ARCTIC HORIZONS - FINAL REPORT
FINAL REPORT
This report is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1608883.
Any opinions, indings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are
those of the author(s) and do not necessarily relect the views of National Science Foundation.
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ARCTIC HORIZONS - FINAL REPORT
Suggested citation: Anderson, S., Strawhacker, C., Presnall, A., et al. (2018). Arctic Horizons: Final Report. Washington D.C.: Jefferson
Institute.
Copy edit: R. Scott Walker
© 2018 Jefferson Institute, all rights reserved.
No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Jefferson
Institute.
For electronic copies of this report, visit www.jeffersoninst.org. Limited print copies are also available. To request a copy send an e-mail to
[email protected]
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Steering Committee Members /Lead Authors:
Shelby Anderson, Portland State University
Colleen Strawhacker, University of Colorado Boulder
Aaron Presnall, Jefferson Institute
Virginia Butler, Portland State University
Michael Etnier, Portland State University
Andrey Petrov, University of Northern Iowa
Stacy Rasmus, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Kevin Smith, Brown University
Sveta Yamin-Pasternak, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Advisory Committee members:
Barbara Bodenhorn, University of Cambridge/Iliqsavik Tribal College
Nikoosh Carlo, U.S. State Department
F. Stuart Chapin, III (Terry), University of Alaska Fairbanks
Elizabeth (Moore) Cravalho, NANA Regional Corporation
Gail Fondhal, University of Northern British Columbia
Larry Hamilton, University of New Hampshire
Henry Huntington, Pew Environment Group
Susan Kaplan, Bowdoin College
Tim Kohler, Washington State University
Thomas H McGovern, Hunter College (CUNY)
Peter P. Schweitzer, University of Alaska Fairbanks
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Workshop/Townhall Participants:
Claire Alix
Laib Allensworth
Sine Anahita
Douglas Anderson
Shelby Anderson
Katherine Arndt
Liesel Ashley Ritchie
Hannah Attkinson
Ray Barnhardt
Susan Barr
Carolina Behe
Matthew Berman
Lucas Bessire
Nancy Bigelow
Jessica Black
Morgan Blanchard
Barbara Bodenhorn
Douglas Bolender
David Bond
Kris Bovy
Katie Braymer
Joseph Brewer
Mark Brzezinski
Shauna BurnSilver
Virginia Butler
Emily Button Kambic
Martin Callanan
Sally Carraher
Ellen Carrlee
Brinnen Carter
Kathryn A. Catlin
Terry Chapin
Billy Charles
John Clond
Peter Collings
Aaron Cooke
Didier Course
Alan B. Craig
Susan A. Crate
Elizabeth Cravalho
Christyann Darwent
Denis Deibaugh
Jonathan Duelks
Penelope Duus
Embla Eir Oddsdottir
Kelly Eldridge
Danielle Ellis
Michael Etnier
John Farrell
Phyllis Fast
Ben Fitzhugh
Scott Fitzpatrick
Elizabeth Fleagle
Gail Fondahl
Kenneth Frank
Michael Galgiuaitis
Amy George
Pheobe Gilbert
Duane A. Gill
Lachlan Gillispie
Celeste Giordiano
Roberta Gordaoff
Heather Gordon
Jessica Graybill
Linda Green
Lenore A. Grenoble
Sven Haakanson
George Hambrecht
Diane Hansen
Steven Hartman
Virginia Hatield
Michele Hayeur Smith
Allan Hayton
Karen Hébert
Bill Hedman
Hilary Hilmer
Diane Hirshberg
Daven Holen
Caitlin Holloway
Gary Holton
Tobias Holzlehner
Rhea Hood
Lance Howe
Yongsong Huang
Lee Huskey
Rogers Jason
Heather Jean Gordon
Anne Jensen
Kevin Jernigan
Rachel Joan Dale
Molly Johansson
Mark John
Jay T. Johnson
Noor Johnson
Lucy Johnson
Justin Junge
Wilson Justin
Ute Kaden
Susan A. Kaplan
Krasinski Kathryn
Sonya Kelliher-Combs
Caitlin Kennedy
Anna Kerttula de Echave
Alexander Ketzler
Lene Kielsen Holm
Robert E. King
Christian Koch Madsen
David Koester
Gary Koinas
Tim Kohler
Igor Krupnik
Yoko Kugo
Olaf Kuhlke
Melinda Laituri
Marlene Laruelle
Amy Lauren Lovecraft
Karlene Leeper
Genevieve LeMoine
Beth Leonard
Wes Leonard
Jordan Lewis
Stephen Loring
Renee Louis
Natalia Loukacheva
Marie Lowe
Amanda Lynch
Joshua Lynch
Bre MacInnes
Amy Margaris
Beth Marino
Mary Marshall
Herbert Maschner
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Arthur Mason
Rachel Mason
Nancy Maynard
Fiona P. McDonald
Thomas McGovern
Liz Medicine Crow
Sarah Meitl
Tom Miller
Nicole Misarti
Craig Mishler
Jason Miszaniec
Madonna Moss
Karen Mudar
Cyndi Nation
Michael Nowak
Gretchyn O’Donnell
Dan Odess
Marie Olson
Eliza Orr
Robert Orttu
Timothy (Tim) J. Pasch
Igor Pasternak
Mary Pete
Evon Peter
Andrey N. Petrov
Amy Phillips-Chan
Justas Pipinis
Patrick Plattet
Grifin Plush
John Pollack
Ben Potter
Jim Powell
Anna Prentiss
Aaron Presnall
Robert Preucel
Peter Pulsiier
Dawn Ramsey Ford
George Ramos
Judith Ramos
Stacy Rasmus
Brenden Raymond-Yakoubian
Julie Raymond-Yakoubian
Cheryl Rosa
Jarkko Saarinen
Patrick Saltonstall
Andrea Sanders
William Schnabel
Peter Schweitzer
Marshall Scott Poole
Fran Seager-Boss
Jessica Shadian
Robin Shoaps
Norma Shorty
Gerald Sider
Kevin P. Smith
Ross Smith
Joseph Sparaga
Marybeth C. Stalp
Scott Stephenson
Michael Stickman
Colleen Strawhacker
Steven Street
Todd Surovell
Ricky Tagaban
Anastasia Tarmann
Devin Tatro
Richard VanderHoek
Siri Veland
Victoria A. Walsey
Janet Warburton
Kyle Wark
John Waterhouse
Enrico Wensing
Catherine West
Dixie West
Amy Wiita
Christopher Wolff
Donald Wright
Brian Wygal
Sveta Yamin-Pasternak
Michael Yarborough
Linda Yarborough
Laura Zanotti
Eduard Zdor
ARCTIC HORIZONS - FINAL REPORT
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
communities and cultures have preserved a
wealth of information about the Arctic, past and
present. Their knowledge and unique insights
are invaluable resources for understanding the
rapidly changing Arctic and the public policy
choices before us in this new age.
As the volume and diversity of human
activities in the Arctic continue to increase, so
too will the demand for social scientiic study.
Arctic Horizons is another step forward in the
substantial growth and innovation in Arctic
social science research which began with the
ASSP visioning workshop in 1999.
Today’s Arctic is not the Arctic of twenty
years ago, and the quickening pace of Northern
change – politically, socially, climatically – will
continue to transform the Arctic over the years
to come. Although the region is in many ways
unique, the dynamic of fundamental change
there is the same as anyplace else on Earth.
Change creates opportunity for some and
challenges – even crises – for others. Change
exposes vulnerability, fuels innovation, and
fosters resilience in every community, state,
and nation it touches. Arctic Horizons identiies
the diverse needs and priorities of Arctic social
science research which will give policy–makers
the information and strategies they require to
respond to – and get ahead of – the profound
changes occurring in the Arctic.
The U.S. has signiicant and growing
economic, security, and cultural interests in
the Arctic. The creation of the NSF Arctic Social
Sciences Program (ASSP) and the International
Polar Year (IPY) transformed how social science
is done in the Arctic. The US must continue
and expand its leading role in Northern social
science research. The changes occurring in
the Arctic are broad and multidimensional, and
ASSP takes an equally wide and comprehensive
approach. ASSP–funded projects provide local,
national, and international oficials with the
interdisciplinary knowledge they need to make
effective policy, integrating natural science
data with social science research methods.
ASSP also emphasizes the importance of
Indigenous peoples in this research and the
development of Arctic policy. Indigenous people
have lived there for millennia, and Indigenous
Recommendations
• Expand the number of agencies, foundations,
and organizations with incentives to include
funding for Arctic Social Science Research
in their mandates.
• Pursue international, interdisciplinary, and
comparative research and funding.
• Expand efforts to mentor the next generation
of northern scholars and to promote equity
in northern research.
• Promote, support, and enact Indigenous
scholarship, including improved support
for community and Indigenous community
collaboration with social scientists.
• Make ethics concerning the research and
information sovereignty of Arctic Indigenous
communities a standard element of
research design in the region.
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• Address rapid loss of cultural heritage,
including the loss of Indigenous languages
and the destruction of archaeological sites
through climate change.
Workshop Findings
• Research on the effects of a wide range of
interactive changes will be a crucial part of
future work within Arctic social sciences.
• Arctic social science makes major, pioneering
contributions to community–based research
methodologies, Indigenous scholarship,
sociology of disaster, language vitality
studies, social and environmental impact
assessment, co–management studies,
socio–ecological systems research and
modeling, and resilience theory.
• Arctic social science research is increasingly
collaborative and community–driven.
• Political tensions among Arctic countries
can stymie collaborative research and
reduce access to new knowledge. Military
investments in the region are on the rise.
• Climate
change
and
other
socio–
environmental processes, coupled with
development, result in the rapid loss of
heritage resources, including Indigenous
languages, marine and land resources
critical for food security, and archaeological
sites.
• The loss of Indigenous languages continues
in various parts of the Arctic, although in
some regions language vitality remains high.
• Major technological and methodological
changes in remote sensing instrumentation,
sampling techniques, and data sharing
enable less invasive, collaborative, and multi–
scalar investigations in the lab and in the
ield, from the elemental to the geospatial.
• Interdisciplinary social/natural science
partnerships are extensive and expanding.
• Invest in language revitalization programs.
• Improve
and
Support
Research
Communication with the Public and
Indigenous Communities.
• Invest in data management, maintenance,
and services for sharing, discoverability,
and access; and seek to balance issues of
conidentiality and information sovereignty
with the open data movement.
