News

December 2011

American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting
On December 9th, 2011, ELOKA PI Peter Pulsifer presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2011, held in San Francisco, USA. Almost 20,000 Earth and Space scientists, educators, students, and policy makers attended the meeting to share discoveries from many disciplines. Members of the ELOKA team have attend the last three AGU meetings to ensure that developments on data management related to local and traditional knowledge of the Arctic are shared with the broader science community. The paper, entitled 'Applying Agile Methods to the Development of a Community-Based Sea Ice Observations Database' reported on the software development method being used to develop a community-based observation system in partnership with researchers and community members from the SIZONet project.

November 2011

Data Management and Local Knowledge: Building a Network to Support Community-Based Research and Monitoring Workshop
The ELOKA Workshop was held in Boulder, CO at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus 15-17 November. It was a huge success with more than 75 participants from North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia in attendance. Attendees included members of Indigenous communities from Alaska, Siberia, the Canadian Arctic, and the Boulder area. Local experts, university researchers, federal government representatives, a representative of UNESCO, NGO researchers, students and others attended. The program included more than 35 talks with a poster session and a series of working sessions. The workshop has significantly strengthened links between ELOKA and the broader network of community members and researchers working with Arctic communities. Workshop presentations and abstracts are available online at the ELOKA Workshop webpage.

ELOKA Workshop participants from North America, Greenland, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Photo credit: David Oonk.

ELOKA Workshop Participants listen to one of the 35 talks over the 3-Day period. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

Trevor Bennett (University of Victoria, BC, School of Environmental Studies) enjoys a discussion during the ELOKA Workshop. Photo Credit: Chris McNeave

Jay Hootch and Earl Alstrom (Yupiit of Andreafski Environmental Program) and Gretta Pecl (The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia) enage in discussions at the ELOKA Workshop. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

Alaska Community Member Olia Sutton teaches Jeff Braucher (National Snow and Ice Data Center) the "how to's" on operating an Arctic Yo Yo. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

ELOKA Workshop Participants at the poster session. The poster session offered participants another avenue to present their projects. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

SnowChange Cooperative's Tero Mustonen (Selkie Village, Finland), Pyotr Kaurgin (Chukchee Nomadic Community, Turvaurgin, Russia), Russian Interpretor Elena Freeman (Unviersity of Colorado) and Vyacheslav Shadrin (Chief, Council of Yukaghir Elders, Russia) at the ELOKA Workshop. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

ELOKA PI - Peter Pulsifer, and Co-PIs - Shari Gearheard and Henry Huntington having fun at the AISES cultural event "An Indigenous Evening." This event coincided with the ELOKA Workshop. Photo credit: Chris McNeave

October 2011

Oral History Association Annual Meeting
The Oral History Association Annual Meeting was held 12-16 October in Denver, CO and was attended by ELOKA Team Members Allaina Wallace and Heidi McCann. This years theme "Memories of Conflict and Disaster: Oral History and the Politics of Truth, Trauma, and Reconciliation" provided an opportunity for ELOKA to assess the collection of community data recordings and present the collections during the panel session "Putting a Human Face on Science". Environmental History was highlighted during Friday's Plenary Session with the presenters exploring how public lands history, federal agencies, and environmental inquiry can enrich oral history.

World Climate Research Programme
The World Climate Research Programme hosted a major international Open Science Conference (OSC) on 24-28 October 2011 in Denver, Colorado, USA. This conference attracted the world's experts to provide a unique synthesis of current research findings on climate variability and change, to identify the most urgent scientific issues and research challenges, and to ascertain how the WCRP can best facilitate research and develop partnerships critical for progress in the future. ELOKA Team Member Julia Collins presented a poster - "Collecting and preserving local and traditional climate knowledge". The poster abstract is available at the WCRP website.

June 2011

Local and Scientific Knowledge Integration Workshop
Peter Pulsifer of ELOKA participated in a three-day workshop held at the headquarters of the Science Communication Institute, of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, France from 14-16 of June 2011. The workshop focused on community-based research and the integration of local knowledge and scientific research. More than 20 participants including 7 researchers from aboriginal communities and 15 from universities in Canada, the United States, Norway, Sweden and France attended the workshop. Aboriginal researchers were Inuit from Baker Lake, Nunavut, and Kangirsuk, Nunavik, Innu from Schefferville, and Cree from Eeyou Istchee in Quebec, and Saami from Ovre Soppero in Sapmi, Northern Sweden. The list of participants, the presentations, and the main outcomes of the workshop are available online at the Aboriginal Ecotourism webpage.

