-06) Arevgaq, Theresa John; Koskey, MichaelFor four years (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) two faculty members of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Cross-cultural Studies have collaborated to co-teach a course entitled Traditional Ecological Knowledge (CCS 612). This course examines the acquisition and utilization of knowledge associated with the long-term habitation of particular ecological systems and the adaptations that arise from the accumulation of such knowledge. Intimate knowledge of place—culturally, spiritually, nutritionally, and economically for viability—is traditional ecological knowledge, and this perspective is combined with the needs of an Indigenous research method to better understand and more effectively explore the proper role of traditional knowledge in academic, cross-cultural research. This presentation and paper explores the strategies tested and lessons learned from teaching students from a wide variety of academic and cultural backgrounds including the social and life sciences, and the humanities, and from Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural origins. The instructors, too—and most importantly for this endeavor—come from an Indigenous (John) and non-Indigenous (Koskey) background, and though hailing from very different cultures and upbringings work collaboratively and with genuine mutual respect to enable an understanding of variations of traditions of knowledge and their application to academic research.Publication Alaska Native Studies 2015 Foreword(2015-03-06) Topkok, Sean AsiqłuqThe 2014 Alaska Native Studies Council (ANSC) Conference was held in March in Fairbanks, Alaska. There were approximately 300 conference participants from local, statewide, and national attendees. The participants were scholars, Elders, students, and organizations who promote a deeper and more sustained commitment to integrating Indigenous perspectives into a variety of educational settings. The Alaska Native Studies Council’s mission is to identify, develop, and implement Native‐focused curricula, to promote and publish Alaska Nativerelated research and pedagogical strategies, and to develop a strategic plan to help us attain these goals.Publication 2015 Alaska Native Studies Conference Program(2015-03-06) Alaska Native Studies Conference Organizing Committee