Indigenous Knowledge – Alaska Sea Grant

Old Harbor studies the old ways

By Kyle Kolda | April 21, 2026

A teenage girl in orange overalls and a black T-shirt leans over a hole in the dirt with a trowel. Beside her, another teenage girl in a maroon hoodie and blue pants crouches over the hole, also holding a trowel.

Old Harbor is turning to its past to plot out its future. With support from Alaska Sea Grant, a group of researchers are partnering with the Alutiiq Tribe of Old…

Planning the future of Indigenous stewardship

By Tom Moran | March 23, 2026

A Native Alaskan woman in a red kuspuk speaks into a microphone. Behind her is a photo montage of village scenes.

One of the newest ideas in Alaska land management dates back millennia. At a recent gathering in Fairbanks, representatives of Indigenous organizations and communities in Alaska and Canada met to…

Combining local knowledge and new technology to study spotted seals

By Kyle Kolda | October 20, 2025

Distant nadir view of 11 spotted seals resting on a sand spit surrounded by crashing waves.

Spotted seals are a vital part of Alaska’s Arctic marine ecosystems and a crucial resource for many coastal Iñupiaq communities. Yet despite their cultural and ecological significance, these elusive marine…

2018 Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference and Forum

By Alaska Sea Grant | January 17, 2018

Sharing Science and Knowledge. The annual Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference (WAISC) will bring together local and indigenous knowledge of subsistence-based communities and other scientific research relevant to the Bering…