Symposium: Ioann Veniaminov in Alaska and Siberia and His Contributions to Arctic Social Science This symposium on Ioann Veniaminov's contributions to the development of arctic social sciences, to be held in December 1997 in Fairbanks, Alaska, brings together Russian and North American scholars. It complements related activities that have taken place in Russia celebrating the bicentennial of his 1797 birth. Veniaminov was a 19th century Russian Orthodox cleric who pioneered ethnographic studies of Aleut and Tlingit peoples, developed language writing systems for Aleut, Alutiiq, Tlingit, and Yup'ik languages, developed a bilingual/bicultural educational system, advocated and contributed to the study of the Alaska environment by keeping records of temperature, wind, and other climate variables, and contributed to the earliest publication on the natural history of the Aleutian Islands.