• Encourage
researchers
to
share
methodological innovations, indings, and
data developed in Arctic studies with
scientists focusing on other regions.
• Provide a venue to foster nimble participatory
discussion on the state of the discipline.
Research Priorities
• Convergent research on socio–ecological
systems.
• Past and present drivers of change in the
North, including climate change.
• Demographics of past and present migration.
• Community health and healing, social
aspects of health.
• Food, water, and energy security.
• Youth and gender studies.
• Sustainability and sustainable development.
• Globalization and new colonialism.
• Innovations in data curation, management,
sharing, discoverability, and access.
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2. PROJECT OVERVIEW
Purpose
Arctic Horizons is a multi–institution collaboration that provides the Arctic social science
research community with an opportunity to reassess goals, potentials, and needs within the diverse
disciplinary and transdisciplinary currents of social science research across the circumpolar
North. The Arctic social science research community is at a momentous point when (1) several
key domains of social science link explicitly to U.S. national and international research interests in
the Arctic (e.g., Arctic Council, 2016; CAFF, 2017; IARPC, 2016; NRC, 2014; USARC, 2017), (2) the
products and publications of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2009 offer myriad testimonies
to the accomplishments and potentials of research in Indigenous knowledge systems, (3) new
media technologies greatly enrich the possibilities for outreach and science engagement among
Arctic residents as well as wider publics, (4) the U.S. public is gaining a better understanding of
Northern issues through policy and media sources (Myers, 2015; Hamilton et al., 2012), and (5)
collaborations between the social and natural sciences across Arctic research are transitioning
toward truly convergent efforts (Krupnik et al., 2011). These and other developments provide a
fruitful opportunity for relection and reevaluation, while also highlighting the need for input from
Arctic communities to identify innovative and transformative synergies that capitalize on the rich
past and the contemporary diversity of social science disciplines and approaches.
Prior to Arctic Horizons, the most recent effort at synthesizing United States Arctic social
science research priorities, speciically by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is the now 18–
year old ARCUS (Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, 1999) publication Arctic Social
Sciences: Opportunities in Arctic Research. This document successfully guided research priorities
and constructs for more than a decade and a half without constraining or restricting new types
of research or collaborations in response to rapidly changing social, environmental, political, or
intellectual trajectories. NSF’s Arctic Social Sciences Program (NSF ASSP), in particular, has relied
upon Arctic Social Sciences (ARCUS, 1999) to guide researchers toward globally relevant issues,
while adjusting its vision and priorities in response to new or innovative constructs and changes in
the social, environmental, and intellectual contexts within which, and on which, research is proposed.
Many of the parameters governing work and life in the Arctic have changed dramatically since the
release of this 1999 publication. It is time for the Arctic research community to review and articulate
its priorities relecting the new realities of work, life, environments, and policies in the North.
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Goals and Objectives
The goal of the current Arctic Horizons project was to assemble community input and recommendations on re–envisioning the mission, scope, future priorities and resource needs of the Arctic
social sciences research community. Our objectives were to:
1. Organize, develop, and conduct ive regional, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary workshops
that integrated expertise from various ields, geographic locations, Indigenous communities,
and stakeholder groups to develop a renewed vision of Arctic social sciences and identify key
priorities and resource needs in the ield for the future.
2. Design and support a broad, inclusive discussion of research priorities, scope, and mission in
the Arctic social sciences.
3. Make recommendations to funders and policy makers who support/should support Arctic
research.
4. Produce this inal report for the Arctic research community or for Arctic research funders that
synthesizes relevant indings on the vision, mission, scope, and priorities of the Arctic social
sciences community based on a sixth “synthesis” workshop.
The irst two objectives were achieved through a series of workshops, as well as several
panels and town halls at relevant conferences (e.g. the Alaska Anthropological Association
conference, the American Association of Geographers). Participation opportunities were increased
through several online forums, including the project website (www.arctichorizons.org) and through
social media, including Facebook and Twitter. Workshop participants were drawn from a broad
range of social science disciplines as well as current and prospective contributors in the ields of
Indigenous science, natural science, humanities, and engineering. This inal report synthesizes the
future research priorities that emerged over the course of the project.
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3. SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH IN THE ARCTIC
The NSF Arctic Social Sciences Program as a Determinant
of Rapid Progress in Arctic Social Sciences
Over the past three decades, NSF’s ASSP has funded 741 awards, investing more than $60
million in the advancement of Arctic science. The awards covered broad disciplinary areas from
archaeology to economics, from linguistics to geography. Many projects were interdisciplinary in
nature and involved international collaboration, with some projects aimed at providing opportunities
for community and stakeholder engagement, enhancing education and workforce training, and the
preservation and visualization of Indigenous Knowledge.
Figure 1. ASSP Research Grants 1991–2017 ($)
Source: National Science Foundation
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Figure 2. ASSP Research Grants By State 1991–2017 ($)
Source: National Science Foundation
1990–1999
2000–2009
Source: National Science Foundation
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2010–2017
ARCTIC HORIZONS - FINAL REPORT
At the program’s inception in 1990, Arctic social sciences was an emerging discipline only
beginning to gain momentum, and grants from ASSP provided unique capacity–building opportunities
for researchers at U.S. institutions working across the Arctic. Active ASSP participation in the IPY
marked the next step of growth in Arctic social sciences and laid a foundation for integrating ASSP
as an equal partner among other agencies supporting Polar sciences (Krupnik et al., 2011). The
impact of IPY and NSF investment in ASSP was transformational in respect to deining the ield of
social sciences in the Arctic and ensuring that the United States secured a leading role in social
science disciplines along with Canada, the Nordic Countries, and Russia. ASSP and individual NSF
researchers were also key in establishing and growing the International Arctic Social Sciences
Association (IASSA), an international association of scholars in social sciences and humanities
working across the Arctic.
Founded in 1992, IASSA now is a vibrant organization with more than 450 members (www.
iassa.org), acting as an observer in the Arctic Council and partnering with the International Arctic
Science Committee (IASC). IASC established the Social and Human Sciences Working Group to relect
the increasing importance of Arctic social sciences. Recent international Conferences on Arctic
Research Planning (ICARP) in 2005 and 2015 highlighted the role of social sciences in proposed
research priorities (ICARP II, 2005; ICARP III, 2015).
Figure 3. ASSP Award Values 1991–2017 ($)
*not included CH2M HILL CONSTRUCTORS and U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation
Source: National Science Foundation
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ASSP is instrumental in maintaining the research momentum for Arctic social sciences after
the IPY. In recent years, ASSP has emphasized international projects which pursue interdisciplinary
projects which engage multiple stakeholders. For example, ASSP supported the Arctic Human
Development Report (Larsen and Fondahl, 2015), RCN–SEES Arctic–FROST (Research Coordination
Network–Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability) (Petrov, 2014), RCN in Arctic
Urban Sustainability (Orttung and Reiser, 2014), RCN–GHEA (Global Human Ecodynamics Alliance)
(Nelson et al., 2015), MOVE–BOREAS (Huskey and Southcott, 2010), and many others. In addition,
ASSP has consistently funded projects dealing with fundamental research questions and applied
projects aimed at developing knowledge to address community needs in Alaska and around the
Arctic. Projects funded by ASSP range from archaeological investigations of the earliest settlements
in the Arctic to interdisciplinary studies of economic development trajectories and their potential
environmental, social, cultural, and political impacts. The focus of that research and the relative
importance of sharing its results beyond scientiic communities has shifted over time (Figures 4, 5).
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Source: National Science Foundation
ASSP studies document and provide the basis for safeguarding the cultural heritage of the
North’s Indigenous peoples and provide foundational, interdisciplinary data sets critical for the
development of policy at many scales (from local to international). This information is required by
the dynamic and fast–changing contexts of contemporary Arctic environmental, economic, political,
social, and strategic challenges. For example, ASSP has supported studies that have led to the
development of critical repositories of multi level data on weather and sea ice trends that have
implications for global policy as environmental shifts affect human health and social, cultural
and economic aspirations and potentials (Eicken et al., 2014; ELOKA, 2017). ASSP also supports
knowledge co–production for the Arctic. As a result, ASSP projects contribute to effective policy
by integrating natural sciences data, social sciences approaches, Indigenous Knowledge, and
Community–Based Monitoring. The co–production of knowledge for the Arctic has allowed for ASSP
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projects to contribute to effective policy (Johnson, 2014; Johnson et al., 2015). For example, currently
funded research by Karen Hébert (Award 1219390) is exploring the roles of risk assessment in
northern Alaskan coastal communities. Hébert’s focus is on differential perceptions and risk
assessment models that guide actors in different roles within their communities as they confront
changes due to climate change and/or economic development. Additionally, ASSP supports studies
that preserve, protect and maintain Indigenous languages and promote linguistic diversity (Kari et
al., 2012; Krauss, 2012). These studies contributed, in part, to the recent passing of legislative bills
in Alaska recognizing Alaska Native languages as oficial languages of the state and establishing
the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. Currently funded research by Karen
Hébert (Award 1219390) also is exploring the roles of risk assessment in northern (Alaskan)
coastal communities and the differential perceptions and risk assessment models guiding actors
in different roles within their communities as they confront changes due to climate change and/or
economic development. Comparable studies of present day integration of Indigenous Knowledge
with interdisciplinary natural/social science models form a growing thread within ASSP funding.
Figure 6. Distribution of Arctic scientiic publications by ield, 2011–2015
Source: Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study, 2016
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Figure 7. Number of Arctic scientiic publications by Scopus Subject Area, top–6, 2001–2015
Source: Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study, 2016
Figure 8. Proportion of Arctic scientiic publications by Scopus Subject Area, top–6, 2001–2015
Source: Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study, 2016
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Current Status of Arctic Research
Since the 1997 ASSP visioning workshop, the Arctic social sciences have experienced
substantial growth and transitioned from an emerging ield of research to a well–established
multidisciplinary research area. At the same time, due to rapid environmental and social changes,
the Arctic itself has moved to the front of U.S. national interests and to a focus of scientiic inquiry
on “navigating the new Arctic” (White House, 2013; U.S. Arctic Research Commission, 2015;
NSF, 2016), and the U.S. has taken a leadership role in Arctic policy development by chairing
the Arctic Council from 2015–2017. In recent years various U.S. agencies and international
organizations produced a number of reports and priority–setting documents for polar research,
including the Arctic social sciences. Key conclusions and recommendations from these reports
are important elements for deining new visions for Arctic social sciences in the near– to
long–term future. Arctic Horizons steering committee members and participants consulted a
variety of U.S. government documents (NSTC, 2013; IARPC, 2016; USARC, 2017), NAS and NSF
commissioned reports (NRC, 2014; NSF, 2013; NSF, 2016), and international priority–setting
documents (AHDR II, 2014; ICARP III, 2015; Petrov et al., 2016; RATIC, 2016; Vorosmarty et al.,
2015).
