SHI LECTURE TO HIGHLIGHT INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF SOUTHEAST ALASKAN WOLVES
Speaker to examine how Indigenous knowledge can inform wildlife conservation efforts
Sept. 10, 2024
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a lecture this week as part of its ongoing fall series, featuring prominent voices in Indigenous knowledge, wildlife conservation and science.
Jeffrey J. Brooks, Ph.D., a social scientist with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, will deliver a presentation on the integration of Indigenous knowledge into species assessments.
In his lecture, “Indigenous Knowledge and Species Assessment for the Alexander Archipelago Wolf: Successes, Challenges and Lessons Learned,” Dr. Brooks will share insights from a 2022-2023 study conducted by SHI for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) during its review of a petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) under the Endangered Species Act.
Dr. Brooks will explain how Indigenous knowledge guided the agency’s understanding of the wolves’ ecological and cultural significance. While the USFWS approached the assessment with a single-species conservation model, Indigenous experts provided a broader, community-based perspective that emphasized cultural principles such as balance and respect for all species.
The lecture will address the successes achieved through blending these knowledge systems and discuss challenges, including how regulatory timeframes limited the ability to fully incorporate Indigenous knowledge into the review process. Dr. Brooks will propose recommendations for future collaborations between federal agencies and Indigenous experts, advocating for co-developed frameworks that equitably reflect both perspectives.
The lecture is scheduled at noon, Thursday, Sept. 12, in Shuká Hít within the Walter Soboleff Building, 105 Heritage Way, in Juneau. The event will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel. This is the second of two lectures on this project, following co-author and Indigenous knowledge expert Dr. Stephen J. Langdon on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Media and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
Caption: Yaa Kandag̱ax̱ G̱ooch Naaxein (Crying Wolf robe) woven by Jennie Thlunaut, Kaagwaantaan. Photo courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives, SCC.1975.001.024. Note: Media outlets are permitted to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-res image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.