Spanning the Bering Strait: 20 Years of Collaborative Research

2011·1.7 MB·English

by  National Park Service

National Park Service
U.S. Departmentofthe Interior
ClemsonUniversi
I 29.2:B 45/3
604 019 694 662
Spanning
the
Bering
Strait
20 YEARS OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
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INTRODUCTION
The Shared Beringian Heritage Program has been fortunate enough to have had a sustained source offundsto support
community based projects and research since itscreation in 1991. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev
expanded their cooperation in thefield of environmental protection and the studyofglobal changetocreatethe Shared
Beringian Heritage Program. The Bering Strait area shares manysignificant natural and cultural resources. The purpose
ofour program isto recognize and celebratethese resourcesthat Russia and the United States have in common and to
sustain the cultural heritage of Native peoplesthroughoutthe region. In support ofthese goals, annual funding forthe
Beringia Program is currentlycommitted to a variety of projectsthat involve scientists, government officials, teachers and
youth from the United Statesand Russia, especially local communities and Native people acrossthe Bering Strait region.
Since 1991, the Shared Beringian Heritage Program hasfunded over 130 projects, with 12-20active projects each year.
They rangefrom 1-3 years in duration. The program is dedicated to contributing in all areas of research, whether it's
bio-sampling ofGrey & Bowhead Whales in Chukotka orfacilitating an exchange of Shishmarefand Uelen ivorycarving
traditions. Recent projects have included work on marine mammals, sea ice patterns, reindeer herding, archaeology, and
documentation of local traditions, language, and culture.
All project information is easily accessible at http://www.nps.gov/akso/beringia
under Projects & Research. The website provides information on individual
projects dating back to 1991 and also howto applyfor projectfunding
through the Beringia Program.
to
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SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE BERING STRAIT
SHARED BERINGIAN HERITAGE PROGRAM CONTINUING PROJECTS FY 2010
Followingisthelistofcontinuingprojectsreceivingfunding
throughtheSharedBeringianHeritageProgram.Nonewprojects
weresolicitedfor2011.Sinceprojectproposalscanbeof1-3
yearsinduration,thereareusuallycontinuingprojectsreceiving
fundinginadditiontoprojectsselectedthatyear.Formore
detailedinformationonthecontinuingprojectsvisitourwebsite,
www.nps.gov/akso/beringia,goto "FindaProject"andclickon
theyearinwhichtheprojectwasselectedforfunding.
Continuing Projects Funded in FY 2010
Beringia: What's Climate Change to You?
Partner: GoNorth! Adventure Learning
Contact: Mille Porsild
Collaborators: Beringia Nature-Ethnic Park, ChukotkaAutonomousOkrug, Natalia Kalyuzhina
Ethnography LaboratoryinAnadyr, scientistsViktoriya GolbtsevaandVladislavNuvano
BeringiaTourServices
Chukotka ScienceGroup
UniversityofAlaska, Fairbanks, DepartmentofAnthropology, Dr. SvetaYamin-Pasternak
UniversityofColorado, Physics Education Research Group, Dr. StephanieViola Chasteen
CollaborationwithscientistsfromWoods Hole Research Center, NASA, and United Nations EnvironmentProgramme
Location: Provideniya, Sereniki, Yanrakynnot, Lorino, Lavrentia, and Uelen
Duration: 3years
Funding: $37,000 in 2011, $48,400 in 2012, $49,610 in 2013.
Thisprojectwasselectedforfundingin2010, butwasdelayedinordertochangepartnersfrom the Universityof
Minnesota to the UniversityofAlaskaandthe UniversityofColorado.
Thisprojectwill establisha local and sustainableframeworktodeliverBeringia: What'sClimate Changeto You?
(WCCY) in Chukotka, Russia.Thisispartofa Pan-Arctic-American networkwherestudentsandteacherspartner
withscientiststodoscienceand exploreclimatechangearoundthecircumpolararctic.ThevehicleforWCCYisthe
"GoNorth" adventure learningseries.Theyouth-generatedcontent is used bymorethan 3 million learnersand is
broadcastedtoteachers in morethan4,500schoolsacrossthe 50U.S. statesand on 5continents.
Bowhead Coastal Observation Project - Chukotka
Partner: North Slope Borough
Contacts: Craig George, Cyd Hanns
Collaborators: *RussianAcademyofSciences, Dr. Vladimir Melnikov
»Association ofMarine Mammal HuntersofChukotka, EduardZdor
Chukotka ScienceSupportGroup, GennadyZelensky
ChukotTINRO, Denis Litovka
Location: Uelen and Sereniki, Russia (maychange based on logisticsand recommendationsofcolleagues in Chukotka)
Duration: 3years
Funding: $34,022 in 2010, $39,230 in2011, $47,216 in 2012
Thisprojectwillstudythedistribution and abundanceofthe Bering-Chukchi-BeaufortSeas bowheadwhale
populationand documentmammal sightingsoffthecoastofChukotka, from2010-2012. Continuingcoastal
observationsfill acritical need in continuingthe nearly20-yearprogram, especially nowwhentheeffectsofclimate
changesarecausing rapidchanges intheecosystem.This research parallelsresearch in Alaska, both ofwhich provide
information on regional bowhead populations.