4. ARCTIC HORIZONS
ORGANIZATION AND PROCESS
Arctic Horizons contributes to this re–envisioning with a dedicated effort to assemble
the needs and priorities of social sciences and its many subields, including the involvement
of a large group of participants across a diverse set of geographic and virtual platforms, the
focused participation of Indigenous scholars, and an emphasis on the inclusion of early career
scholars. The primary path for community input was through ive regional workshops that took
place between early February and early June 2016 (Table 1).
Workshops hosted researchers with expertise across a range of social science ields, as
well as other ields engaged with human–environmental connections (e.g., ecology, geology),
and members of Indigenous communities linked to Arctic regions; and the workshops were
characterized by broad, inclusive discussion of ASSP priorities, scope, and mission. During and
between the workshops, the larger Arctic research community and any interested individuals
contributed ideas and suggestions to Arctic Horizons through an interactive project web platform
(www.arctichorizons.org) and social media such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/ArcticHorizons/)
and Twitter (@ArcticHz) that emphasized both engagement and transparency. Additional insights
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from the community were also obtained from three town halls and panel discussions that took
place at already scheduled conferences known to attract Arctic social science researchers. A
inal formal event, the Synthesis Workshop, was held September 21 to 23, 2016, to integrate
key ideas that emerged from the workshops, town halls, and social media, and to draft a inal
report for Arctic Horizons. See Appendix IV for process details.
To lead and support these varied activities, the Arctic Horizons PIs created a lexible
leadership and organizational structure that consisted of three main components: a Steering
Committee, Local Organizing Committees, and an Advisory Board (Figure 9).
The National Steering Committee was comprised of the Arctic Horizons PIs, representing
multiple disciplines and geographic regions of the Arctic, and included archaeologists, socio–
cultural anthropologists, geographers, Indigenous scholars, and researchers in aesthetics
and environmental engineering. The eight members were Shelby Anderson (Portland State
University), Virginia Butler (Portland State University), Michael Etnier (Portland State University),
Andrey Petrov (University of Northern Iowa), Aaron Presnall (Jefferson Institute), Stacy Rasmus
(University of Alaska Fairbanks), Kevin Smith (Brown University), and Sveta Yamin–Pasternak
(University of Alaska Fairbanks). The Steering Committee provided overall guidance, participant
recruitment and engagement strategy, coordination, planning, and assessment. The Steering
Committee held virtual meetings every month from November 2015 to May 2016, to ensure
communication, transparency, and collegiality in decision–making and management processes.
Members attended one or more regional workshops and participated in the Synthesis Workshop.
The Steering Committee also authored the inal report summarizing the 2015–2016 Arctic
Horizons project. Additional personnel (Colleen Strawhacker, NSIDC) were included in the
authoring of the inal report based on expertise needs and foci identiied during the workshops.
To support each of the ive regional workshops, the PI(s) responsible for a given workshop
created a Local Organizing Committee comprised of professionals and students that worked
closely with the PIs to plan the logistics of workshop organization and execution.
An 11–member Advisory Board, consisting of senior academics and Arctic stakeholder
representatives, was created to provide recommendations on the directions of the re–envisioning
process, assist with linking past and current priority–setting efforts, and participate in the Arctic
Horizons evaluation process (Appendix II). The Advisory Board provided oversight in several
ways. Board members reviewed and edited the set of questions posed at workshops; members
commented on the draft inal report; and the board suggested key literature that workshop
attendees should read before workshops in preparation for discussions.
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Figure 9. Project Diagram of Arctic Horizons, highlighting synthesis and reporting process
Table 1. List of Arctic Horizons workshops hosted in drop period after 2016
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Web and Social Media
Workshop agendas, participant lists, audio recorded proceedings, and supporting
documents such as papers and PowerPoint presentations, were posted on the project web
platform to maximize transparency. Whenever possible, keynote addresses were video streamed
as live casts through the platform and preserved for convenient review. Dynamic embeddable
data visualizations presented the running results of project analytics, including text analysis of
key associations in the transcripts of workshop discussions, participant survey results, citation
surveys, and an analysis of all 737 NSF grants issued since 1991, to document and to learn
from patterns in funding to date.
Town Halls and Panels Linked to Other Conferences
As noted above, besides the formal workshops, Steering Committee members organized
special events at four conferences to further engage the research community in the Arctic
Horizons process. Through these venues, we obtained ideas and perspectives from additional
scholars not participating in the formal workshops (although in some cases, workshop attendees
also were part of these smaller–scale events). These small–scaled events addressed two
main questions: What are the domains of human experience in the North that warrant further
attention on the part of the social science researchers over the next 10–15 years? What should
be the funding priorities for NSF in respect to Arctic social sciences?
Shelby Anderson and Mike Etnier (Portland State University) hosted a two–hour town hall
on March 18, 2016, at the Alaska Anthropological Association in Sitka, AK, and gathered input
from 53 participants (mainly archaeologists, and cultural and biological anthropologists).
Andrey Petrov (University of Northern Iowa) hosted a one–day town hall during the Arctic
Science Summit Week (ASSW) on March 14, 2016, in Fairbanks, AK. About 40 scholars from the
U.S. and other nations participated, representing a variety of disciplines including anthropology,
geography, economics, political science, archaeology, sociology, and the humanities. Early
career scholars and researchers were also among the forum speakers.
On April 1, 2016, Petrov also organized a panel of 11 scholars at the American Association
of Geographers meetings, entitled “Polar Issues VI: Arctic Horizons 2025: NSF forum on the
Future of Arctic Social Research.” Input was gained from the 11 panelists and 22 audience
members, who were primarily geographers.
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Andrey Petrov and Sveta Yamin–Pasternak coordinated an Arctic Horizons session at the
ICASS meetings in Umeå, Sweden, on June 11, 2017. The session was attended by researchers,
Indigenous leaders, representatives of Indigenous organizations (ICC Alaska, Greenland, and
Yukaghir Association), representatives of various international research associations and
committees, and representatives of national funding agencies.
Report Production and Review Process
The steering committee drew on our syntheses of individual workshops and town halls.
The draft report was circulated to workshop participants and to the advisory panel for review
and comment (Figure 9). The results of these reviews were incorporated into the inal report.
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5. WORKSHOP FINDINGS, RESEARCH
PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Critical Changes in the Arctic that Affect Social Science Research
Workshop participants identiied many changes in the diverse social, environmental,
cultural, and political landscape of the Arctic – across many spatial and temporal scales – that
will affect the direction of social science research. The degrees of predictability and the paces
of change in a range of social, cultural, institutional, economic, political and environmental
systems will be key considerations guiding both subjects of research and the practice of research
in the North.
Climate change in the Arctic is characterized by abnormally fast paces and wide geographic
scales that vary signiicantly in different parts of the Arctic and that produce uncertainty in
formerly familiar conditions as well as newly emergent environmental structures with broadly
predictable social implications. Rapid environmental change has brought about, and will bring
about, more change for Arctic peoples in the future. While environmental change is not novel, the
current pace and magnitude of environmental change is unprecedented (Gaffney and Steffen,
2017). These environmental changes have both positive and negative ramiications for Arctic
peoples. Examples of ongoing impacts include changes in shipping and heating fuel costs;
changes in the availability of subsistence foods; and increased immigration and emigration,
which are not gender or demographically even. Many social processes related to climate change
are not well understood (e.g. immigration/emigration). Emerging infrastructure changes and
challenges due to rising sea levels, melting permafrost, and potential economic developments
linked to shipping, tourism, resource extraction, and population movements all pose potential
and currently evolving challenges to existing land–use and resource ownership systems. Given
these various vectors of change, research on the effects of a wide range of interactive and
intersecting transformations will be a crucial part of future work within Arctic social sciences.
Climate change and other natural processes, coupled with development, are resulting
in a rapid loss of heritage resources. These losses have implications not only for Indigenous or
local communities’ cultural grounding and legal rights but also for loss of long–term datasets on
human adaptability, broad themes in the global cultural narrative, and natural resource use and
histories. The loss of Indigenous languages continues in various parts of the Arctic, although
in some regions language vitality remains high.
Arctic youth conditions, roles, and desires are quickly changing. New generations of
Arctic residents are characterized by evolving professional and personal aspirations, increased
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mobility, higher educational attainment, diversiication of employment and study pursuits,
development of mixed identities and cultures, migration to urban centers, and ampliied gender
differences. Gender deinitions, roles, and diversity are changing and becoming more complex
as they are negotiated across other vectors of change. Signiicant shifts in human migration
patterns will most likely increase, changing what “northern communities” are and establishing
new dynamics – including migration into urban centers, non–northern groups moving into the
North (refugees, economic migrants, and others), and gendered migration. On the other hand,
there is a lack of meaningful change in wellbeing and health in small Arctic communities. For
example, suicide continues to be a signiicant and intractable problem. Although community
wellbeing has improved since the 1990s, many Arctic regions are still lagging behind their
southern counterparts (Larsen, J. N., Schweitzer, P., & Petrov, A., 2015). This is especially
pertinent to small, remote communities and Indigenous populations. Small communities are no
longer in control of decisions and policies that affect them.
There is a disconnect between decision makers in urban centers and people living in
villages. Many questions of local sovereignty and (non)local governance are emerging in the
context of how best to adapt to rapidly changing climatic/geopolitical/economic environments.
Technologies that affect access, connectivity, data collection, management, and
sharing have changed the ways people communicate and in which researchers could capture
and understand human connections and relationships. An increased use of social media and
evolving communication formats create new opportunities for building connectivities within the
Arctic and with other regions, but also create challenges in respect to uncertain access, security
and power associated with these information lows.
The Arctic has increasingly come into the public view and that of policy makers with
implications for social science research. Policy makers (at the international and national levels)
see the Arctic as a region of economic, military, and political signiicance with implications
for new scales of governance intervention and funding for non–social science projects that
need social science oversight/study to understand their impacts and potential. There are major
changes in the international situation, geopolitical environment and (circum) polar politics due
to elevated interests in Arctic resources and a consequent rapid pace of territorial claim–staking
by local, provincial/state, national, and transnational political entities and corporate concerns.
