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The National Park Service funds projects in partnership
with community organizations and academic institutions. The topics are
of scientific and local importance in the Beringia Region of western Alaska
and eastern Chukotka. Projects are from one to three years in length and
include Russian collaboration through comparative studies, exchange and
training of participants, or translation of final reports.
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New Projects Funded in
FY 2004
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Partner - Native Village of Wales
Title: Kingikmiut Dance Festival
Primary contact: Winton Weyapuk, Jr. (907) 664-3062, kareno@kawerak.org
The Village of Wales held their 5th annual dance festival in June, 2004.
Before this dance revival, the last Kivgiq celebration was held in Wales
in 1943. The National Park Service provided funding to bring dance groups
from Uelen, Chukotka and Point Hope, Alaska. Wales is 55 miles from
the Russian mainland coast.
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Partner - National Audubon Society
Title: Taxonomic Listing of Beringian Fauna
Primary contact: Olga Romanenko (907) 345-2939, clinerom@alaska.net
This project will update the popular Beringian biota publication of
species names in English, Russian, Latin, Yupik and Inupiat. A database
will also be developed.
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Partner - Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
Title: Synthesis of Ten Years of Beringian Research
Primary contact: John Tichotsky (907) 561-9119, jtichotsky@alaska.net
This will be a book manuscript discussing the past ten years of Beringian
research that has occurred between Alaska and Chukotka.
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Partner - Pribilof School District
Title: Community Based Monitoring of the Bering Sea
Primary contact: Karin Holser (907) 546-3190, Kholser1@yahoo.com
Five Alaskan villages (Kotzebue, Unalakleet, Elim, St. Paul, St. George)
and three Chukotkan villages (Anadyr, Lavrentiya, Lorino) in the Bering
Sea region will take part in this student project to gather environmental
and cultural observations.
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Partner - National Audubon Society
Title: Russian version of Important Bird Areas of the Bering
Sea
Primary contact: Olga Romanenko (907) 345-2939, clinerom@alaska.net
This is another Audubon project that will produce a Russian version
of the Important Bird Areas of the Bering Sea. The English version,
funded by the Beringia Program, will also be released.
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Partner - Clemson University
Title: The Biting Flies of Beringia: Their Biodiversity &
Pest Status
Primary contact: Peter Adler (864) 656-5044, padler@clemson.edu
This is base-line field research in the Nome area in the summer of 2004
on biting flies (mosquitoes and black flies). Work in Chukotka will
take place in 2005.
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Partner - National Park Service
Title: Archaeological Mentorship
Primary contact: Becky Saleeby (907) 644-3477, becky_saleeby@nps.gov
The NPS is mentoring students in Beringian villages and incorporating
them into on-going field work in our parks the next three summers.
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Partner - Smithsonian Institution - Arctic Studies Center
Title: Indigenous Interpretation of Beringian Collections
Primary contact: Aron Crowell (907) 343-6162, acrowell@alaska.net
The Arctic Studies Center is working with Alaska and Russian Native
Elders and communities to share indigenous knowledge about cultural
heritage objects in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.
A website is being developed to house this information in English and
Russian.
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Partner - University of Oregon
Title: Contemporary Beringian Archaeological Papers
Primary contact: Richard Bland (541) 485-0454, rlbland@earthlink.net
This will be another in a series of translations by Richard Bland. This
publication will be a contemporary collection of Russian and American
scientists.
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Continuing Projects Receiving
FY2004 Funds
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Partner - North Slope Borough, Dept. of Wildlife Mgmt.
Title: Biosampling of Gray & Bowhead Whales
Primary contact: Craig George (907) 852-0350, craig.george@north-slope.org
The Borough's Department of Wildlife Management will continue their
pioneering studies funded by previous NPS projects to work with Russian
Native organizations to sample whales along the coast of Chukotka for
contaminants.
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Partner - Alaska Nanuuq Commission
Title: Cultural Values of Polar Bear in Chukotka
Primary contact: Charles Johnson (907) 443-5044, cjohnson@nook.net
Work will be conducted with the Association of Marine Mammal Hunters
of Chukotka on traditional social values of the polar bear. Oral traditions
on the cultural role of polar bears to Native people of Chukotka will
be collected through interviews of elders and other knowledgeable people.
A bibliography of Russian written and recorded materials on the role
of polar bear in the culture of the Native people of Chukotka will be
developed.
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Partner - University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Title: Rural Development Exchange
Primary contact: Dr. Gordon Pullar (907) 279-2706, g.pullar@uaf.edu
The Rural Development Exchange will link up Alaskan and Chukotkan villages
in the study of sustainable development. It will identify three villages
on each side of the Bering Strait where studies will be conducted in development
needs. The goals of the project are to foster an exchange of traditions
and community development strategies between indigenous leaders of Chukotka
and Alaska, and to provide experiential opportunities for students to
explore the application of rural development methods within Beringian
villages.
