Looking forward, looking back: Building resilience today community report: Iliamna, AK

Abstract

The Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK CASC), in partnership with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA), designed the Looking Forward, Looking Back: Building Resilience Today project as a series of trainings and workshops with tribal community leadership and members to collaboratively develop the western science knowledge and Indigenous knowledge to assist with adaptation planning. The project had three phases related to its title and structure. The first and last phase included two training sessions held at the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska at the beginning and near the end of the project. The project team also traveled to the partner communities and held a series of onsite events with community members to develop locally-relevant information and contextualize climate science tailored to the needs and conditions of each community. This report represents the community information shared during those onsite events. The Meeting Announcement included in this report shows the date and descrip- tion of the outreach event. To support the community teams with engaging their leadership and community members on climate issues and planning, the project team visited each of the five communities, Iliamna, St. Michael, Kotlik, Kwigillingok and Quinhagak, and held a series of events. The purpose of these events were to: 1) facilitate mapping of a Traditional Use Area to refine an area for climate projections, 2) construct current and past seasonal Subsistence Calendars to identify important species and times of the year, 3) document Indigenous and local knowledge from current community members about environmental changes they have observed over their lifetimes, and 4) assist with documenting what the community perceived to be climate-related issues through photos and interviews. The agenda of the visits was co-produced with the community team. In each community, the community team and the project team hosted an open-to-the-public meeting and met with various groups. The community team advertised the meetings by posting community fliers, making announcements on the community radio, and reaching out to individuals that would contribute to the engagement discussions. Each community meeting focused on activities to develop the Traditional Use Area Mapping, the seasonal Subsistence Calendars and documenting observed environmental changes. Community members spent time at stations dedicated to each of these activities. The project team also met with various groups of individuals that included village corporation, tribal council, and city representatives where additional information about observed environmental changes was gathered.