PHOTOS©KONSTANTINSAVVA
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BIRD ROOKERY ON THE SHO
SHARED BERINGIAN HERITAGE PROGRAM CONTINUING PROJECTS FY 2010
Climate Change: a View Through the Prism of Steller's Sea Cow Extinction
Partner: UniversityofAlaska, Fairbanks
Contact: Dr. Alexander Burdin
Collaborators: Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Dr. O'Corry-Crowe
Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida; Dr. John Reynolds, III
Kamchatka branch ofthe Pacific InstituteofGeography
Russian AcademyofScience in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Commander Island State Preserve, Dr. S. V. Zagrebelny
Nikolskoe High School andvillage members.
Location: Commander Islands, Chukotka
Duration: 2years
Funding: $39,762 in 2010, $38,200 in 2011
When discovered in 1741, Steller'ssea cow had already been reduced from a wide North Pacific rangeto a relict
population aroundthe Commander Islands. By 1768, the lastsea cowwas killed on Bering Island. While hunting
seemsto have beenthe ultimate cause ofthespeciesextinction, bycollecting and analyzing Steller'ssea cow
remains, this projectwill testthe hypothesisastowhetherfactors relatedtoclimatechange influenced the
eventual extinction ofthis lastgiant Beringian mammal.
^mmrmmja/gma*-
EPART ON AN EARLY MORNING SUBSISTENCE HUNT
Creating a Modern Map of Submerged Beringia - The Bridge that Endures Time
Partner: Alaska-Siberia Research Center
Contact: Alexander Dolitsky, Executive Director
Collaborators: * OceanusAlaska, Michelle Ridgway, principal investigator.
TJ Howland, Chiefof HydrographicSurveys, Terrasond Limited
Dr. David Scholl, U.S. Geological Surveyand Stanford University
Candace Stepetin, Pribilovian Native and liaisonto Russian and U.S. Native communities.
Location: Submerged Beringian region, Russian and U.S. waters
Duration: 1 year
Funding: $35,050
The principal investigatorswill develop a geospatial database ofthe bestavailabledatafromthe U.S., Russia,
and othersourcestocreate a modern seafloormapofsubmerged Beringia. Boththevisual mapofmodern
underwater Beringia andthe databasegenerated will serve asa resourceforarchaeologistsexamining
migration routes betweenthecontinents, aswell assignificantly updated geospatial referenceforgeologists
and otherscientistseagertoexamine undersea lifeduring and subsequenttoclimate regimes.
Indigenous Knowledge and Use of Bering Strait Region Ocean Currents
Partner: Kawerak, Inc.
Contact: Julie Raymond-Yakoubian
Collaborator: ChukotTINRO, PacificScientific Research Fisheries Center, Dr. Yury Khokhlov
Location: Alaska: Diomede, Wales, Shishmaref. Chukotka: Lorino, Lavrentiya, Inchoun
Duration: 3years
Funding: $20,000 in 2010, $33,251 in 2011, $45,000 in 2012
This projectwill documentthetraditional and contemporary use ofand knowledge aboutocean currents
bythreeAlaskan andthree Russian communities inthe Bering Strait region. This knowledge, which includes
a record ofchangesthroughtime, hasvalueforoceantravel andtracking climatechange effects, which is
quickly being lostwiththe passing ofoldergenerations. The project involvescollaboration between an Alaska
Native non-profit, Russian researchers, and local communities, and will assistwiththe on-going processofre-
establishingties broken intheColdWar.
Indigenous Language Learning and Documentation in the Bering Strait
Partner: ArcticStudies Center, Smithsonian Institution
Contact: Aron L. Crowell
Collaborators: Regional cultural organizationsand language programs
Alaska Native Language Center, UniversityofAlaska, Fairbanks
Alaska Native LanguageArchive, UniversityofAlaska, Fairbanks
Location: Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska
Duration: 3years
Funding: $35,999 in 2010, $45,000 in 2011, $46,000 in 2012
Thefuture of indigenous languagesaroundthe Bering Strait isseverelythreatened. TheArcticStudies Center
(ASC)will workwith elderfluentspeakersofthe Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island/Siberian Yup'ik languages
to produce extensive linguistic recordingsand documentation of heritageobjects (made 1850s-1950s)that
are included in the Smithsonian exhibition Living OurCultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoplesof
Alaska attheAnchorage Museum.TheASCwill workwith Beringian region language educatorsto editthese
recordings(video and audio) into languageteachingtoolsand communitysource bookswith English alphabet
transcriptionsand English translations, Cyrillictranscriptionsand Russiantranslations.