At the same time, the relative success of the Arctic Council (est. in 1996) signals a desire
for increased international collaboration in the areas of environmental protection, search and
rescue, and sustainable development.
There are also signiicant changes in northern governance and political frameworks,
especially in the ways that governments, NGOs, the military, and foundations engage with Arctic
communities. Put simply, there are more areas in which Indigenous communities exercise self–
governance or have gained strong voices in governance. Transnational governance and interest
groups have emerged whose future roles as elements of existing nations or as challengers to
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current nation–states remain to be seen. Devolution and decentralization of decision making
proliferated across Arctic regions through the advancement of self–governance and strengthening
self–determination. However, these processes are uneven across the Arctic in space and in
time. More universally, the remilitarization of the Arctic, following the demilitarization in the
1990s, is evident today, and military investments in the region will most likely increase.
Trends in Arctic Social Science Research over
the Past 20 Years
Some research themes identiied as important in the 1999 report remain viable and
relevant, while others have changed radically. Over the past 20 years, social science research in
the Arctic has expanded in scope and reach in response to these challenges and opportunities.
Spurred in part by priorities outlined by the ASSP, as well as the efforts of Indigenous scholars
in Arctic communities, Arctic social science research is increasingly collaborative and often
community–driven. The emphasis in the ARCUS 1999 recommendations to the ASSP on
education and outreach increasingly bring Arctic youth and other community members into
research teams. As a result of these trends, the research capacity of Indigenous communities
has increased over the past 20 years, leading to new collaborations and insights on the part of
researchers.
At least in part as a result of this, there is a growing emphasis on repatriation of knowledge,
artifacts, and data to communities in the north: the decolonization of science is happening rapidly
in the Arctic. Related to this, applied social science research has advanced in the Arctic, largely
due to continued, sustained funding support for social science research. The same can be said
of inter–, multi–, and transdisciplinary research in Arctic, which has been actively promoted
by the ASSP. Ongoing funding support facilitates long–term programs of observation and other
longitudinal forms of social science research that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries in
addressing questions of interest to Arctic communities and researchers. Arctic social science is,
in many respects, advancing social science methodologies and theory more broadly.
Major Contributions of Arctic Social Science
Over the past decade, Arctic social scientists have made major, pioneering contributions
to community–based research methodologies, sociology of disaster, language vitality studies,
social and environmental impact assessment, human ecodynamics, co–management studies,
migration research, socio–ecological systems research, and resilience theory (e.g. Chapin
et al., 2009; Fondahl and Wilson, 2016; Arctic Resilience Report, 2016; Petrov et al., 2016;
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Pearce et al., 2009; Kouril et al., 2015; Hamilton & Rasmussen, 2010; Hamilton et al., 2016).
Arctic social sciences occupy the leading edge of multi–, inter– and transdisciplinary research
focused on complex coupled systems dynamics and multifaceted special transitions (ARA,
2016). Scholars devoted considerable efforts to understanding gender and sexuality diversities
in the Arctic and their intersections with issues ranging from equity and wellness, to family,
migration, and community dynamics, among others. ASSP also spearheaded the investment
in comparative research among Arctic regions, whether cross–latitude, cross–disciplinary, or
through methodological cross–pollination. Comparative work in the Arctic is challenging due to
institutional, political, and geographical differences. However, it brings critically important results
and lessons that deine our understanding of socio–economic, cultural and natural processes
over space and time and guide our actions in Arctic communities. Social scientist–facilitated
community–to–community collaborations among Arctic countries have risen over the past few
years (e.g., Petrov, 2016). We also have established long–term programs of observation and
longitudinal forms of social science research to build systems of trust between communities
and researchers.
The Arctic is emerging as a region of research interest on par with other parts of the world,
and possibly a critical region of inquiry. However, the contributions of Arctic social scientists to
“non–Arctic” conversations, journals, and debates often remain less visible than those from
social scientists working in other regions. An increasing willingness by Arctic scholars to tie
their research to larger conversations about global processes unfolding over both longer and
shorter scales (colonization, urbanization, globalization, migration studies, indigeneity, etc.) is
reducing existing views of Arctic social science as “regional”, out–of–date, or marginal. At this
point in history, social scientists have or seek greater awareness of the political implications of
their work. This awareness and interest are necessary to position social sciences research as a
vehicle of transformation, but could also become a constraining element of action research.
Key Methodological Transformations
Using the notion of methodological transitions in Arctic social science research (Petrov et
al., 2016) we identify a number of trends, which constitute three epistemological shifts in Arctic
social sciences research and relect the directions in which methodologies are progressing.
First of all, the move to inter– and transdisciplinary and mixed methods research is rooted in
methods from multiple (sub)disciplines. Second, the transition to understanding knowledge co–
production as a central epistemological paradigm refers to a joint process between academics
and other knowledge holders in planning, carrying out, and disseminating research. Third, the
breakthrough in indicators research refers to a shift from an initial concern with individual
social indicators toward integrated systems of indicators (e.g., Larsen et al., 2010, 2015; Kruse
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et al., 2011; Hamilton & Lammers, 2011). More social science research is now community–
driven and place–based with growing emphasis on the repatriation of knowledge. There are
signiicant changes in how social scientists interact with diverse Northern communities at many
different levels, from dissemination of results to their integration as collaborators, partners, and
co–creators of knowledge. Social scientists now deal explicitly with issues of intellectual and
data sovereignty, knowledge appropriation and ownership (see Data section). We witness an
epistemological evolution toward knowledge co–production, with a focus placed on participatory
action and community–based research. Most crucially, the research capacity of Indigenous
communities has increased, leading to new opportunities and collaborations. Another crucial
change has been in the improved access to ieldwork through better logistics, technology, and
international collaboration. Since political tensions between Arctic countries can reduce these
gains, IASSA, IASC, and other international science organizations, and the assured participation
of U.S. researchers in their activities, play an instrumental, ever–increasing role in providing
access to new knowledge and data. The use of media and social media has resulted in new
ways to integrate research agendas and disseminate results in real time.
Major technological changes in instrumentation, such as portable X–ray luorescence
(pXRF), geospatial technology, ground penetrating radar, and expanded monitoring methods,
allow multiscalar investigations, almost simultaneously from the elemental to the geospatial
while in the ield, allowing researchers to answer questions or to reframe research questions in
real time. These instrumentation changes are especially transformative in archaeology, planning,
and human geography, but also in other ields (e.g. community health, land use, infrastructure
development, etc.). Improvements in sampling techniques and analytical methods (e.g., ancient
DNA, trace element and isotope analyses) tend to be far less invasive than previous methods,
thus addressing community concerns about destructive analyses.
Finally, over the past two decades we have observed signiicant transformations in the
relationships between social and natural science research in the Arctic: interdisciplinary social/
natural science partnerships are now extensive and expanding in archaeological research,
sustainability science, indicators development, socio–ecological systems analysis, community–
based monitoring and other ields (SIKU; ELOKA; Hovelsrud and Smit, 2010).
Important Institutional Changes
An important institutional change has been the emergence and strengthening of new
professional organizations for Arctic social scientists, such as IASSA and IASC SHWG, and
resultant improved recognition given to Arctic social sciences within and outside polar research.
IASSA continued its tradition of triannual meetings with ICASS VIII (2014) bringing more than
450 participants and the most recent ICASS IX in 2017 growing to over 700 attendees. Other
professional organizations created study, specialty, afinity groups or sections with the focus
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on Arctic research, e.g., the Polar Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of
Geographers (2013).
In conjunction with these developments, the International Polar Year (2007–2009) was
instrumental in propelling social science in the Arctic to a new level of recognition and relevance
(Krupnik et al., 2011). By acting forcefully and early, IASSA developed an engagement plan
that ensured a broad participation of social and human scientists in IPY: 20% of all endorsed
proposals were in social sciences (Krupnik, 2008).
In the U.S., the most signiicant institutional factor in advancing Arctic social sciences
has been the emergence of the ASSP at NSF as a vibrant forum for diverse perspectives and
integrative projects. ASSP has provided a model within NSF and beyond as to the power of
framing a research domain geographically rather than thematically or disciplinarily. Such a
focus opens up transformative opportunities for transnational and interdisciplinary research
across many temporal and spatial scales. ASSP and the Ofice (now Division) of Polar Programs
have demonstrated the power of international/multinational collaborations to bring unexpected
focus and outcomes on shared issues and to open potentials for bringing “science diplomacy”
into the playbooks of policy makers and governments, as they look at the Arctic in a new,
multidisciplinary light. Arctic trans–border and multidisciplinary approaches are seen in other
parts of the world (e.g. Australia) as models for adoption. In recent years, signiicant investment
in early career scholars and considerable support to building capacity in ASSP has occurred
through various U.S.–based and international initiatives, including NSF research coordination
networks (Arctic–FROST, Urban Arctic, Arctic–COAST), Northern Research Forum, APECS and
others. This investment relects an increasing recognition of the need to train more students
from underserved and local communities, to help ensure that rising generations have every
opportunity to reach their full potential. ASSP has been actively and purposefully funding doctoral
dissertation improvement grants to assist early career researchers with access to study sites
and necessary resources.
Data, Information, and Knowledge:
Data Curation and Sovereignty
The now–defunct Polar Cyberinfrastructure program generated a report on the future of
data, information, and knowledge produced from projects funded by the Ofice of Polar Programs
at the National Science Foundation (Pundsack et al., 2013). While covering a wide range of
topics from cyberinfrastructure to oceanography, from remote sensing to mapping, there is
no mention of the special nuances of social science data nor any plans or strategies in place
to ensure those data are available and usable in the future. The Ofice of Polar Programs also
operates its own repository for data produced by the scientiic research it funds, and the newly
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created Arctic Data Center (Budden et al., 2016, www.arcticdata.io) has two dedicated social
science representatives on its Advisory Board, although the capacity for managing data from
the social sciences is still being negotiated. The future of data and information for the Arctic
social sciences program will need to be carefully considered to ensure appropriate and ethical
access and reuse in the future.
