List of Alaska Native inventors and scientists explained

The following list of Alaska Native inventors and scientists begins to document Alaska Natives with deep historical and ecological knowledge about system-wide health, knowledge that in many cases precedes and exceeds discoveries published in the scientific literature.[1] [2] [3]

For more than century, Alaska Native naturalists have entered into collaborative relationships with scientists working in the field or in their communities (International Polar Year (IPY), Native Contributions to Arctic Science,[4] Barrow Arctic Research Center). Their many contributions extend from indigenous ways of knowing to practical and applied inventions needed to subsist from the land, air, and waters (Sharing Knowledge Smithsonian Exhibit).

As institutions strive to decolonize, indigenous-settler relationships remain contentious and marked by structural inequities. In the history of the New World, Old World explorers and settlers often relied for their survival on the knowledge and wisdom of indigenous peoples.[5]

While this list focuses on individual biographies, it is worth noting the many exemplary collaborative projects (e.g., Barrow Arctic Research Center). In addition to recognizing community-based participatory research (CBPR), this list credits the organizations that develop and advocate for the education of future indigenous scientists and engineers, young scholars who will increase the number of indigenous scientists and engineers earning degrees. According to a 2019 report from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, fewer than 1% of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering programs go to American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islanders. These organizations include American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), Recruitment and Retention of American Indians into Nursing (RRAIN), and Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing (RRANN).

Inventors and scientists

Years!TribalAffiliation!DegreeKnowledge area!width=18em
Citations
Billy Adams1965-IñupiatUtqiagvik - NSB Department of Wildlife Management - extensive experience (30+ years) working with scientists, and continues to inform marine mammal and ice scientists[6]
Harry Brower Sr.1924-1992IñupiatSee The Whales, they give themselves, and  Fifty More Year Below Zero:
Tributes and Meditations for the Naval Arctic Laboratory's first half century at Barrow, Alaska		[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Patricia Longley CochranIñupiat[12] [13] [14]
Stanley EdwinGwich'inUAF - Atmospheric Sciences, Climatology - PhD[15] [16] [17]
Sven Haakanson1967-Alutiiq[18]
Al Hopson, Sr. or Eben HopsonIñupiatSee Fifty More Year Below Zero: Tributes and Meditations for the Naval Arctic
Laboratory's first half century at Barrow, Alaska
Orville HuntingtonAthabaskanB.S. Wildlife Biology, Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge, Subsistence, Alaska Native Corporations[19] [20]
Paul John1929-2015Yup'ik[21] [22] [23] [24]
book review[25]
Teresa Arevgaq JohnYup'ik[26] [27] [28] [29]
Oscar Kawagley1934-2011Yup'iktraditional knowledge and science educator[30] [31] [32] [33]
Della Keats1907-1996IñupiatHealer, midwife
Joe Leavitt1959-IñupiatUtqiagvik - extensive experience (40+ years) working as consultant with ice scientists.[34] [35]
Ilarion (Larry) Merculieffcirca 1950Aleut[36] [37] [38]
Simon Paneak1900-1975IñupiatSee Fifty More Year Below Zero: Tributes and Meditations for the Naval Arctic
Laboratory's first half century at Barrow, Alaska		[39] [40] [41] [42]
Peter Sovalik1910-1977IñupiatAn Original Arctic Naturalist, by Robert E. Henshaw and Max C. Brewer 2001[43] [44] [45] [46] [47]
Tina Marie WoodsAleutPh.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology with a Rural Indigenous Emphasis from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Worked within the Alaska Tribal Health System for over 15 years, with much time administering the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association.[48] [49] [50]

