Environmental Knowledge

Environmental Knowledge

Sea Ice in the Belcher Islands, Nunavut, Canada

Map of Sanikiluaq which is located on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay.
ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Topics
Marine conditions
Ocean currents
Polynyas
Sea ice
Geographic Area
Canada (Nunavut Territory)
Time Period
1997 - 2009
Status
Complete
Includes local hunters' descriptions of sea ice conditions over time on the Belcher Islands in southeastern Hudson Bay. The interviews and maps were collected by the Sanikiluaq Sea Ice Project .

Snowchange Oral History - Work Among the Kolyma River Indigenous Societies in Siberia, Russia

women standing outside of camp in Russia
ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
ORAL HISTORIES
Topics
Environmental features & use
Place names
Indigenous knowledge
Terrestrial conditions
Permafrost
Wildlife management & animal husbandry
Reindeer herding
Wildlife observations
Fish
Geographic Area
Russian Federation
Time Period
1930 - 2009
Status
Complete

Geographic and environmental information from residents of two Indigenous Chukchi communities in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Siberia, Russian Federation, practicing seasonal nomadic reindeer herding and other subsistence activities.

The Northern Bering Sea: Our Way of Life

Northern Bering Sea: Our way of life
ELOKA Product Types
ATLASES & MAPS
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
ORAL HISTORIES
Topics
Community-based monitoring
Environmental features & use
Food security and sovereignty
Indigenous knowledge
Marine conditions
Sea ice
Wildlife observations
Marine mammals
Birds
Fish
Geographic Area
United States (Alaska)
Time Period
2011
Status
Complete

The purpose of The Northern Bering Sea: Our Way of Life is to show extensive areas where Alaska Native hunters and local fishermen harvest ocean resources, and the marine waters important to the resources we rely on. It illustrates that the whole northern Bering Sea is the storehouse that supports our way of life.

Voices from the Frontlines of a Changing Bering Sea

Voices from the frontlines of a changing Bering sea banner
ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
ORAL HISTORIES
Topics
Food security and sovereignty
Indigenous knowledge
Stories
Infrastructure and development impacts
Marine conditions
Weather
Wildlife observations
Geographic Area
United States (Alaska)
Time Period
2019 - 2021
Status
Complete

The Bering Sea is home to over 70 Indigenous communities of the Iñupiat, Central Yup’ik, Cup’ik, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Unangan, and Chukchi Peoples. In recent years, the Bering Sea has experienced unprecedented declines in sea ice, threatening community food security, infrastructure, and travel. In winters 2018 and 2019, sea ice coverage was by far the lowest observed in at least the last 160 years.

Waking the Bear: Understanding Circumpolar Bear Ceremonialism

Grizzly Bear in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
ORAL HISTORIES
Topics
Indigenous knowledge
Oral history
Stories
Wildlife observations
Geographic Area
Russian Federation
Time Period
1995 - Ongoing
Status
Complete
This website describes the bear ceremonies of Siberian people, the Mansi and the Khanty, through a rich narrative illustrated by photos, videos, and audio recordings.

When the Weather is Uggianaqtuq: Inuit Observations of Environmental Change

Uggianaqtuq map
ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
OBSERVATION PLATFORM
ORAL HISTORIES
Geographic Area
Canada (Nunavut Territory)
Time Period
1920 - 2001
Status
Retired

In this interactive, multi-media CD-ROM, Inuit from two Inuit communities in Nunavut, Canada, share their observations and perspectives on recent environmental changes. 

Gwich'in Place Names Atlas

gwichin atlas area
ELOKA Product Types
ATLASES & MAPS
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Topics
Environmental features & use
Place names
Settlements
Geographic Area
Canada (Yukon Territory)
United States (Alaska)
Time Period
Pre-history to present
Status
Not Released to Public

Gwich’in Nąįį Googindì’ K’ìt / Gwich’in Place Names Atlas is a project that has developed an interactive, online Atlas of Gwich’in place names and stories. Working with Gwich’in communities and partners, ELOKA is developing the atlas so that knowledge of the land passed from generation to generation can be preserved and shared. 

Topics: Traditional place names, including environmental features and settlements

Geographic areas: Yukon Territory, Alaska, and surrounding area.

Voices from the Bay Data Preservation

ELOKA Product Types
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
ORAL HISTORIES
Topics
Community-based monitoring
Indigenous knowledge
Wildlife observations
Geographic Area
Canada (Nunavut Territory)
Time Period
1999 - 2018
Status
Not Released to Public
A project to organize, document, and preserve source data and materials from a 1997 publication, Voices from the Bay: Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Inuit and Cree in the Hudson Bay Bioregion, into a digital repository for the Sanikiluaq community.
The ELOKA Program is generously supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation through awards OPP-1554271, OPP-1549912, and OPP-1546038