Accounting for Well-Being

well-being and Sovereignty

This research project was carried out in partnership with Igiugig Village Council. Igyaraq (Igiugig in Yup’ik) carries the meaning of like a throat that swallows water, a reference to its geographic location on the western shore of Lake Iliamna where the Lake feeds into Kuicaaq (Kvichak River). In this project, we examine Indigenous conceptions of equity, well-being, and sustainability. We pay particular attention to how sovereignty underpins and informs these interrelated terms and how they are co-articulated and achieved in Indigenous communities. We address two questions: 1) How do western/conventional approaches to well-being compare with Indigenous approaches to well-being?; and 2) When is standardized, quantifiable data important for equitable, science-based, sustainable management, and when is it not? We situate our findings in the broader literature on the role of Indigenous governance in sustaining both cultural livelihoods and biodiversity.

PrOJECT videos

Our premiere video on Alaska Native Hunting and Fishing Rights reviews historical and ongoing processes shaping Indigenous hunting and fishing rights in Alaska.

Our second video on Equity and Well-Being in Fisheries discusses why systematic inclusion of equity and well-being considerations are integral to sustainable fisheries management.

Our final video on Fishery Science and Policy focuses on the importance of social science research and data in sustainable and equitable management.

This series is a partnership between Igiugig Village Council and the Well-Being and Indigenous Livelihoods and Indigenizing Salmon Science and Management project teams. We greatly appreciate our project advisors: Jon Salmon, AlexAnna Salmon, Apay’uq Moore, Janessa Esquible, Carrie Stevens, Brooke Woods, Jonathan Samuelson, and Kevin Illingworth. Funding is provided by the North Pacific Research Board and National Science Foundation.

project team

Dr. Rachel Donkersloot (PI), Coastal Cultures Research; Dr. Courtney Carothers, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Dr. Jessica Black, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Danielle Ringer, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Harmony Wayner, University Centre of the Westfjords

Igiugig Village Council (IVC) is our esteemed partner in this work. IVC guides our team in thinking about respect and reciprocity in project design, methods, and outcomes.

This research is generously funded by the North Pacific Research Board.