This dissertation proposal will support research by a young CoPI to investigate the issue of climate change in Arctic Alaska through research on both indigenous knowledge and western scientific knowledge and the possible synergies that can be created between them. This is a model project, well defined with a clear statement of methodology and plan for analyses. Through classic ethnographic methodology (open-ended interviews and participant observation) among the Inupiat, the researcher will gain insight into core questions about the people and their relationship to the environment, the existence of a core set of variables that determine how the Inupiat experience and analyze their environment, and identify common issues between indigenous communities and scientist in order to create opportunities for collaboration.