Community and university-based researchers from North Americe and Europe attended the workshop photo credit: Gary Kofinas

International Congress on Arctic Social Sciences
The International Congress on Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS) was held in Akureyri, Iceland, June 22-26, 2011. Shari Gearheard, Peter Pulsifer and Peter Schweitzer (University of Alaska, Fairbanks) organized and chaired "Data Management and Knowledge Stewardship: Perspectives and Practice from Communities and Researchers". The session convened with 12 papers on topics that included strategies for establishing individual research centers and a network of communities and researchers focused on data management, further developing principles for northern research, participatory methods, technical advancements, place names and terminology, and the establishment of portals. The session facilitated communication among researchers and community members interested in local knowledge and data management. For more detailed information please see the session program.

ELOKA contributes to the World Archaeological Congress Inter-Congress Conference
An Inter-Congress of the World Archaeological Congress was held June 22-25, 2011, in Indianapolis, IN. The topic of the conference "Indigenous Peoples and Museums: Unraveling the Tensions" was well attended by many museums from around the world, as well as many American Indian/Alaska Native Cultural Centers. ELOKA contributed the "Archiving Local and Traditional Knowledge of the Arctic: Managing Data and Information in Partnership with Indigenous Communities and Earth Scientists" poster. Curators and museum professionals were impressed with the ELOKA model of data management.

May 2011

Clyde River
From May 24th-31st, ELOKA Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Peter Pulsifer, visited Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada. While in Clyde River, Peter met with the Elders and researcher at the Ittaq Heritage and Research Center to develop a collaborative research project focused on local sea ice terminology. Additionally, the visit involved a trip to examine a weather-monitoring site that is part of the Silalirijiit Project. Dr. Pulsifer has been working with members of the Silalirijiit team to provide access to weather station data through the Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River) Weather Station Network.

The community of Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada

Cosmic Serpent Culminating Conference
Held in Taos, NM, ELOKA was well received at the Cosmic Serpent Culminating Conference. The goals of this conference were: (1) for Cosmic Serpent Fellows from all three regions (Southwest, Northwest, California-Hawaii) to have an opportunity to share with one another their accomplishments and work related to collaborations between Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science in museum settings; (2) for non-Cosmic Serpent Fellows to have a chance to learn from Cosmic Serpent Fellows and to share their own work related to the collaborations between Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science in educational settings; (3) for all conference attendees to learn more about Indigenous Ways of Knowing through keynote presentations from experts in the field.
Heidi McCann attended and presented ELOKA to a new audience—museum professionals. Although we are not in a 'museum environment' we do fall under the category of 'professionals in the field of Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science.' It was a good opportunity for knowledge exchange, networking and an opportunity to show a very viable component of collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic.

April 2011

CIRES Rendezvous
On Friday, April 22, 2011, Chris McNeave and Heidi McCann attended the sixth institute-wide symposium held in Boulder, CO, at the Millennium Harvest House Hotel. Chris and Heidi presented the ELOKA poster, "Archiving Local and Traditional Knowledge of the Arctic—Managing Data and Information in Partnership with Indigenous Communities and Earth Scientists." The entire afternoon was devoted to posters, which is the most intere sting and interactive way to present and publicize the variety of research being conducted at CIRES.

March 2011

The Canadian Geographer's Special Issue
ELOKA PI Shari Gearheard's paper "The Igliniit Project: Inuit Hunters Document Life on the Trail to Map and Monitor Arctic Change" and ELOKA Research Associate Peter Pulsifer's paper "Towards an Indigenist Data Management Program: Reflections on Experiences from the Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project" have each respectively been accepted for publication in The Canadian Geographer's Special Issue on the Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project.

Team Members magnify ELOKA via up-coming conferences
Various ELOKA Team Members will be participating in up-coming conferences in the next few months: CIRES Renedevous on April 22, 2011 in Boulder, CO; Cosmic Serpent Culminating Conference on May 2-5, 2011 in Taos, NM, the International Arctic Social Sciences Association Meeting in Akureyri, Iceland from June 22-26, 2011; World Arachaeological Congress on Indigenous People and Museums, June 22-25, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN and the Oral History Association Annual Meeting, October 12-16, 2011 at the Renaissance Denver Hotel in Denver, CO.
Check back for updates.