Native science organizations

See also

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Cech. Erin A.. Metz. Anneke. Smith. Jessi L.. deVries. Karen. 2017-01-04. Epistemological Dominance and Social Inequality. Science, Technology, & Human Values. 42. 5. 743–774. 10.1177/0162243916687037. 151488176. 0162-2439.
  2. Mistry. J.. Berardi. A.. 2016-06-09. Bridging indigenous and scientific knowledge. Science. 352. 6291. 1274–1275. 10.1126/science.aaf1160. 27284180. 0036-8075. 2016Sci...352.1274M. 206646704.
  3. Johnson. Jay T.. Howitt. Richard. Cajete. Gregory. Berkes. Fikret. Louis. Renee Pualani. Kliskey. Andrew. 2015-12-12. Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods. Sustainability Science. 11. 1. 1–11. 10.1007/s11625-015-0349-x. 131199874. 1862-4065. free.
  4. Brewster. Karen. 1997-01-01. Native Contributions To Arctic Science At Barrow, Alaska. Arctic. 50. 3. 10.14430/arctic1109. 1923-1245. free.
  5. Brewer. Joseph. Kronk Warner. Elizabeth Ann. 2015. Guarding Against Exploitation: Protecting Indigenous Knowledge in the Age of Climate Change. SSRN Working Paper Series. 10.2139/ssrn.2567995. 1556-5068.
  6. News: In a warming Arctic, October in Utqiaġvik presents an especially striking picture. Koenig. Ravenna. November 12, 2018. Public Media: Alaska's Energy Desk. April 13, 2019.
  7. Bodenhorn. Barbara. 2010-01-27. The Whales They Give Themselves: Conversations with Harry Brower, Sr., edited by Karen Brewster. Arctic. 58. 2. 10.14430/arctic413. 1923-1245. free.
  8. Albert. T. F.. 2001. The influence of Harry Brower, Sr., an Iñupiaq Eskimo hunter, on the bowhead whale research program conducted at the UIC-NARL facility by the North Slope Borough. In Fifty More Years below Zero: A Life-Time of Adventure in the Far North. The Geographical Journal. 112. 1/3. 265–278. 10.2307/1789177. 0016-7398. 1789177. 129759330.
  9. Langlois. Krista. April 6, 2018. Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures That Talk to Whales. Hakai Magazine.
  10. Quinlan. Mary Kay. Brower. Harry. 2006. Review of The Whales, They Give Themselves: Conversations with Harry Brower, Sr. The Oral History Review. 33. 1. 144–146. 0094-0798. 3675683. 10.1525/ohr.2006.33.1.144. 217487545.
  11. Web site: The Iñupiaq Supercomputer: What The Whale Hunters Know & Some Scientists Want To Discover. Wohlforth. Charles. 2001. April 13, 2019.
  12. Chief. Karletta. Chischilly. Ann Marie . Cochran. Patricia . Durglo. Mike . Hardison. Preston . Hostler. Joe . Lynn. Kathy . Morishima. Gary . Motanic. Don . 2015 . Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives . SSRN Working Paper Series. 10.2139/ssrn.2555299 . 1556-5068 . April 14, 2019 .
  13. News: Alaska Native women – front and center . Tetpon. John . March 5, 2019 . Anchorage Press. April 13, 2019.
  14. Web site: Alaska Native Science Commission . 16 September 2018 . Climate Policy Watcher » Canadian Arctic . April 13, 2019.
  15. Climatology and Forcing Mechanisms of Funnel Clouds in Alaska . August 2016 . Edwin . Stanley . Scholarworks@UA, Electronic Resource Collection, Internet. Thesis .
  16. News: Gwich'in man finds home in academia. Friedman. Sam. October 20, 2014. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. 2019-04-17.
  17. News: Destructive tornadoes unheard of in Alaska, but funnel clouds occasionally form. Friedman. Sam. July 2, 2018. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
  18. Book: Giinaquq Like a Face: Suqpiaq Masks of the Kodiak Archipelago. University of Chicago Press. 2009. 9781602230491. Haakanson Jr. S.D.. Steffian. A. F..
  19. Chapin. F. Stuart. Trainor. Sarah F.. Huntington. Orville. Lovecraft. Amy L.. Erika Zavaleta . Zavaleta. Erika. Natcher. David C.. McGuire. A. David. Nelson. Joanna L.. Ray. Lily. 2008-06-01. Increasing Wildfire in Alaska's Boreal Forest: Pathways to Potential Solutions of a Wicked Problem. BioScience. 58. 6. 531–540. 10.1641/b580609. 13501721. 1525-3244. free.
  20. Watson. Annette. Huntington. Orville H.. 2008-03-28. They're here—I can feel them: the epistemic spaces of Indigenous and Western Knowledges. Social & Cultural Geography. 9. 3. 257–281. 10.1080/14649360801990488. 144252322. 1464-9365.
  21. Web site: Becoming The Healthiest People. Paul John Calricaraq Project. Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation.
  22. Book: John, Paul. Stories for Future Generations / Qulirat Qanemcit-llu Kinguvarcimalriit: The Oratory of Yup'ik Elder Paul John. University of Washington Press. 2003. 9780295983509. Fienup-Riordan. Ann. Seattle. Shield. Sophie. registration.
  23. Fienup-Riordan. Ann. 1998. Yup'ik Elders in Museums: Fieldwork Turned on Its Head. Arctic Anthropology. 35. 2. 49–58. 0066-6939. 40316487.
  24. Web site: Yuungnaqpiallerput - The Way We Genuinely Live - Masterworks of Yup'ik Science. Calista Elders Corporation.
