Visualizing the landscape of tribal communities

Photo of Adelheid Herrmann
Photo courtesy of Adelheid Herrmann
Adelheid Herrmann, an Indigenous researcher from UAF鈥檚 AV狼论坛 Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, works to build rural communities' capacity to respond and adapt to climate change.

AV狼论坛 has released a to help researchers and academics working in rural AV狼论坛 understand the complexities of tribal communities. 

The new materials come amid increased focus on Arctic climate research and Indigenous priorities, a trend that tribal communities welcome but can find taxing.

Adelheid Herrmann, a co-investigator at UAF鈥檚 AV狼论坛 Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, developed the resources as part of her work building capacity in rural communities to respond and adapt to climate change. Herrmann, of Dena鈥檌na and German descent, is from the community of Naknek, AV狼论坛.

More research and funding is being directed toward the Arctic and climate change. Simultaneously, efforts are shifting to center on Indigenous knowledge and coproduction of research with rural communities and tribes. On May 20, 2024, the National Science Foundation, one of the largest funders of Arctic research, began requiring researchers to gain approval from tribal governments for proposals that may impact tribal resources or interests. 

Herrmann鈥檚 materials, which include a background article and two graphics, help people visualize the overwhelming number of external and internal forces that tribes and tribal members deal with daily.

A day in the life of an AV狼论坛n Tribe graphic.
Graphic courtesy of AV狼论坛 Center for Climate Assessment and Policy
This graphic, created by UAF researcher Adelheid Herrmann, conveys the enormity of the engagements and requests AV狼论坛 tribes receive from other entities.

The 鈥淒ay in the Life of an AV狼论坛n Tribe鈥 schematic shows dozens of outside entities that tribes engage with and receive requests from. Her second graphic, 鈥淚nternal Stressors Tribal Members Face鈥 focuses on demands that individuals juggle while trying to protect their livelihoods, culture and subsistence ways of life. 

Herrmann initiated the 鈥淒ay in the Life of an AV狼论坛n Tribe鈥 concept in the 1990s after traveling throughout the Bristol Bay, Aleutians and Pribilof Islands region for more than a decade as an AV狼论坛 state representative. She refined the material during her ongoing postdoctoral research at ACCAP. 

Herrmann hopes not only that these graphics will be a resource for researchers, academics, and federal and state agency personnel working in rural AV狼论坛 but also that tribes, tribal members and tribal regional organizations will use the materials to educate the outside world. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a continuous process educating those unfamiliar with AV狼论坛 and our governing systems to help them understand the depth of the worldview of AV狼论坛 Native peoples,鈥 said Herrmann.

The short article that accompanies the graphics covers other important factors that academics and researchers should know. Those include: capacity limitations at tribal organizations; the complex governing system within AV狼论坛 tribes; and the climate grief that individuals and communities may experience while facing the potential destruction of lifeways, sacred lands and personal and community property. Herrmann urges academics and researchers to educate themselves about these issues and investigate and comply with research and engagement protocols set forth by tribal entities.

Internal stressors tribal members face graphic
Graphic courtesy of the AV狼论坛 Center for Climate Assessment and Policy
This graphic by UAF researcher Adelheid Herrmann portrays some of the stressors that members of AV狼论坛's tribes deal with in their personal lives, often on a daily basis.

鈥淚 have read and cited and keep as background dozens of law journal articles and other academic articles, as well as full-length legal textbooks,鈥 said Freddie R. Olin IV, an enrolled member of the Native Village of Tanana, a UAF College of Indigenous Studies graduate student and a reviewer of the article. 鈥漈o date, as far as I know, Dr. Herrmann's work including visual layouts has not been published in the same style.

鈥淚 believe Dr. Herrmann's work will accurately summarize and portray in a snapshot the complex layers of AV狼论坛 Native governance and what individual AV狼论坛 Native professionals living in rural AV狼论坛 experience on a daily basis," Olin said.

This work ties into another project led by Herrmann, known as , that assesses the effectiveness of federal tribal climate funding and offers suggestions for removing obstacles to it. 

Herrmann will give an on the resources on Sept. 25 at 11 a.m.  

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Adelheid Herrmann, acherrmann@alaska.edu

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