Political ecology and decolonial research: Co-production with the inupiat in Utqiagvik

Laura Zanotti, Courtney Carothers, Charlene Apok, Sarah Huang, Jesse Coleman, Charlotte Ambrozek

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Environmental social science research designs have shifted over the past several decades to include an increased commitment to multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary team-based work that have had dual but complementary foci. These address power and equity in the substantive aspects of research, and also to adopt more engaged forms of practice, including decolonial approaches. The fields of political ecology, human geography, and environmental anthropology have been especially open to converge with indigenous scholarship, particularly decolonial and settler colonial theories and research designs, within dominant human-environmental social science paradigms. Scholars at the forefront of this dialogue highlight the ontological (ways of knowing), epistemological (how we know), and institutional (institutions of higher education) transformations that need to occur in order for this to take place. In this article we contribute to this literature in two ways. First, we highlight the synergies between political ecology and decolonial scholarship, particularly focusing on the power dynamics in research programs and historical legacies of human-environmental relationships, including those of researchers. Second, we explore how decolonial research pushes political ecologists and other environmental social scientists to not only consider adopting international and local standards of working with, by and for Indigenous Peoples within research programs but how this work ultimately extends to research and education within their home institutions and organizations. Through integrating decolonized research practices in the environmental social sciences, we argue that synthesizing multiple knowledge practices and transforming institutional structures will enhance team-based environmental social science work to improve collaboration with Indigenous scientists, subsistence practitioners, agency representatives, and sovereign members of Indigenous communities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)43-66
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of Political Ecology
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Environmental social science research designs have shifted over the past several decades to include an increased commitment to multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary team-based work that have had dual but complementary foci. These address power and equity in the substantive aspects of research, and also to adopt more engaged forms of practice, including decolonial approaches. The fields of political ecology, human geography, and environmental anthropology have been especially open to converge with indigenous scholarship, particularly decolonial and settler colonial theories and research designs, within dominant human-environmental social science paradigms. Scholars at the forefront of this dialogue highlight the ontological (ways of knowing), epistemological (how we know), and institutional (institutions of higher education) transformations that need to occur in order for this to take place. In this article we contribute to this literature in two ways. First, we highlight the synergies between political ecology and decolonial scholarship, particularly focusing on the power dynamics in research programs and historical legacies of human-environmental relationships, including those of researchers. Second, we explore how decolonial research pushes political ecologists and other environmental social scientists to not only consider adopting international and local standards of working with, by and for Indigenous Peoples within research programs but how this work ultimately extends to research and education within their home institutions and organizations. Through integrating decolonized research practices in the environmental social sciences, we argue that synthesizing multiple knowledge practices and transforming institutional structures will enhance team-based environmental social science work to improve collaboration with Indigenous scientists, subsistence practitioners, agency representatives, and sovereign members of Indigenous communities. Keywords: Alaska; collaboration; co-production; decolonial; Indigenous Knowledges; Iñupiaq Peoples 1 Dr. Laura Zanotti, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA. Email: lzanotti "at" purdue.edu. Dr. Courtney Carothers, Professor, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Anchorage, AK, USA. Email: clcarothers "at" alaska.edu. Charlene Apok, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Anchorage, AK, USA. Email: aqpik "at" nativemovement.org. Sarah Huang, PhD Student, Purdue University, Email: huang727 "at" purdue.edu. Jesse Coleman, PhD Student, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Anchorage, AK, USA. Email: jmcoleman2 "at" alaska.edu. Charlotte Ambrozek, PhD Student, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, USA. Email: cambrozek "at" gmail.com. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by an NSF Office of Polar Programs ASSP Grant #1304660 and the College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, Kinley Trust Grant. We would like to also thank our project advisors, research participants, and the city of Utqiagvik, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, IỊisaġvik College, IHC, ICAS, UIC, UMIAQ, BASC, the referees, and all the organizations and institutions who have opened their homes and lands to us. Quyanaqpak!

Funding Information:
This research was supported by an NSF Office of Polar Programs ASSP Grant #1304660 and the College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, Kinley Trust Grant. We would like to also thank our project advisors, research participants, and the city of Utqiagvik, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, IIisag?vik College, IHC, ICAS, UIC, UMIAQ, BASC, the referees, and all the organizations and institutions who have opened their homes and lands to us. Quyanaqpak

Publisher Copyright:
© University of Arizona Libraries.

Keywords

  • Alaska
  • Co-production
  • Collaboration
  • Decolonial
  • Indigenous knowledges
  • Iñupiaq peoples

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