Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis
Given current and projected warming trends in the Arctic and the important role played by subsistence hunting and fishing in the life of northern rural communities, it is increasingly important to document local observations of climate change and its impacts on livelihood practices. We describe ethn...
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Resilience Alliance
2014
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06913-190427 https://doaj.org/article/0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb 2023-05-15T15:00:02+02:00 Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis Courtney Carothers Caroline Brown Katie J. Moerlein J. Andrés López David B. Andersen Brittany Retherford 2014-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06913-190427 https://doaj.org/article/0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss4/art27/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-06913-190427 https://doaj.org/article/0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb Ecology and Society, Vol 19, Iss 4, p 27 (2014) arctic climate change cultural consensus analysis fishing indigenous peoples local and traditional ecological knowledge subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06913-190427 2022-12-31T10:05:37Z Given current and projected warming trends in the Arctic and the important role played by subsistence hunting and fishing in the life of northern rural communities, it is increasingly important to document local observations of climate change and its impacts on livelihood practices. We describe ethnographic research exploring local observations of climate changes and related impacts on subsistence fisheries in three Iñupiat communities in northwest Alaska and six Athabascan communities in the Yukon River drainage. We found consistent agreement among perceptions concerning a broad range of environmental changes affecting subsistence practices in these communities. These observations of environmental changes are not experienced in isolation but within the context of accompanying social changes that are continually reshaping rural Alaskan communities and subsistence economies. In this paper we reflect on our research approach combining multiple methods of inquiry. Participant observation and semidirected interviews provided the conceptual framework for broadening our focus from climate and environmental change to community residents' understanding of climate change in the context of their holistic human-environment worldview. Cultural consensus analysis allowed us to assess the extent to which perceptions of change are shared among hunters and fishers within and between villages and regions and to identify those phenomena occurring or experienced at smaller scales. Reflecting on this multimethods approach, we highlight important questions that have emerged about how we understand, synthesize, and represent local knowledge, especially as it is used in regulatory or management arenas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Athabascan Climate change Yukon river Alaska Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Yukon Ecology and Society 19 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic climate change cultural consensus analysis fishing indigenous peoples local and traditional ecological knowledge subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
arctic climate change cultural consensus analysis fishing indigenous peoples local and traditional ecological knowledge subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Courtney Carothers Caroline Brown Katie J. Moerlein J. Andrés López David B. Andersen Brittany Retherford Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
topic_facet |
arctic climate change cultural consensus analysis fishing indigenous peoples local and traditional ecological knowledge subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Given current and projected warming trends in the Arctic and the important role played by subsistence hunting and fishing in the life of northern rural communities, it is increasingly important to document local observations of climate change and its impacts on livelihood practices. We describe ethnographic research exploring local observations of climate changes and related impacts on subsistence fisheries in three Iñupiat communities in northwest Alaska and six Athabascan communities in the Yukon River drainage. We found consistent agreement among perceptions concerning a broad range of environmental changes affecting subsistence practices in these communities. These observations of environmental changes are not experienced in isolation but within the context of accompanying social changes that are continually reshaping rural Alaskan communities and subsistence economies. In this paper we reflect on our research approach combining multiple methods of inquiry. Participant observation and semidirected interviews provided the conceptual framework for broadening our focus from climate and environmental change to community residents' understanding of climate change in the context of their holistic human-environment worldview. Cultural consensus analysis allowed us to assess the extent to which perceptions of change are shared among hunters and fishers within and between villages and regions and to identify those phenomena occurring or experienced at smaller scales. Reflecting on this multimethods approach, we highlight important questions that have emerged about how we understand, synthesize, and represent local knowledge, especially as it is used in regulatory or management arenas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Courtney Carothers Caroline Brown Katie J. Moerlein J. Andrés López David B. Andersen Brittany Retherford |
author_facet |
Courtney Carothers Caroline Brown Katie J. Moerlein J. Andrés López David B. Andersen Brittany Retherford |
author_sort |
Courtney Carothers |
title |
Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
title_short |
Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
title_full |
Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
title_fullStr |
Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
title_sort |
measuring perceptions of climate change in northern alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06913-190427 https://doaj.org/article/0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb |
geographic |
Arctic Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Athabascan Climate change Yukon river Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Athabascan Climate change Yukon river Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Ecology and Society, Vol 19, Iss 4, p 27 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss4/art27/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-06913-190427 https://doaj.org/article/0d65b59fdd9f43a894f188fe8e6497cb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06913-190427 |
container_title |
Ecology and Society |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1766332135128432640 |