Speciic challenges and concerns around the curation of social science data and Indigenous
Knowledge involve the diversity and variety of data created, the protection and anonymity of
research subjects, the difference between social science data and Indigenous Knowledge, and
information sovereignty of Indigenous Arctic communities. Projects funded by the ASSP create
a variety of data, information, and knowledge, from spreadsheets of demographic information,
to local observations of environmental conditions; from complex spatial data in a Geographic
Information System, to Indigenous Knowledge accumulated over millennia on the state of the
Arctic. This diversity in data and information types, formats, and needs makes it dificult to
curate, discover, and access these data and information on a technical and social level. Existing
metadata standards that can deal with this diversity in data types are often not detailed enough
to be helpful. More research is needed to develop best practices in this arena that would allow
for improved capacity to research linked databases for more robust syntheses.
Data and information collected by researchers funded by ASSP must protect the privacy
and conidentiality of their research subjects. Often times, researchers interview subjects on
very sensitive topics, from sexual health to political stances. Some researchers have feared
for the lives of their research subjects in dificult political climates. Further complicating the
anonymity of research subjects in the Arctic is the prevalence of small rural villages of a few
hundred people; establishing anonymity for individuals with unique demographics is especially
hard. As such, great care must be taken – in close consultation with the research subjects,
researchers, and Institutional Research Board (IRB) protocols – to ensure that an acceptable
data curation plan and system is in place to protect the identity of those being studied for Arctic
social science research. Besides research subject anonymity, information sovereignty of any
research around issues of Indigenous Knowledge must be considered in scholarship. Local
and Indigenous Knowledge, which has been created over the course of millennia, brings up
issues of ownership, access, and control. Decisions regarding what to share need to be made
by Indigenous communities. In short, issues of anonymity, protection of research subjects, and
information sovereignty all must be carefully considered under the current “open data” and
“open science” movement in close collaboration among researchers, Indigenous communities,
and data professionals. The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) thoughtfully included
a section on “ethically open access” to address some of these issues (http://iasc.info/images/
data/IASC_data_statement.pdf).
Despite its challenges, preserving data collected by the Arctic social sciences program
as well as Indigenous Knowledge from the communities directly engaged by the program is
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essential for future reuse by appropriate parties. Fortunately, many efforts are ongoing to ensure
that data are effectively stored and curated and can provide important use cases in lessons on
how to preserve these information sources effectively. The Exchange for Local Observations and
Knowledge in the Arctic (ELOKA, www.eloka–arctic.org) has built partnerships with Indigenous
communities since the mid–2000s to create digital tools to support the curation and sharing
of Indigenous knowledge, including atlases of place names and databases to enable uploading
and sharing of local observations. Additionally, dataARC (www.data–arc.org) is building
infrastructure and online tools to connect archaeological research with paleoclimate data and
insight from the humanities to address climate change in the past, and Patchwork Barents
(patchworkbarents.org) is a pilot project focused on making social science data more widely
available to data journalists who cover pressing Arctic issues. Many ongoing local efforts to
curate institutional and museum data could be enhanced by building support links across these
entities.
A comprehensive plan and system needs to be in place to manage and curate ASSP data
for the future. Many ongoing efforts outside of the Arctic can be leveraged and used (with support
from OPP to insure Arctic–speciic issues are considered) including the US Indigenous Data
Sovereignty Network and Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR),
informed by Arctic use cases and data speciics. It is clear from many Arctic data initiatives (see
the forthcoming “Conclusions” from the Arctic Data Committee’s Polar Interoperability workshop,
www.arcticdc.org/news/40–polar–connections–interoperability–workshop–and–process),
that progress needs to be made socially, as well as technically. While appropriate metadata
standards and discovery systems are important, a culture of data sharing and management
among individual researchers needs to be fostered and nurtured, to ensure the data are shared
and curated, and ultimately of the greatest use to future research.
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Social Science Research Priorities in the Arctic
Workshop participants identiied enduring questions and several new areas where
research is needed, particularly with respect to the needs and interests of Arctic communities
and the rapid pace of change in the Arctic. These are key research themes for the next 10+
years that were mentioned multiple times by multiple scientists at multiple workshops. They
transcend disciplinary boundaries. It will not be possible to pursue all of these research
priorities without expanded support and increased funding and other programmatic support for
Arctic social sciences.
Support and Expand Research Across the Social Sciences on
Contemporary Community Issues
We need more research on the reality of being rural, rather than studying rural in
opposition to “urban.” More study is also needed of urban areas, non–resource economies,
and underground or “gray” economies (e.g., economies of drugs and alcohol).
The topics of demographics of migration, community health (physical, mental, spiritual,
etc.) and healing, food security, social aspects of health all require focused research. Research
needs to be done on historic traumas – including ethnohistoric research and oral history
studies, working within communities to explore past and contemporary vectors of trauma – in
order to understand the bases of trauma in contemporary communities. We need to explore not
only different histories of trauma but also commonalities (residential schools, loss of language,
colonialism, etc.). Research is also needed on community resilience in both the short and long
term. We need to study under–represented age and gender groups; understanding the problems
and prospects of the next generation in the Arctic is important and often disregarded in our
hurry to capture the knowledge of elders.
Research in political science and economics should be encouraged in the Arctic to allow
us to address broad–based questions about security, globalization, development, trade, and
governance in the North. Research is needed on the historical institutional structure of policies
in relation to change in the Arctic and to community ability to adapt to change; as well as
on sustainability and on sustainable development of Arctic communities. Research is needed
on institutions, governance, equity, and fate control by Indigenous communities. Studies of
globalization and new colonialism will contribute to understanding the dynamic socio–political
landscape of the Arctic. Northern research should further engage with predictive modeling,
multivariate integrated analysis and computational social science.
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Figure 10. ASSP Awards Abstracts 1991–2016 – number of mentions
Source: National Science Foundation
Support and Expand Socio–Ecological and
Inter–Disciplinary Research
More research is needed on coupled socio–ecological systems (SES). Social scientists
need to become better integrated into natural science projects and bring natural scientists
on board with socially focused research. We can assist in identifying ways of understanding
“impacts” of environmental factors on communities in more nuanced ways and over long term,
centennial and millennial scales, through archaeological research (d’Alpoim Guedes, 2016).
Social scientists can also frame predictions about human–environment interactions in ways
that policy makers and the public could understand and use for short–term, mid–range, and
long–term planning. This integration of social scientists with natural scientists in research
projects, however, has to take place at the beginning and with equal participation in project
planning and execution rather than bringing in social scientists to act as translators or p.r.
managers for natural science research done in isolation from its social implications. Natural
sciences polar programs should fund social science projects when appropriate; re–centralizing
ASSP in polar programs would facilitate this. The Arctic Observing Network should incorporate
social sciences.
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Interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research is needed to articulate and
test models for research and understanding of processes associated with climate change and
other drivers of change in the North, across a wide range: from local to regional and circumpolar
geographical scales, and temporal scales from immediate to decades or centuries. These
models could have broad applicability in other parts of the world as well. Research is needed to
aid communities in making decisions around climate change–related relocations.
Support and Expand Archaeological Research
Understanding “the changing Arctic” requires putting present–day questions into deep
time perspectives. Research on contemporary issues cannot be done meaningfully without
simultaneously looking at the past. Despite the rapid pace of change that is happening, it is not
the irst time northern peoples have experienced dramatic climatic change. Indeed, exploring
the past dynamics of human response to climate change may provide clues for future responses.
Archaeological research is critical for providing the long–term context for socio–ecological
trajectories leading to present conditions, including the relationship between short–term
actions and long–term effects. Archaeologists can also help in studies of past landscape use,
contributing to research on how and why people were tied to many different lands, at different
times. In providing a dynamic view of human–environmental relationships, archaeology helps
undermine simple stereotypic views of the so–called “ethnographic present” that constrain
contemporary Indigenous communities’ abilities to adapt, change, or set their own agendas. In
doing so, archaeologists can also contribute to heritage preservation efforts supporting local
sovereignty and economic opportunities for contemporary communities. The possibility of an
open Arctic basin suggests the potential of another period of economic and population boom
in the Arctic. Studies of the past can inform the present to help us understand processes of
stability, instability, and migration in northern communities in more nuanced ways.
Northern archaeologists should expand current efforts to take advantage of new
methodological advances in archaeology to 1) carry out ieldwork in remote places through the
use of drones, remote imaging, spatial modeling, etc., and 2) to reconstruct the past (aDNA,
isotopes, lipids, etc.). Excellent preservation conditions unique to Arctic environments mean
that certain archaeological analyses, and the development of innovative methods (the irst full
prehistoric human genome, for example, was produced from the hair of a 4,200 year–old Saqqaq
culture individual from Greenland) are particularly well suited to application in northern climates.
There is the potential to advance these methodologies and their applications in archaeology
more broadly through our work in the Arctic, although we are racing against the effects of
climate warming. Northern archaeologists are also at the forefront of community archaeology,
collaborating closely with Indigenous communities across the Arctic. We can contribute to the
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discipline of archaeology more broadly, and the development of collaborative archaeological
approaches, by sharing our collaborative research successes with archaeologists outside of the
Arctic community.
Several speciic archaeological topics of enduring interest were identiied through
the Arctic Horizons process. The peopling of the Americas and the Arctic remains a basic
but important issue that not only remains crucial for understanding the Arctic but also the
global human narrative. Research is needed on past demography and migration to further
understanding of how past people moved across the Arctic landscape and interacted with one
another. We need to study the long–term history of past population expansions, migrations,
and population contractions or extinctions to better understand the challenges that may be
inherent in economic expansion, development, and population migration into the Arctic in the
near future. Archaeology can contribute long–term baseline data on past human–interactions
that can inform contemporary research on climate change, climate change impacts, and human
response to climate change. Investment in Indigenous archaeology in the Arctic should be
continued and expanded. We can contribute to research on gender, socio–economic systems,
international interaction, colonialism, food security, health, and wellness; our work can provide
a longer term perspective on these priority issues, complementing comparable research with
contemporary northern peoples.
Address Rapid Loss of Heritage Resources
A combination of factors such as permafrost melting, rising sea levels, and increasing
storminess are destroying heritage resources; these climate change related processes are
expected to increase in pace in the coming years. Infrastructure development, economic
expansion, and population expansion associated with a changing northern climate will further
impact cultural heritage. At present, some of the most critical areas of loss are coastal zones,
where rising seas and enhanced storminess are eroding coastal sites, and zones that still contain
suficient permafrost to retain sites with exceptional organic preservation. Anticipated areas of
heritage resource loss in the future include the peripheries of current northern towns and cities
and any areas that will become sites of infrastructure development, settlement, and economic
change. Many of these areas will also be located along the coasts, exacerbating the current
loss of northern heritage resources (archaeological and culturally signiicant archaeological
sites and locations); however, other zones that will be impacted may be considerably far from
the coasts, as mines, roads, gas lines, and other infrastructure, or new settlements change the
coniguration of human impacts on the land.