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Partner - Richard Bland & Associates
Title: Three Dikov Books
Primary contact: Richard Bland (541) 485-0454, rlbland@earthlink.net
Richard Bland will continue his translation series by translating from
Russian to English three books by the renowned Russian archaeologist
N. N. Dikov.
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Current or Recently Completed
Projects
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Partner - King Island IRA
Title: King Island Song & Dance Preservation
Primary contact: Ted Mayac (907) 344-3004, ontedsline@aol.com
The King Island repertoire of songs and dances will be identified, practiced,
and then videotaped. Research will be conducted on the origins of the
dances to learn how some were exchanged between Chukotka and Alaska.
Elders will be consulted on the less well known or rarely performed
dances.
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Partner - Yukon-Charley, Gates of the Arctic NP
Title: Russian Participation in Mammoth Conference
Primary contact: Jeff Rasic (907) 455-0632, Jeff_rasic@nps.gov
Funding was provided to bring Russian scientists to the Yukon for a
conference on the mammoth. The group also traveled to Fairbanks and
made field trips to Yukon-Charley and Gates of the Arctic National Park.
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Partner - Western Arctic Parklands & NANA
Title: Russian Participation in the 2004 Kattivik Trade Fair
Primary contact: Willie Goodwin (907) 442-8304, Willie_goodwin@nps.gov
Russian dancers joined Alaskan dance groups at the 2004 Kattivik Trade
Fair in Kotzebue in July. Heartbeat Alaska filmed for a one hour special
on the Trade Fair and will produce a DVD for the community.
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Partner - Nome Community Center
Title: Remember the Past, Ensure the Future
Primary contact: Jean Tombaugh (907) 443-5259, nccdir@nook.net
Funding was provided to support after school activities for youth and
their families in Chukotka to gain increased interest, knowledge and
respect for Native traditional subsistence cultures of the North. Interest,
knowledge and respect will also be gained for the natural environment
of Beringia and how traditional knowledge can be integrated with modern
ecological stewardship concepts.
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Partner - University of Alaska Museum
Title: Online database for Chukotka Flora Collection
Primary contact: Carolyn Parker (907) 474-7109, Fnclp1@uaf.edu
The University Museum has a collection of 20,000 dried and preserved
vascular plant specimens from Russia, primarily Chukotka and Wrangel
Island. A database listing the collection of the Chukotka flora is being
prepared and will be available through the internet.
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Partner -Alaska Pacific Univ. Inst. of the North
Title: Teacher Workshop on Beringia Landscapes
Primary contact: Roger Pearson (907) 776-8304, mapping@alaska.net
A week-long workshop was held in Nome for Russian and Alaskan teachers
to discuss Beringian geography and landscapes. Russian teachers traveled
from the Moscow region and from three districts in Chukotka. Alaskan
teachers participated from communities across the state. A wide variety
of subjects were introduced and many local and regional Beringian leaders
gave presentations.
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Partner - University of Alaska
Title: Chukotka Tourism Training & Development
Primary contact: Tandy Wallack (907) 272-9299, Wallack@arctictravel.net
Tourism is just developing in Chukotka and Alaska companies are adding
on Russian tours in their travel packages. Training was conducted in
Nome, Kotzebue and Anchorage for local Russian tour operators and crafts
people on how to conduct tourism on protected lands. Current Russian
regulations were also discussed. The group visited local area businesses
to study various aspects of the tourism industry.
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Partner - World Wildlife Fund
Title: Trunks Across the Bering Sea
Primary contact: Evie Witten (907) 279-5504, wwf@acsalaska.net
WWF conducted teacher environmental training for three Alaskan and three
Russian village schools during Beringia Days 2002. The schools then
worked on common projects during the school year and hold competitions
for the best material.
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Partner - Seward Sea Life Center
Title: Arctic Observations: Student Journals
Primary contact: Mike Davis (907) 224-4609, mdavis@edulynx.com
A web-based writing curriculum is being developed for use in northern
schools. The emphasis is to use the unique experience of students who
live in the Arctic. They will maintain journals on natural and cultural
observations and will develop web and graphics products based on the
material written. Specialized topics will include conservation and NPS
related material.
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Partner - University of Colorado
Title: Culture History of Beringia: An Archaeological Synthesis
Primary contact: Dr E James Dixon (303) 735-7802, jdixon@colorado.edu
The university is researching and producing a synthesis book on the
archaeology of Beringia including Russian and American research viewpoints.