February 2011

NSIDC/ELOKA make first time appearance at the Alaska Forum on the Environment 2011
ELOKA Co-Principal Investigator, Henry Huntington and ELOKA Knowledge Exchange Coordinator, Heidi McCann, made a first time appearance at the Alaska Forum on the Environment in Anchorage held at the Dena'ina Convention Center. Over 1,800 people attend AFE to learn more about the environment and meet other Alaskans that work in the environmental field. The Forum provides an opportunity for State, Local, Federal, military, private, and Native leaders and professionals to come together and discuss the latest projects, processes, and issues that affect the people of Alaska. The trip was successful in that it provided more exposure for the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and ELOKA to many Alaska Residents not familiar with the organization or project, many brochures (NSIDC and ELOKA) were handed out in addition to the many other keepsake goodies. A popular item with participants was the ELOKA Uggianaqtuq CD-ROM. Staff members Leah Mackey, Carol Thomas, Faon O'Connor and Executive Director Jon Waterhouse of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council came by to say "hello" and make introductions. Heidi received much positive feedback and thanks from participants that a project such as ELOKA exists.

From L-R Henry Huntington and Heidi McCann at the Alaska Forum on the Environment 2011 in Anchorage, AK. Photo credit: Heidi McCann

Imam Cimiucia: Our Changing Sea
ELOKA Co-PI, Henry Huntington has a book being released in May 2011 - Imam Cimiucia: Our Changing Sea. This is in collaboration with Anne Salomon and Nick Tanape. A tentative book signing is being planned for May in Victoria, BC.
Stay tuned for more details.

Alaska Forum on the Environment
Two ELOKA Team Members will be attending the Alaska Forum on the Environment 2011 being held at the Anchorage Dena'ina Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska, February 7-11, 2011. Co-Principal Investigator, Henry Huntington and Knowledge Exchange Coordinator, Heidi McCann will both be presiding at the NSIDC/ELOKA booth, attending sessions and meeting with potential partners and current collaborators of the ELOKA Project. For more information on the forum, visit the Alaska Forum on the Environment website for more information.

December 2010

AGU 2010 Fall Meeting
ELOKA Team Members Peter Pulsifer and Heidi McCann will be attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2010 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Peter will be presenting a poster entitled "Using Schema-less Database Technology to Develop a Web Application for Sea Ice Monitoring" on Wednesday, December 14 and will be demonstrating the SIZONet prototype. Heidi will be assisting the User Support Office staff at the NSIDC booth (320 and 322 in the Exhibit Hall) and discussing research and projects underway with colleagues and other interested scientists under the ELOKA project. If you will be attending the AGU Fall Meeting, please stop by and see them and stop by to learn more about ELOKA.

November 2010

ELOKA and NSIDC host the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council Workshop
ELOKA Team Members Peter Pulsifer and Heidi McCann presented ELOKA to the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council Workshop hosted by NSIDC. Participants included the USGS, USFS and Alaskan Natives representing the communities of Emmonak, Kotlik and Saint Marys, Alaska. These communities are located within the lower part of the Yukon River Basin. The workshop was interactive and brought scientists and community members together for the purpose of building a proposal/project that is directly focused on filling the needs of the local communities within the lower Yukon River Basin.

Participants in the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council Workshop held at NSIDC in Boulder, CO, October 9-11, 2010. Bottom from left to right: Carol Thomas, Nicole Herman-Mercer, Leah Mackey. Second row L to R: Heidi McCann, Victor Tonuchuk, Paul Schuster. Third row L to R: Roberta Murphey, J. Hootch, Peter Pulsifer. Top: Kelly Elder. Photo credit: Chris McNeave.

October 2010

Inuit Delegation visit Boulder and NSIDC
An Inuit Delegation of six from Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada visited Boulder and the surrounding area in early October accompanied by Shari Gearheard. The Delegation were part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) Special Lecture series in which they discussed the Arctic from their perspective as Inuit who's families have lived off the land and sea ice for generations. ELOKA in collaboration with the American Indian Science and Engineering Student Group, Oyate American Indian Student Group, and the Native American Law Student Association of CU Boulder hosted "An Evening with the Inuit". The Inuit were treated to many local foods, local history of the Arapaho and American Indian Plains Style dancing provided by the Seven Falls Indian Dancers.