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Understanding their distribution and cultural signiicance may have implications for
Indigenous communities’ legal claims to the ownership of terrestrial and maritime resources
and sovereignty within their “traditional” territories, if past processes of land division and
settlement claims, such as implementation of the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement
Act of 1971 (ANLCSA), provide precedents for future efforts to develop and alienate the
resources of the North. Warming trends across the Arctic are leading, already, to the wholesale
destruction of archaeological sites through increased coastal erosion and the melting of once–
permanently frozen deposits. Archaeological assessment programs from Greenland to Alaska
have documented that organic objects, faunal remains, and human remains once preserved
in frozen “time capsules” spanning more than 4,000 years are disappearing as these sites
melt or are washed away. Across the circumpolar zone, economic and development models
anticipate increased shipping and resource exploitation and strategic investments over the
coming decades, along with attendant increases in coastal and interior infrastructure systems
and population centers to support them. These developments pose additional challenges to the
North’s archaeological record, especially given that the coastal and maritime adaptations of
most of the circumpolar region’s Indigenous cultures position the sites representing their most
important heritage resources in areas most likely to see future infrastructure development.
Archaeological resources across the North, therefore, contain uniquely preserved
records of past climates and ecosystems of value to trans–disciplinary research at a global
scale. However, archaeological sites are also integral parts of the intellectual property and
heritage resources belonging to contemporary, Indigenous Northern communities. These sites
and their contents document those communities’ deep ancestral ownership and use of places
and landscapes that may be increasingly endangered through development, migration, and
environmental changes.
Archaeological research therefore needs to be supported and expanded not only to
encourage thematic and trans–disciplinary research addressing enduring and emerging
research problems crucial to understanding the North and its role in global cultural trajectories
but also to allow archaeologists, Indigenous communities, and policy makers opportunities to
co–produce priority structures and policies for salvaging, preserving, or conducting research
on archaeological and heritage resources in the face of the interacting environmental,
developmental, and institutional changes that are anticipated to affect Northern landscapes
and their cultural resources over the next decades. Achieving the balances implied – between
salvage and documentation, development and preservation – will require developing a critical
mass of Indigenous and non–Native archaeologists and heritage resource managers, trained
in Northern archaeology and in collaborative research, suficient to tackle the work ahead of us,
to inluence policy development, and to advance new methods and theories suficient to realize
the contributions that northern archaeology can make at global and local levels in the face of
transformative change.
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The issue of cultural heritage at risk due to northern climate change is an emergent one;
we need prioritization and mitigation models to address rapid heritage loss in a thoughtful and
coordinated way. Funding needs to be allocated for archaeological research to prioritize those
sites that must be saved or protected, to identify those that are at risk now or may be later under
different development scenarios, to identify those which should be excavated, and to support
the excavation of those that need to be salvaged before their records of the past are destroyed
or for the information they can provide on large–scale or local research questions of interest is
lost.
Recommendations for the Support
of Social Science Research in the Arctic:
Pursue Convergent, Interdisciplinary, and Comparative
Research and Funding
The Arctic is a testbed for interdisciplinary research, a “critical region of inquiry.”
Addressing many complex issues raised by multiple, intersecting vectors of rapid change in the
North will require research efforts that are multi–scalar, multi–method and potentially multi–
vocal in formulation and execution. This research takes place at multiple scales (e.g., local and
global, on both short and long time spans, etc.) and requires that we work across disciplines and
regions; the local and the global both need to be supported, and the places of their intersection
located. We need to promote and ind support for convergent (not just interdisciplinary) research
methods and designs for understanding complex problems in the North, as well as collaborative
and interdisciplinary social sciences and social–natural–humanities synergies. There is a
pressing need for long–term observations, continuity in research, and comparative analyses of
the histories, oral histories, archaeological records, and impacts of colonialism in the North. This
research should be undertaken across various domains, integrating archaeology, anthropology,
history, oral history, economic history, and more. Arctic knowledge is transferable to different
regions and contexts, and more comparative studies will facilitate this knowledge transfer
and further inform the course of Arctic research. Scientists often ind themselves beyond their
capacity to grasp and capture the intensity of the situation they are facing and need to look to
arts and humanities for ideas and approaches that inform science.
Northern researchers should work to broaden the tent that is Arctic Social Science.
Currently the literature is heavy on anthropology and archaeology, and while these remain core
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disciplines, Arctic social science needs to incorporate all of the social sciences and seek their
integration around problem–oriented approaches. To achieve this we must work to break down
walls between disciplines and integrate multiple ways of knowing, beginning with those that exist
in undergraduate and graduate training. For example, we should work toward transforming the
structure of natural science and engineering degree programs in higher education to incorporate
social sciences perspectives. Conversely, social scientists and students with Arctic interests in
particular need familiarity with natural–science methods and data.
Funding should support research that takes place at various scales – from the lone
researcher working with one community member in co–production efforts for locally signiicant
outcomes requiring minimal equipment or funding to international, large interdisciplinary teams
exploring issues on circumpolar scales that require major instrumentation and seven–igure
budgets.
Arctic social scientists need to seek sources of funding beyond ASSP. We should mobilize
funding resources nationally and internationally, and explore public–private partnerships.
Funders and other international science organizations (including IASSA, IASC, SAON, etc.) should
support international collaborative efforts and the participation of U.S. researchers. Social
science in service to natural science has been the norm at NSF. Even when social science
collaborates with natural science, the agenda is generally natural science. Funding should
be sought from natural science sources at NSF and beyond, particularly for interdisciplinary
research. At the same time, continued and increased inancial support for ASSP at NSF is
essential.
Engage in International Collaboration
International collaboration is essential for a complete view into the ongoing social
and environmental processes in the Arctic. Deined by the Arctic Circle, the Arctic includes
eight countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S.
Species, culture, and languages are not bound by modern international boundaries. Scholars
working across the Arctic share common questions and goals. To promote the best science and
scholarship, researchers should work in an internationally open and supportive environment
to support sharing of indings, data, theories, and methodologies. Moreover, international
collaboration will ensure that diverse viewpoints and indings in Arctic social science research
are considered, resulting in stronger scientiic endeavors and practices. ASSP has supported
large–scale international collaborations (e.g., Iceland, Canada, Greenland or Denmark) and
should continue such practices. We note, too that collaboration between Russian and US
scientists is dificult, given the current political situation. However, we recommend scholars
continue to pursue such partnerships, drawing on NSF and international funding.
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Expand Efforts to Mentor the Next Generation of Northern Scholars
and Promote Equity in Northern Research
Currently, most scientiic research done in the Arctic is performed by those working at
universities trained in a Western science approach. Given the strong Indigenous presence in the
Arctic, Indigenous points of view, methodologies, and theories on how the Arctic operates need
to be supported and grown in partnership with Arctic scientists. To do so, we need to mentor
more Indigenous scholars and transform educational structures to support the inclusion of
Indigenous peoples in the pursuit of advanced graduate degrees. Additionally, the scientiic
community must recognize that not all research and science is done within academic institutions
and that Indigenous Knowledge is a valid, strong, and complementary way of knowing and
observing the world in addition to the scientiic method.
Movement toward equality in Arctic research can be achieved in part by moving
our discourse around Indigenous scholarship from the broader impacts of projects into
intellectual merit, and continued thoughtful inclusion of underrepresented communities in
meetings, conferences, panels, and research projects. Continued investment in doctoral
dissertation improvement grants and similar opportunities for early career scholars from
diverse backgrounds will also help to encourage this process at earlier career stages. Our work
should promote Indigenous intellectual equity and equity in presence among gender and career
stages in science. Support should also continue to be directed at greater inclusion of women in
northern scholarship, and directed at research on northern women and topics related to gender
more broadly. Researchers working in communities should work in teams that allow culturally
appropriate access into gendered worlds.
Promote, Support, and Enact Indigenous Scholarship
The northern social science community should continue to lead in the realm of
Indigenous scholarship and epistemologies, supporting existing efforts and expanding research
by, for, and with Indigenous communities. In moving forward, the research community needs
to focus on enactment through practical and practiced methods of scholarship, rather than
simply talking about what needs to be done toward the achievement of intellectual equality
and self–determination. In simple terms, non–Indigenous researchers should “stop asking and
start listening” to communities and community members. We need to create opportunities
for Indigenous self–determination and knowledge sovereignty, and promote collaboration and
exchange, including Indigenous–to–Indigenous and community–to–community collaborations.
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Research should push beyond Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and engagement models,
and support transforming research as well as self–development and self–determined models. It
is critical that we recognize diverse forms of knowledge production, methodologies, and products
of research beyond written texts, journal based publications, and traditionally recognized bases
for academic achievement and review criteria in promoting Indigenous scholarship. The Arctic can
be decolonized through Indigenous Self–Development. Funding should be directed to agenda–
identifying projects, with a focus on community–driven agendas. Considerable scholarship is
needed on Indigenous and local knowledge, and Indigenous knowledge transmission, with
Indigenous production of knowledge and Tribal self–determination ultimate research goals. The
idea of scholarship or benchmarks of Indigenous knowledge must expand and should include
intergenerational research teams, with Elders or Tribal leaders as PIs/Co–Is. NSF should
empower local communities to have their own local and regional research programs and provide
them with researcher contact lists so that the communities contact and engage researchers
with itting expertise and shared interests.
Work to Improve Support for Community and Indigenous
Community Collaborative Efforts
Research fatigue in Indigenous Arctic communities is an existing problem that is likely to
expand as research and other interests in the North increase in the coming decades. Strategies
to prevent research fatigue are essential. Researchers should be trained in how to work with
communities. Researchers need to improve transparency and communications with Indigenous
communities, while also maintaining or improving practices that support privacy rights,
intellectual property rights and sovereignty. Communities should have the opportunity to engage
and integrate at all levels of research to the extent desired by the community. Universities and
outside researchers should provide evidence of compliance with local community guidelines
and practices for Indigenous knowledge–sharing and use as a condition of funding. Research
sharing and outreach should be required by communities and funders, and effort should be
directed toward improving databases and data access for communities. We should invest in
local capacity building as well as community–driven, community–designed research conducted
in communities, for communities, by communities. NSF needs to expand its role in educating
scientists on what it means to have genuine co–production with Indigenous communities, self–
production by communities themselves, and genuine partnership and collaboration.
