29 March 2026 | 13:15 - 15:00 CEST / UTC+2
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: Merete Barker Auditorium
Session Description:
This session centers Indigenous methods, knowledge systems and leadership in Arctic research. It highlights community priorities, co-design of research, collaborative monitoring, and approaches supporting ethical partnerships and culturally meaningful outcomes.
Keynote: Dr. Parnuna Egede Dahl
Oral presentations:
Name: Candice Sudlovenick (Arctic Eider Society)
Title of presentation: SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge App
Abstract text: The Arctic Eider Society (AES) is an Indigenous-led charity based in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, that facilitates Indigenous self-determination in research, education and environmental stewardship. AES developed SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge App, a mobile and web platform created by and for harvesters with more than 40,000 users in more than 150 Indigenous communities from Inuit Nunaat (Greenland to Alaska), and an increasing number of Indigenous communities in southern Canada. SIKU is a set of tools and services for Indigenous harvesters and land users for travel safety and environmental monitoring that are designed to support Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous Knowledge mobilization through the use of indicators, language and terminology systems.SIKU supports language and education by featuring wildlife and ice descriptions and terminology in the SIKU users’ regional Indigenous dialect, supporting education and fluency. With over 140,000 posts made by 15+ Indigenous dialect regions, SIKU has become a leading space for Indigenous knowledge, sharing stories and Indigenous language use in Canada. AES works with local organizations to provide the language dialects and Indigenous place names, and continues to ensure that the information is up to date. We present two case studies on how SIKU users are using their own Indigenous terminologies and knowledge frameworks to observe, document and share the changes they are seeing in their regions. First, the Qikqitait protected area, an Inuit-led protected area for the Belcher Islands Archipelago where 200+ community members have been monitoring the local ecosystem to gather baseline data. Second, SIKU’s Ice Watch, which shares knowledge across communities to support ice safety and climate change action across the North.
Name: Stanislav Ksenofontov (ARCTICenter, University of Northern Iowa)
Title of presentation: On good terms: pathways to decolonizing science-appropriated Indigenous terminologies in Arctic research
Abstract text: Many western scientists utilize(d) Indigenous Knowledge in their research inappropriately. Alaas as an example of existing wrongs of western science-based system of human-environment relations and how Indigenous and place-based understandings of alaas should lead future research. Alaas in permafrost terminology is “a large depression of the ground surface produced by thawing of a large area (e.g., > 1 ha) of very thick and exceedingly ice-rich permafrost”. While researchers consider alaas as a geomorphological formation, for Sakha people in Northeastern Siberia it is Alaas - first and foremost a crucial cultural, spiritual and social space. Sakha people have been utilizing Alaas for living, cattle and horse breeding, fishing and other traditional activities for centuries. Alaas is a sacred place with its name, ichchi (spirits), power, and human, more-than-human inhabitants. This presentation aims to discuss the term Alaas perceived both by western science and Indigenous knowledge. As a particular example, the paper will take the development of alaas as an international permafrost science term and Alaas as an economic, traditional, cultural and spiritual space of Sakha people. In doing so, the authors attempt to provide a pathway to decolonize science-appropriated Indigenous term.
Name: Vera Solovyeva (Arctic Studies Center, NMNH, Smithsonian)
Title of presentation: Talking and Listening in Quinhagak and Toksook Bay: Climate Change in Alaska
Abstract text: The latest IPCC Sixth Assessment 29 Report (2021) recognizes the vulnerability of the world's Indigenous Peoples to climate change impacts and acknowledges the importance of Indigenous knowledge systems in developing effective adaptation and climate mitigation strategies. What does it mean in Quinhagak and Toksook Bay – two Indigenous communities in Alaska? Both communities are located in the Bethel Census Area (Alaska), and people continue to rely on traditional subsistence practices including hunting, fishing, berry and other vegetation gathering. In Yupik villages, traditional activities are deeply interwoven with the communities' social structures and intergenerational knowledge transfer (Lincoln, 2020). However, these two communities differ radically in their location, the permafrost features in their areas, and their Christian denominations and social practices. Quinhagak is a small community of 700 people with the main church dominion of the Moravian Church located on the Kanektok River, approximately a mile from the Bering Sea, and Toksook Bay is a village on Nelson Island with a population of 590 people, largely Catholics.In my presentation, I will discuss how climate change affects people’s lives in Quinhagak and Toksook Bay. I will also explore how people address these negative impacts. What other factors influence the adaptation practices used by the Yupik people to mitigate climate change?
Name: Sascha Schiøtt (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources)
Title of presentation: From top predators to plankton: Co-creating knowledge to understand ecosystem dynamics in Ilulissat Icefjord
Abstract text: Ilulissat Icefjord in West Greenland—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—hosts a rich and dynamic marine ecosystem shaped by glacial processes, ocean currents, and a rapidly changing climate. This fjord supports ecologically key and culturally important species such as ringed seals, Greenland halibut, and Arctic char.My PhD research focused on the top of the food web in this system, combining modern scientific tools—such as environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, seal diet analysis, and satellite tracking of ringed seals—with local ecological knowledge shared by hunters and fishers. This integrative approach provided novel insights into species distributions, spatial use, and ecological interactions, while also fostering dialogue and mutual learning with local communities.Building on this foundation, my current postdoctoral work shifts focus to the base of the food web—plankton—whose dynamics are critical for sustaining higher trophic levels. Using seasonal sampling and biological sampling, this project aims to identify key phytoplankton and zooplankton species and understand how they support fish and seal populations amid environmental change.This research contributes to a more holistic understanding of the Ilulissat Icefjord ecosystem and exemplifies how co-created science can generate locally relevant knowledge that informs sustainable resource management. By prioritizing equitable knowledge exchange and building local research capacity, this work aims to support not just scientific advancement but also community resilience in the face of climate change.
Name: Emma Pasqua Goldberg-Courtney (NORDECO)
Title of presentation: Incorporating Indigenous knowledge into environmental management via modelling: Seals and sea ice in community-based monitoring in Greenland
Abstract text: This project strives to provide recommendations towards aiding in the more frequent, fair, respectful, and insightful use of Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge in environmental management through data analysis and modelling. The project uses a case study in Greenland, the PISUNA—Piniakkanik sumiiffinni nalunaarsuineq—program(a community-based monitoring system established by the Ministry of Fisheries and Hunting in Greenland (pisuna.org;https://eloka.nsidc.org/pisuna-net/) as a practical means of exploring working with Indigenous knowledge and local ecological knowledge inenvironmental management. This study proposes several initial questions regarding the relationship between seals and sea ice in Greenland as a means of directly working with local ecological knowledge. The project worked with observations of the marine ecosystem, including habitat conditions and species, obtained from volunteer fishers and hunters part of the PISUAN project in order to offer recommendations for more general guidelines on working with Indigenous knowledge and local ecological knowledge, particularly within the context of modelling and data analysis. Additionally, a comprehensive literature review has been undertaken, along with data analysis via statistical analysis and GAM and Random forest modelling, working withthe PISUNA data and data from the Copernicus Marine Service Information. The initial question explores if there is a relationship between the seal population dynamics and sea ice. Key findings seem to indicate that there is a relationship between the seal population count and the surfacesnow thickness that accumulates on sea ice. Additionally, procedural findings suggest thatrecording observation trips individually with geographic points and specific seal population counts for each trip would be beneficial. Finally, recording trips individually would allow to measure for effort expended and subsequent analysis and feedback on the project design of PISUNA.