Members of the Inuit Delegation and the local American Indian Community at "An Evening with the Inuit" in Boulder, CO, October 4, 2010. Photo credit: Chris McNeave

Inuit Delegation member Esa Qillaq at the CIRES Special Lecture series at the CU Boulder Campus, October 4, 2010. Photo credit: Chris McNeave

September 2010

Launch of the Silalirijiit prototype site
The Silalirijiit Project weather station network web site was launched in September. A major goal of the site is to develop a presentation of weather data that is of most use and interest to the local community. The site is currently in English with an all-Inuktitut version to follow. The site currently provides access to the current weather conditions at Akuliaqattak, Silasiutitalik, and Ailaktalik, located in Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut. Meteorological measurements are displayed in near-real time, and include air and ground temperature, wind direction and speed, and humidity.

This web site links Inuit Knowledge and science in regards to weather patterns by bringing Inuit experts and scientists together to study weather patterns, changing weather, and weather forecasting in the Kangiqtugaapik area, as well as with other sciences and numerical models to analyze past, current, and future weather conditions. Data from the stations, in combination with local knowledge, are key to developing a better understanding of Kangiqtugaapik weather patterns and weather changes. The data can also be informative to Kangiqtugaapingmiut and other communities in the region for many purposes, as well as to other researchers and weather watchers. The project is documenting Inuit methods of weather forecasting and Inuit knowledge of changing weather patterns. Knowledge exchange across disciplines and cultures and getting Kangiqtugaapingmiut of all ages involved! Site selection for stations was based on consultation with our local hunters, Elders, and weather forecasters, as well as with other researchers and meteorologists. Installation of four new weather stations in the Kangiqtugaapik area are in the works.

International Arctic Research Center
Co-Principal Investigator Henry Huntington gave a keynote talk at a workshop on community-based monitoring, held at the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks on September 20, 2010. He addressed "functions and attributes" of a community-based monitoring network, using ELOKA as an example of providing a suitable data platform for such endeavors. The organizers of the workshop plan to continue working to develop a network along the Alaska coast, complementing a similar network being established in Canada.

August 2010

Newest ELOKA Team member
Heidi McCann, the newest ELOKA team member, is the Knowledge Exchange Coordinator for the project. Heidi will be consulting with each community individually to understand the knowledge they have documented, their goals, and what services and resources ELOKA can offer. She brings a diverse educational and professional background with her most recent work as a Cultural Resource Specialist for the Yavapai-Apache Nation and other Western Apache tribes. She looks forward to the many journeys this position brings and to working at NSIDC and working on and contributing to the on-going success of the ELOKA project and perhaps, meeting the very people who contribute their knowledge, both researchers and northern community members.

Photo credit: Lily Roach

June 2010

ELOKA members will participate in the IPY Oslo Science Conference, both at the Polar Information Commons booth, as well as during the conference sessions.

• Shari Gearheard will co-convene the session “Polar observing systems”
• Tuesday 8 June, 16:00-17:30: Shari Gearheard will present “The power of multiple perspectives: The Siku-Inuit-Hila (Sea Ice-People-Weather) project”
• Wednesday 9 June, 11:30: Shari Gearheard, Peter Pulsifer, and Mark Parsons will present “The Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA): Data management services for local and traditional knowledge and community-based observations”
• Thursday 10 June, 11:15: Shari Gearheard will present “The Igliniit (Trails) Project: Combining Inuit knowledge and geomatics engineering to create a new observation tool for hunters”
• Thursday 10 June, 16:00-17:30: Peter Pulsifer will present “Inuit communities and Knowledge: Data management and knowledge stewardship in the circumpolar flaw lead system study”
• Thursday 10 June, 11:30: Peter Pulsifer will present “Creating an online cybercartographic atlas of sea ice: Technical design and implementation”

April 2010

Sanikiluaq Sea Ice Project Web site released
ELOKA is pleased to release its first product: the Sanikiluaq Sea Ice Project Web site. Sanikiluaq is one of the southernmost Inuit communities in Nunavut, Canada, and is located on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay. To help document changing sea ice conditions around the islands, members of the Sanikiluaq Sea Ice Project interviewed three hunters. The product Web site presents the resulting videos and maps describing each hunter's observations.

Residents Peter Kattuk (left) and Johnassie Ippak (right) are two of the hunters interviewed for the Sanikiluaq Sea Ice Project. Photo credit: Chris McNeave

March 2010

In March, ELOKA conducted a short community workshop involving participants from many different scientific domains and Indigenous knowledge research organizations. Participants generally agreed on the need to create a pan-Arctic network supporting community-based monitoring and local and traditional knowledge of the Arctic. A major outcome of the meeting was a white paper submitted to the agency officials who attended the State of the Arctic Conference and the Sustained Arctic Observing Network steering group. View a PDF version of the resulting ELOKA White Paper.