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Support and Expand Linguistic Research and Language
Revitalization Programs
The United Nations’ 2004 Human Development Report (Fukuda–Parr 2004: 33) states
that “Language is often a key element of an individual’s cultural identity. Limitations on
people’s ability to use their mother tongue – and limited facility in speaking the dominant or
oficial national language – can exclude people from education, political life and access to
justice.” However, in recent decades the rate of language loss across the globe has increased
dramatically; these effects have been particularly pronounced in the Arctic. Nearly one–quarter
of the 92 Indigenous languages spoken in the Circumpolar North are considered to be “sleeping,”
with no remaining speakers, and half of these have fallen silent since 1990 (Barry et al., 2013).
The loss of Indigenous languages not only impoverishes the global community but also
threatens the stability and rights of communities across the North through irreversible losses
of knowledge transmitted inter–generationally in Indigenous languages about land rights, the
environment, and community heritage. We therefore need more research on the speed of
language loss in communities across the Circumpolar North; the social contexts that promote
stability, loss, or revitalization; and on–going work on the gendered and inter–generational
impacts of language loss on communities and cultural stability. Such work needs to be coupled
with projects to record languages in danger of disappearance, to guide language revitalization
programs for maximum effectiveness, and to disseminate the results of this research to
communities and researchers.
In addition, we need research with community members in their own languages to retain
and integrate the knowledge they keep and convey best within their own linguistic frameworks
about the North with the work of non–Native researchers in the natural and social sciences.
Language provides a window into the way a culture experiences its environment and hence can
provide information about changes in that environment. However, as a result of recent and rapid
changes in human–environment interactions in the North, traditional knowledge is particularly
susceptible to loss, even in relatively vibrant linguistic communities. Indigenous Science is
often the most “vulnerable part of a community’s cultural and linguistic heritage” (Si 2011:
185). There is thus a great need to expand documentation efforts to include greater coverage of
specialized knowledge domains such as botany, astronomy, and toponymy, building on recently
successful projects such Fienup–Riordan’s (2007) collaborative work on Yup’ik science and
Gearheard, Holm, Huntington, Leavitt, Mahoney, Opie, Oshima, and Sanguya’s masterfully co–
produced work on the meaning of sea ice to Arctic communities (Gearheard et al., 2013).
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Invest in Data, Information, and Knowledge:
Data Curation and Sovereignty for ASSP
ASSP should invest in data management, maintenance, and services, with a comprehensive
plan and culture of data sharing to manage and curate ASSP data for the future, leveraging the
many ongoing efforts outside of the Arctic. Investing in these services will be critical to future
research and collaborations, allowing for more powerful analyses at larger spatial and deeper
temporal scales, by providing increases to quantity, quality, and scales of data collection and
use. Data sources that could be accessed, discovered, and shared are not just quantitative
data, but also data in museum collections, archives, photos, and interviews.
Improve and Support Research Communication
with the Public and Indigenous Communities
We must strive to make “broader impacts” a central part of the research process and
goals, and to ind ways to evaluate and assess the intended and unanticipated impacts of social
science research carried out in the North. Innovation in the communication of scientiic knowledge
to the public and to policymakers should be supported by funders and recognized professionally
as a scholarly contribution. Methods of assessing the impact of educational and broader effects
could be enhanced through more collaboration with education science. Developing ways to
engage youth in Arctic research would be particularly worthwhile. Improving communication
among the research community and collaborators, including Indigenous partners, can be done
through a variety of already–existing venues, including the Interagency Arctic Research and
Policy Committee (IARPC), which holds periodic webinars with a diverse set of communities and
research interests. Arctic social science is little represented in these venues, so an effort should
be made by ASSP researchers to further engage in these avenues to highlight ongoing social
science research. Researchers should be encouraged to share methodological innovations,
indings, and data developed in Arctic studies with scientists focusing on other regions. Last,
we must work to improve databases and data access for communities (see below) and require
sharing and outreach in all northern research.
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Continue the Arctic Horizons Effort
While the ultimate goal of Arctic Horizons was to create a document (this report), that
would help with re–envisioning Arctic social science research for the next decade or more,
the process itself had many other values. Workshop participants forged new social, personal,
and professional links, which have created opportunities for new research partnerships; new
research directions emerged from workshop discussions that crossed traditional disciplinary
boundaries and brought together scholars from diverse career stages and areas of expertise.
The Indigenous scholars workshop in Fairbanks was described as transformative by numerous
participants. This was a rare opportunity for Indigenous scholars to come together and focus
speciically on future directions for Indigenous scholarship in the Arctic, and to develop
recommendations for scholarship by and for Indigenous peoples.
Based on feedback from participants, we strongly recommend that the Arctic Horizons
process continue in the future. Some recommendations for workshops that would build on the
work completed to date include holding additional workshops for Indigenous scholars (perhaps
some in northern communities to ease participation), conducting workshop(s) for early career
scholars, and bringing in additional international participation either through more funding for
U.S. based workshops or by holding workshops at various international locations.
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6. SUMMARY
The Arctic Horizons project brought together a diverse group of Indigenous and non–
Indigenous scholars from across the social sciences and other disciplines. Our goal was to work
together to re–envision research priorities for Arctic social sciences over the next 10 years and
to make programmatic recommendations for funding agencies.
From this work it is apparent that the Arctic social science community is uniquely positioned to
1. Make crucial contributions to guide and understand change in the North through study of
the shifting intersections between people, communities, environments, heritage, policy,
infrastructure, and development.
2. Contribute to policy production around issues of sustainability, climate change response,
globalization, militarization, and development.
3. Inform engineering, natural sciences, and other interdisciplinary collaborations through our
research on past and present human experience and knowledge of the built and natural
environments of the Arctic.
4. Empower Indigenous communities in the North through collaborative research and the
elevation of Indigenous knowledge and experience in policy discourse.
5. Contribute to the present and future needs of peoples in the North with our work on issues
of sustainability, heritage, climate change impacts and response, urban and rural socio–
economic systems and development, community resilience, health and well–being, food
security, gender and youth studies.
The 21st century Arctic has moved to the forefront of national interest and public
perception. At the same time, Arctic communities face rapid socio–economic, environmental,
and geopolitical change. Arctic social science research will continue to be a critical source of
knowledge in “navigating the new Arctic” (NSF Big Ideas, 2016).
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Yup’ik science and survival. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Fienup–Riordan, A., & Rearden, A. (2012). Ellavut our Yup’ik world & weather:
Continuity and change on the Bering Sea coast. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
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Fukuda–Parr, S., & Kumar, A. S. (2004). Readings in human development: Concepts, measures
and policies for a development paradigm. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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J. Sanguya (Eds.). (2013). The meaning of ice: People and sea ice in three Arctic communities.
Hanover, NH: International Polar Institute.
Hamilton, L. C., M. J. Cutler & A. Schaefer. (2012). Public knowledge and concern about polar–
region warming. Polar Geography, 35(2), 155–168.
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Hamilton, L. C., & Rasmussen, R. O. (2010). Population, sex ratios and development in Greenland.
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Johnson, N. (2014). Thinking through affect: Inuit knowledge on the tundra and in global
environmental politics. Journal of Political Ecology, (21), 127–221.
Johnson, N., L. Alessa, C. Behe, F. Danielsen, S. Gearheard, V. Gofman–Wallingford, A. Kliskey, E–M
Krümmel, A. Lynch, T. Mustonen, P. Pulsifer, & M. Svoboda. (2015). Contributions of community–
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Kari, J., G. Holton, B. Parks, & R. Charlie. (2012). Lower Tanana Place Names. Fairbanks, AK:
University of Alaska Press.
Kouril, D., C. Furgal, & T. Whillans. (2015). Trends and key elements in community–based
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Sarukhanian, & C. Summerhayes. (2011). Understanding Earth’s polar challenges: International
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8. APPENDICES
I.
List of Steering Committee
II.
List of Advisory Board
III. List of workshop participants
IV. Arctic Horizons Workshops
V. Lists of workshop discussion questions
Appendix I. Steering Committee
Shelby Anderson, Portland State University (
[email protected])
Virginia Butler, Portland State University (
[email protected])
Michael Etnier, Portland State University (
[email protected])
Andrey Petrov, University of Northern Iowa (
[email protected])
Aaron Presnall, Jefferson Institute (
[email protected])
Stacy Rasmus, University of Alaska Fairbanks (
[email protected])
Kevin Smith, Brown University (
[email protected])
Colleen Strawhacker, NSIDC (
[email protected])
Sveta Yamin–Pasternak, University of Alaska Fairbanks (
[email protected])
Appendix II. Advisory Board
Barbara Bodenhorn, University of Cambridge/Iliqsavik Tribal College
Nikoosh Carlo, U.S. State Department
F. Stuart Chapin, III (Terry), University of Alaska Fairbanks
Elizabeth (Moore) Cravalho, NANA Regional Corporation
Gail Fondhal, University of Northern British Columbia
Larry Hamilton, University of New Hampshire
Henry Huntington, Pew Environment Group
Susan Kaplan, Bowdoin College
Tim Kohler, Washington State University
Thomas H McGovern, Hunter College (CUNY)
Peter P. Schweitzer, University of Alaska Fairbanks
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Appendix III. Workshop Participants
Workshops participation
Appendix IV. Arctic Horizons Workshops
Participant Selection. Each of the ive regional workshops hosted between 35 and 48
individuals, selected by the Steering Committee to represent a diverse range of disciplines
and scholarly backgrounds, including early career scientists and students as well as mid– and
late–career researchers. To make their selections, the Steering Committee developed a list of
participants to invite, drawing on these main sources: 1) lists of all PIs and CO–PIs on ASSP
current and recently ended grants; 2) professional connections through regional, national, and
international associations and contacts; 3) key international researchers; 4) representatives
of the main research centers and institutions engaged in Arctic Social Science research (e.g.,
University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage), Byrd Polar Research Center
(Ohio State University), National Snow and Ice Data Center (University of Colorado, Boulder),
and Institute of Arctic Studies (Dartmouth College); 5) representatives of topically focused
centers engaged in ASSP studies (University of New Hampshire, Brown University, University
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of Chicago, Portland State University, University of Oregon, University of Idaho, University
of Kansas, University of Colorado, Boulder, University of California, Santa Barbara, UCLA,
University of Northern Iowa, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, the Smithsonian Institution,
Rutgers University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Connecticut, George Washington
University, University of Washington, George Mason University, Indiana University; and others).
