Combining Iñupiaq and Scientific Knowledge: Ecology in Northern Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, by Alex Whiting, David Griffith, Stephen Jewett, Lisa Clough, Will Ambrose, and Jeffrey Johnson, is a new book published by Alaska Sea Grant.
It brings together traditional ecological knowledge and scientific ecological knowledge for a comprehensive understanding of species and environmental processes in Kotzebue Sound.
Unique contributions include month-by-month seasonal accounts, and the incorporation of Iñupiaq knowledge in descriptions of more than 65 illustrated marine species.
The book includes interviews with Iñupiaq hunters and fishers and uses quotes to show how the Iñupiaq think about and talk about marine mammals and fish, and how they relate species abundance, quality, and health to ice and storm patterns and other changes in the physical environment.
The work is based on a three-year research project, developed cooperatively between nonlocal researchers and the Native Village of Kotzebue and funded by the National Science Foundation.
The book is available as hard copy and PDF at the Alaska Sea Grant online bookstore.
source: Alaska Sea Grant