January 2010

ELOKA Community Workshop
The ELOKA Community Workshop, Northern Meeting, will be held on 26-27 February in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. Attendees will conduct community reviews with Sanikiluaq and Narwhal groups; discuss community needs and feedback for ELOKA; and hold an ELOKA open house-type meeting with local community members. The Southern Meeting will be on March 1 in Ottawa, and attendees will discuss Northern Meeting results and future directions for ELOKA.

Inuit Knowledge Centre launched
Inuit Qaujisarvingat: the Inuit Knowledge Centre, was launched to address the gap between western science and Inuit knowledge, as well as to provide a way for Inuit to respond to a growing interest in the Arctic and Arctic issues. The aim of Inuit Qaujisarvingat will be to help Canada build on its inherent advantage as the steward of remarkable human and natural resources that are of vital global importance, help Canada fulfill its international obligations, and help Canada become a leader in the exchange and use of Inuit and scientific knowledge.

December 2009

ELOKA and the Sustained Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) have begun collaborating on an inventory of Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) projects in the Arctic. This inventory will be used in the development of a map-based, searchable directory of Arctic LTK-related projects.

August 2009

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded funds to NSIDC for the continued development of ELOKA. This new award will move ELOKA into a fully operational mode that will help data providers and communities acquire, manage, and preserve their data, and to provide user-friendly tools for searching, browsing, and accessing data through the ELOKA Web site or the data providers' sites as a means of access to all partner projects. The funding is part of a contribution to the NSF Arctic Observing Network.

June 2009

The ELOKA project team is working to complete the first two examples of data management for two ELOKA collaborators. These are expected for release later this year.

November 2008

Over 20 people representing Northern communities, organizations, and research projects met in Anchorage, Alaska, 11 and 12 November for the second ELOKA project workshop. The group discussed shared challenges and goals for data management of local and traditional knowledge, and worked together to create future priorities for ELOKA.

September 2008

ELOKA launches new Web site. Our new Web site lays the foundation to develop ELOKA tools and services, such as the up and coming searchable database tool, where users will be able to find information about LTK and community-based monitoring projects throughout the Arctic.

July 2008

Isuma TV is a new internet video portal for Indigenous filmmakers that features unique, Indigenous-language content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

April 2008

The "Silavut: Inuit Voices in a Changing World" exhibit opened April 15, 2008 at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History in Boulder, Colorado. A collaboration of CIRES' National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the museum, and the community of Clyde River in Nunavut, Canada, the exhibit relates the story of climate change through Inuit eyes. It will show through March 15, 2009.

January 2008

Sanikiluaq, Nunavut Canada - ELOKA Project Manager Chris McNeave traveled to Sanikiluaq to act as an advisor to members of a planning committee developing a strategy and approach for a proposed regional environmental study combining scientific observations with LTK from surrounding Inuit and Cree communities.

Abisko, Sweden - ELOKA Co-Principal Investigator Henry Huntington traveled to Abisko to meet with project collaborators, discuss ELOKA and partner status, and collaborate with the Abisko Scientific Research Station and the Saami community.

December 2007

ELOKA began working with Dr. Martin Nweeia of Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Nweeia is working with narwhal hunters from Greenland and Baffin Island studying narwhal migration and their salinity-sensitive tusks.

ELOKA Principal Investigator Shari Gearheard presented a poster on ELOKA at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ArcticNet in Collingwood, Ontario.

November 2007

Sanikiluaq, Nunavut Canada - ELOKA Project Manager Chris McNeave met with community members and representatives from the Hudson Bay Bioregion Community-based Monitoring Network and System (HUBB) to develop ELOKA and community relationships, and to identify ELOKA-related tasks.

October 2007

Anchorage, Alaska - ELOKA Co-Principal Investigator Henry Huntington and Project Manager Chris McNeave met with partners and collaborators from ANSC, ABR, and BSSN to review the projects and discuss partner status and needs from ELOKA.

March 2007

ELOKA approved for funding by the NSF IPY program.

May 2006

First ELOKA proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation Program Solicitation: NSF 06-534, International Polar Year. View the proposal summary: ELOKA NSF Proposal (PDF file, ~55 KB)

November 2005

ICSU/WMO Joint Committee for the International Polar Year 2007-2008 endorses the full ELOKA proposal on the IPY Web site.