  25. Rasmus. S. Michelle. 2004. Fienup-Riordan, Ann (ed.), 2003 Qulirat Qanemcit-llu Kinguvarcimalriit, Stories for Future Generations: The Oratory of Yup'ik Elder Paul John, Bethel, Calista Elders Council, and Seattle, University of Washington Press, stories translated by Sophie Shield, 778 pages. . Études/Inuit/Studies . 28 . 1 . 193–195 . 10.7202/012651ar . 1923-1245. free .
  26. Parker Webster. Joan. John. Theresa Arevgaq. 2010. Preserving a space for cross-cultural collaborations: an account of insider/outsider issues . Ethnography and Education. 5. 2. 175–191. 10.1080/17457823.2010.493404. 143889077. 1745-7823.
  27. John . T.A. . 2009 . Nutemllarput, Our Very Own: A Yup'ik Epistemology . Canadian Journal of Native Education . 32 . 1 . 57.
  28. Book: Communities of practice: An Alaskan Native Model for language teaching and learning.. Parker Webster. J.. John. T.. University of Arizona Press. 2013. 73–100. On Becoming a “Literate” Person: Meaning Making with Multiliteracies and Multimodal Tools. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781317451013/chapters/10.4324/9781315697826-31. 10.4324/9781315697826. 9781315697826. 129492550 .
  29. Web site: Dr Theresa Arevgaq John Center for Cross-Cultural Studies. uaf.edu. en. 2019-04-18.
  30. Marker. Michael. 2015-01-29. Indigenous knowledge, indigenous scholars, and narrating scientific selves: "to produce a human being". Cultural Studies of Science Education. 11. 2. 477–480. 10.1007/s11422-015-9660-1. 145601831. 1871-1502.
  31. Book: Kawagley, Angayuqaq Oscar. A Yupiaq Worldview: A Pathway to Ecology and Spirit . Waveland Press. 2006. 978-1577663843.
  32. Barnhardt. Ray. Kawagley. Angayuqaq Oscar . 2005 . Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing . Anthropology and Education Quarterly. 36. 1. 8–23. 10.1525/aeq.2005.36.1.008.
  33. Web site: Kawagley, A. Oscar (Angayuqaq Oscar) 1934-2011. World Cat Identities.
  34. News: AK: Studying Sea Ice. Rettig. Molly. June 14, 2013. Alaska Public Media. April 13, 2019.
  35. Web site: Joe Leavitt. PROJECT JUKEBOX: Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program. 2019-04-17.
  36. Archibald. Jo-Ann. Barnhardt. Ray. Cajete. Gregory A.. Cochran. Patricia. McKinley. Elizabeth. Merculieff. Larry. 2007-03-01. The work of Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley. Cultural Studies of Science Education. 2. 1. 11–17. 10.1007/s11422-007-9048-y. 1871-1502. 2007CSSE....2...11A. 144637908.
  37. Book: 1995. Shaw. David. Our Common Shores and Our Common Challenge: Environmental Protection of the Pacific. 10.4027/ocsocc.1993. 9781566120272. 39340828.
  38. Merculieff. L.. Roderick. L.. 2013. Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education. University of Alaska Anchorage .
  39. Book: Campbell, J.M.. In a hungry country: essays by Simon Paneak. University of Alaska Press. 2004. Fairbanks.
  40. Irving. Laurence. West. George C.. Peyton. Leonard J.. Paneak. Simon. 1967. Migration of Willow Ptarmigan in Arctic Alaska. Arctic. 20. 2. 77–85. 10.14430/arctic3284. 1923-1245. free.
  41. Book: 1998-11-01. North Alaska chronicle: notes from the end of time: the Simon Paneak drawings.
  42. Irving. Laurence. 1953-01-01. The Naming of Birds by Nunamiut Eskimo. Arctic. 6. 1. 10.14430/arctic3864. 1923-1245. free.
  43. Folk. G. Edgar. Folk. Mary A.. Minor. Judy J.. 1972. Physiological Condition of Three Species of Bears in Winter Dens. Bears: Their Biology and Management. 2. 107–124. 10.2307/3872574. 1936-0614. 3872574.
  44. Book: Sovalik, Peter. Ukpiglu kayuqtuglu: The owl and the red fox.. Inupiat Material Development Center, Barrow School. 1977. Barrow, AK.
  45. News: The legacy of Alaska's Native naturalists. Brewer. Max. 16 Feb 1976. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Page 4. April 13, 2019.
  46. Maher. William J.. 1960-01-01. Recent Records of the California Grey Whale (Eschrichtius glaucus) Along the North Coast of Alaska. Arctic. 13. 4. 10.14430/arctic3705. 1923-1245. free.
  47. Web site: Deaths L-Z - North Slope AKGenWeb. akgenweb.com. 2019-04-18.
  48. News: High school dropout to Ph.D.: One Alaska Native scholar's path. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. May 24, 2016. Anchorage Daily News. April 12, 2019.
  49. Woods. Tina Marie. Zuniga. Ruth. David. E. J.. 2012-03-02. A Preliminary Report on the Relationships Between Collective Self-Esteem, Historical Trauma, and Mental Health among Alaska Native Peoples. Journal of Indigenous Research. 1. 2.
  50. Lewis. Jordan. Woods. Tina Marie. Zuniga. Ruth. David. E. J. R.. August 2010. The Indigenous Peoples of Alaska: Appreciating the Role of Elders in Shifting Toward a Strength-Based and Culturally-Appropriate Approach to Mental Health. Communique. 23–27.

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