PHOTOOKONSTANTINSAVVA
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SHARED BERINGIAN HERITAGE PROGRAM CONTINUING PROJECTS FY 2009-2010
Telling Our Stories, Vodcasts of the Sugpiaq Collections of the Kunstkamera
and the Cape Alitak Petroglyph Survey
Partner: Alutiiq Museum
Contact: Sven D. Haakanson, Jr., Executive Director
Collaborators: Elizabeth O'Connell, WonderVisions
Peterthe Great Museum ofAnthropologyand Ethnography
VariousSugpiaq leaders, artists, and anthropologists
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia and CapeAlitak, Alaska
Duration: 2years
Funding: $18,580 in 2010, $12,000 in 2011
Thisfunding addsthecreation of 12video podcastsand vodcaststothe production ofan annotated
catalog oftheSugpiaq Collections ofthe Kunstkamera, a current projectthat is reunitingAlaska'sSugpiaq
communitywith ancestral objectsstored inthe PetertheGreat Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.Through
vodcasts produced in Russian and English, Sugpiaq leaders, artists, and anthropologistscan speakdirectlyto
multiple audiences.
Continuing Projects Funded in FY 2009
Encounters Radio Broadcast
Partner: The Island Institute
Contact: Lisa Busch
Collaborators: Elizabeth O'Connell, WonderVisions
Location: Central Beringia subject matter, broadcast nationally
Duration: 2years
Funding: $11,000 in 2009, $15,000 in 2010
The Island Instituteexpanded Encounters:Radio Experiencesin theNorthtocovermoreofthecircumpolar
north by producingtwo 29-minutesegments inthe Central Beringia region. Encounters isa regularweekly,
nationallydistributed public radio program aboutthe humantraditionsofthe northern polar region. The
program presentsscientific information and indigenous knowledgeaboutthe natural environment in a
widelydistributed and easilyaccessible audioformat.
Health Evaluation of Walrus
Partner: EskimoWalrusCommission, Kawerak, Inc.
Contact: Vera Metcalf
Collaborators: Arctic Research Commission, Cheryl Rosa
Alaska DepartmentofFish and Game, GaySheffield
ChukotTINRO, Denis Litovka
Association ofTraditional Marine Mammal Hunters (ATMMHC), Eduard Zdor
Chukotka ScienceSupportGroup (CSSG), GennadyZelensky
Location: Chukotka, Russia
Duration: 3years (extended)
Funding: Nofunding in 2009, $21,069 in 2010, $3,500 in 2011 tocovertravel cancellation cost in 2011; $21,236 in 2012
Thiscommunitybased projectwill proactively monitorwalrusasthearcticenvironment isaltered.
Amulti-disciplinaryassessmentwill beconducted ofbodyconditionsand health-related parametersfor
an importantarcticsubsistencespecies. Thedata collectedwill advancethe knowledgeofarcticpinniped
biologyandwill includecomprehensivedata management plansthatwill serve astemplatesforfuture
health assessmentand monitoring ofthespecies. This project moved fromthe North Slope Boroughto
Kawerak, Inc., dueto a change in staffing. In 2010, weather preventedtravelto Chukotkatocompletefield
work plannedforSeptember.
WALRUSES RESTING ON SEA ICE
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SHARED BERINGIAN HERITAGE PROGRAM CONTINUING PROJECTS FY 2009
PHOTO©KONSTANTINSAVVA
Kivetoruk Moses, Inupiaq Artist
10 Partner: UniversityofAlaska-Fairbanks
Contact: David Mollett
Location: Nome, Alaska and Provideniya, Russia
Duration: 1 year
Funding: $15,000 in 2009
Beringia funding supported field worktogatherfirst-hand accountsfrom peoplewho knewor had a connection
to Mosesand hiswork. Thefinal productwasa bookthatcontained a biography, artisticanalysis, and collection of
high quality reproductions of Moses'work (still in progress).
Preserving Our Knowledge
Partner: Smithsonian Institution
Contact: Igor Krupnik
Collaborators: * Institutefor Russian Cultural and Natural Heritage, Lyudmila Bogoslovskaya
Chukotka Local Language/Knowledge Experts
Shaktoolik Local Language/Knowledge Experts
Location: New Chaplinoand Sereniki, Chukotka; Wales, Gambell, and Shaktoolik, Alaska
Duration: 2years
Funding: $20,000 in 2009, $20,000 in 2010
Thiswasajoint Beringian-focused heritage programtodocumentendangered environmental and subsistence
terminologies in five communities in Alaska and Russia: NewChaplino, Sereniki, Wales, Gambell, and Shaktoolik.
Cultural and language specialistscollected indigenoustermsand produced illustratedthematic lexicons in
St. Lawrence Island/Siberian Yup'ik and in Inupiaq.