Researching apun: Students Using Local, Traditional, and Science Knowledge Bases to Investigate Arctic Snow Processes

This overarching goal of this project as to design and implement a culturally relevant science unit at Iḷisaġvik College, the only native-directed college (tribal college) in Alaska. Utqiaġvik, AK is located at the northernmost point of the USA, where the community has a unique perspective to observe rapid Arctic warming. The Inupiat have lived in Utqiaġvik for thousands of years (time immemorial) and hold rich knowledge due to subsistence hunting and their connection to the tundra and sea ice. The project sought to advance Arctic science while engaging underrepresented students in a science research project that affirms their cultural values. This project embodied the goals of the Navigating the New Arctic initiative through it's novel approach of engaging local Arctic students in learning local knowledge from community members and using it to inform the students' snow research projects.

The first goal of the project was to design, implement, and iteratively improve a culturally relevant science inquiry unit at Iḷisaġvik College. Students who participated in the unit designed and carried out research projects to gain unique insights into the processes driving Arctic snow chemical composition by engaging with Arctic residents. Students investigated apun (Inupiaq word for snow on the ground) through three courses including Basic General Chemistry, Climate Change on the North Slope Indigenous Science, and Traditional Ecological Science. The unit involves multiple activities that guide students through carring out their research projects, which are designed based on what students learn from knowledgeable community members and about science practices. The unit continues to be used in these courses at Iḷisaġvik College.

The second goal of the project was to capture the collaborative design process through which the unit was produced. Collaborative design was used to ensure that the project yielded an inquiry unit that could be used sustainably by instructors at Iḷisaġvik College while honoring the cultural and educational values of the Utqiaġvik community. The project team worked with community members, Elders, research scientists, college professors, and students to develop the unit. The design process was captured using a range of data including video and audio recordings from classroom activities, interviews with students, and project meetings, as well as student artifacts such as assignments and presentations from three iterations of the unit. The data was analyzed using conjecture mapping and used to reflect on the design and make adaptations to ensure that components of the unit yielded the desired outcomes.

Project outcomes were presented to the local community in Utqiaġvik, AK. Project results were presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences and are reported through 2 publications, as well as 1 additional manuscript under review. The project was also featured in The Arctic Sounder, a newspaper serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope of Alaska, and through the Arctic Science Session podcast aired on KBRW, the radio station of the North Slope of Alaska. In addition, undergraduate students at Iḷisaġvik College participated in research opportunities outside of the classroom.