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Partner - Native Village of Savoonga
Title: St. Lawrence Island/Chukotka Language & Cultural Studies
Primary contact: John Waghiyi (907) 984-6414, J2waghiyi@yahoo.com
Savoonga organized several cultural exchanges, including a summer language
camp on St. Lawrence Island for Russian Yupik speakers.
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Partner - Kawerak, Inc. Eskimo Walrus Commission
Title: Chukotka Walrus Harvest Monitoring Project
Primary contact: Vera Metcalf (907) 443-4728, Ewc.pd@kawerak.org
The Eskimo Walrus Commission provided training for Native Russian monitors
who document the walrus harvest in Chukotka. The walrus population is
a shared resource between the United States and Russia.
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Partner - Alaska Pacific University
Title: Documenting the Economic & Cultural Necessity of Subsistence
in Chukotka
Primary contact: John Tichotsky (907) 561-9119, jtichotsky@alaska.com
This study documented the economic importance of subsistence activities
in Chukotka in selected villages. In recent years, subsistence was the
sole source of food for many communities.
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Partner - University of Washington (Pullman) Researchers
Title: Paleo-Indian Archaeology & Paleoecology in the Noatak
Basin
Primary contact: Jeff Rasic (907) 455-0632, Jeff_rasic@nps.gov
A US-Russian team investigated past vegetative and geological changes
as well as early-man archaeology at a site along the Noatak River.
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Partner - Shishmaref IRA
Title: Exchange between Shishmaref and Uelen Ivory Carving
Traditions
Primary contact: Andrew Kakoona (907) 649-2169, Alocko14@yahoo.com
Both Shishmaref in Alaska and Uelen in Chukotka are walrus ivory carving
centers. This project facilitated an exchange between the two communities
to study these traditions. Residents of Uelen traveled to Nome, Shishmaref
and Kotzebue to demonstrate their sewing and carving skills. Members
of the Shishmaref community traveled to Chukotka and presented their
carving and sewing skills at a demonstration in the Provideniya Museum.
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Partner - University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Title: Global Change in the Marine Food Webs
Primary contact: Hector Douglas (907) 474-5815, hddouglas@yahoo.com
A university scientist is studied the biochemical composition of sea
bird diets in western Alaska and eastern Chukotka to index the health
of the marine ecosystem.
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Partner - Northern Forum
Title: Brown Bear Management Workshop
Primary contact: Priscilla Wohl (907) 561-3280, pwohl@northernforum.org
A week long workshop for Russian biologists and managers was conducted
in August 2002 on Kodiak Island and in Katmai National Park covering
good management practices for brown bear populations, such as bear viewing,
human-bear encounters, hunting regulations and law enforcement.
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Partner - National Audubon Society, Fish & Wildlife Service
Title: Important Bird Areas of the Bering Sea
Primary contact: Stanley Senner (907) 276-7034, ssenner@audubon.org
An informative booklet is being produced identifying sensitive bird
areas in the Beringia Region of the Bering Sea.
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Partner - Ernest S. Burch, Jr.
Title: Inupiaq Nations of Northwest Alaska: Partner of National
Life
Primary contact: Ernest S. Burch, Jr. (717) 975-3590, ernestburch@cs.com
This title will be a volume in the encyclopedia series produced by Dr.
Burch on the history and anthropology of the Inupiaq people.
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Partner - Golovin Native Corporation
Title: Golovin Field School
Primary contact: Jack Fagerstrom (907) 779-3251
The Golovin Village Corporation and local school conducted their third
archaeological field school session in July 2000 to train local students
in culture and archaeology. In addition to classroom training conducted
by UAF personnel, field work assessed the cultural sites on village
corporation lands. Six students and two adults from Russia participated.
Inuit Circumpolar Conference will assist the Golovin students with a
reciprocal exchange to Provideniya, Russia.
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Partner - Native Village of Savoonga
Title: Portrait of a Divided Maritime Family
Primary contact: Saunders McNeill (907) 269-6603, saundersmcneill@worldnet.att.net
This photographic and fine arts project documented Siberian Yupik elders
in a traveling exhibit and collection. Residents of Nome and Savoonga
in Alaska, and New Chaplino and Sireniki in Chukotka, Russia were highlighted.
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Partner - University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Title: Fungi of the Beringia Region
Primary contact: Dr. Gary Laursen (907) 474-6295, ffgal@uaf.edu
UAF scientists and colleagues from other world-wide universities and
agencies conducted a comparative study of fungi between the Seward Peninsula
and Kobuk Valley in Alaska and the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia. Earlier
work produced the discovery of new species in the region and one new
species known to the scientific community.
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