Recruiting scholars and members from Indigenous and Arctic residents was a key
component of Arctic Horizons programming. While a small number of Indigenous scholars were
present at each of the ive workshops, the Fairbanks Workshop was focused on Indigenous
perspectives. The Local Organizing committee included a member of the Steering Committee
who is an Indigenous researcher and community representative, and this group developed and
reviewed a plan for engaging other key Indigenous researchers and community perspectives
within each stage of the collaborative process.
Workshop Process. The main goal of the workshops was to elicit ideas and perspectives
from participants about current and future directions for Arctic social science research. To
organize discussion and to provide some continuity across workshops, the Steering Committee
formulated several questions in advance, through discussions with the Arctic Horizons Advisory
Panel and the Local Organizing Committees:
1. The Changing Arctic: What are the most important changes affecting the Arctic now and in
the coming decades?
2. Changes in Arctic Social Science: How has Arctic social science changed over the last 20
years? Why do these changes matter to the social sciences, the broader scientiic community,
and society at large?
3.
Broader Impacts and the Future of Arctic Social Science: In what ways has Arctic social
science inluenced the ield of social science more broadly? What contributions can and
should we continue to make, and what new contributions have we made, or do we have the
potential to make, in the future? What key questions remain unanswered in the Arctic that
require concerted research effort in the next 10–15 years?
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The Fairbanks workshop shared the following Key topics & questions:
Exploring Indigenous Experiences and Understandings of the ‘new Arctic’
•
•
•
What are the primary drivers of change in the Arctic from an Indigenous perspective?
How are Indigenous communities responding and adapting to change in the Arctic?
How are Indigenous communities involved in identifying the most important changes
affecting the Arctic now and in the coming decades?
Exploring Indigenous Experiences with Research
•
•
•
•
•
What has been the Indigenous experience of social science research in the Arctic and
beyond?
How has Western–based research and science been impacted by Indigenous knowledge
and practices?
How have Indigenous experiences and perspectives of research changed over the past two
decades?
What factors have been most critical in changing Indigenous experiences and perspectives
of research?
What are key research priorities for Indigenous peoples in the Arctic?
Exploring Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Research Methodologies
•
•
•
•
•
What is Indigenous knowledge and how does it interact/intersect with Western science?
How does Indigenous knowledge inform domains of human experience in the Arctic (social,
economic, political, ecological, educational, health/wellbeing, etc)?
How is knowledge shaped by language?
What are best practices for engaging Indigenous communities and community members in
research?
How can we engage in “de–colonizing methodologies” in social science research?
These questions were circulated to participants at least three weeks prior to each
workshop. Participants were also asked to review several recent publications related to Arctic
social science research, providing common context and facilitating discussion (e.g., Arctic
Social Sciences: Opportunities in Arctic Research, 1999; AHDR–II, 2014; The Arctic in the
Anthropocene, 2014; Megatrends, 2011). In addition to the core questions, each workshop
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emphasized particular themes within Arctic social science to allow more in–depth consideration
of those issues. Both the Fairbanks and Juneau workshops took slightly different approaches
with a stronger emphasis on participant driven questions and interests. While meeting formats
varied somewhat, most workshops followed a common pattern. Workshops began with an
icebreaker and general introductions, followed by a keynote address. For 1.5 to 2 days, the
participants engaged with the core set of questions, often in break–out groups of 5–8 people,
with one designated scribe. After each question was discussed in the small break–out groups,
the participants as a whole would reconvene, with a spokesperson from each break–out group
summarizing key ideas that emerged from a given discussion. Formal panels were sometimes
set up to highlight speciic themes (e.g., at the Portland Workshop, a 5–member panel discussed
ways interdisciplinary research informed their work). Most workshops included two or more
plenary presentations where speakers were asked ahead of the conference to prepare formal
remarks relevant to a given theme. At most workshops, notes taken during all the proceedings
were closely reviewed by the Steering and Local Organizing Committees, to extract the primary
themes that emerged from the various activities (e.g., small group and plenary discussions,
panels, keynote addresses). At the end of most workshops, participants were asked to ill
out a simple review form to learn what the participants found valuable, what could have been
improved regarding the workshop process, and overall organization.
After each workshop, the Steering Committee members who organized that workshop
would share key outcomes informally with the rest of the Steering Committee during monthly
teleconferences, which often facilitated the organization for upcoming workshops. Each
workshop, then, had the opportunity to build on the knowledge gained from previous workshops,
thus improving the process in an iterative fashion. To prepare for the Synthesis workshop, the
Steering Committee member(s) linked to a given workshop wrote a ~2 page summary of the
main themes to emerge from their speciic workshop.
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Portland State Univ. Workshop:
Arctic Social Sciences in the 21st Century: Integrating Past, Present, and Future Human Ecodynamics
in Arctic Social Science Research [February 7–9].
The Portland workshop brought together a diverse group of Arctic scholars currently
engaged in Arctic social sciences research. Our aim was to generate discussion on a range of
related topics including social sciences research and northern climate change; the challenges,
promise, and future of interdisciplinary research in Arctic contexts; social science research and
heritage issues; and applied social sciences research. While the majority of attendees were
social scientists, researchers from the natural sciences were included to broaden the range of
perspectives, especially regarding human–environment relationships. Dr. Thomas McGovern
(City University of New York) gave a keynote address titled “The Anthropocene in the North:
Prospects, Potentials, and Threats,” and Jon Waterhouse and Mary Marshall (Oregon Health
Sciences University) gave a keynote address titled “Indigenous Voices from the Arctic to the
Amazon.”
Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks Workshop:
Arctic Social Sciences in the 21st Century: Indigenous Scholarship in the North: Decolonizing
Methods, Models and Practices in Social Science Research [March 23–25].
The Fairbanks workshop aimed to explore recent advances and innovations in Indigenous
science, and scholarship in the circumpolar north and its neighbors. The workshop brought
together Indigenous experts and researchers from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds
to explore the role and contributions of Indigenous frameworks and knowledge systems in
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advancing ields of science and informing global solutions. The workshop explored Indigenous
science as relational, holistic, and multidimensional, taking into account impacts of the social
and cultural environment on physical, material, and human processes. The workshop strove
to move the academic discourse beyond exploring intersections of Indigenous knowledge and
science to exploring Indigenous knowledge and practice as a framework of science. Additionally,
participants discussed how knowledge produced within Indigenous systems contributes to
community adaptation and resilience within multiple global contexts and settings. The workshop
highlighted innovative, community–driven, and decolonizing methodologies that demonstrated
how Indigenous frameworks can shape both knowledge and practice within social science
research.
Univ. of Alaska–Juneau Workshop:
Arctic Social Science in the 21st Century: Uninhibited Synergies: Connecting Humanities, Engineering,
and Social Sciences in Arctic Research and Public Engagement [March 31–April 2].
Broadly, the workshop aimed to identify the domains of human experience in the northern
circumpolar regions that warrant prioritization in research, public outreach, and education; and
to contemplate the known and novel synergies for working within these agendas. The vision of
a specialized contribution to the Arctic Horizons process was vested in the workshop’s focus
on interactions of diverse epistemologies, aesthetic experiences, material words, human
wellbeing, and social justice. In part, the disciplinary representation chosen for the workshop
was driven by the fact that the types of cross–disciplinary collaborations in Arctic research over
the past two decades have been predominantly between social and natural scientists. The
Juneau workshop sought to explore a broader scope of collaborative experiences and discuss
multimodal and multidisciplinary approaches in research, outreach, and education. Among
the represented ields were anthropology, Indigenous scholarship and educators, humanities
scholars, a sociologist, a marine ecologist, an environmental engineer, and an architect.
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Univ. of Northern Iowa Workshop:
Arctic Social Sciences in the 21st Century: Integrating Theories, Data and Methods
to Ascertain Local, National and International Relevance. [April 14–16].
This workshop gathered a diverse group of scholars to discuss state–of–the art methods
and theories in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social
science research in the Arctic. The core topics paralleled discussions held at other regional
workshops which included social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary
research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic; and applied social sciences
research. Although the majority of attendees were social scientists, researchers from the natural
sciences, archaeology, and the humanities were included to broaden the range of perspectives in
workshop discussions. Particular emphasis was placed on applied research through integrating
social science theories, methods, and data to serve the needs of Arctic communities, to meet
national U.S. priorities, and to address global challenges of the 21st century. A special theme
was the relevance of Arctic social science scholarship for sustainable development at different
scales and in different regions (including all Arctic nations and the continental U.S.).
Brown University Workshop:
Arctic Social Sciences in the 21st Century: Integrating Interdisciplinary
Natural/Social Scientiic Research for Policy Development [May 31–June 2].
This workshop brought together a diverse international (U.S, Canada, Greenland,
Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Finland) group of researchers working on multidisciplinary
natural/social science projects addressing issues of contemporary and past changes in the
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North, social scientists focused on policy development at a global scale, and policy makers.
In addition to discussion of Arctic Horizons core questions, this workshop speciically focused
on connections linked to the integration of broad–based social and natural scientiic research
in policy development and implementation, as well as considering the degrees to which
policy development and forecasting should lead to the prioritization of research funding or be
independent from it. As Arctic Horizons only U.S. East Coast venue, our participants were mainly
from eastern North America, with international participants from the North Atlantic region and
Canada. Mark Brzezinski (Executive Director, U.S. Arctic Executive Steering Committee) gave a
keynote address titled “The Arctic as a National Imperative,” and Lene Kielsen Holm (Research
Scientist and Project Leader, Greenland Climate Research Centre) gave a keynote address titled
“Ilisimatusarneq, issittumi nunat inoqqaavisa ilisimasaat ilanngullugit / Building New Knowledge
from the Arctic by the Methods of Knowledge Co–production.”
Synthesis Workshop, Jefferson Institute:
Arctic Social Sciences in the 21st Century: Synthesis Meeting [September 21–23].
Members of the Steering Committee and a small selection of additional guests gathered
with the aim of enhancing diversity, totaling 13 people. The goal of the Synthesis Workshop was
to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions
proffered between workshops.
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Appendix V. Workshop Discussion Questions
Portland State University (February 7–9, 2016)
1. The Changing Arctic
a) What do you see as the most important changes affecting the Arctic now and in the
coming decades? What evidence is this change based on?
b) Are further changes discussed locally? If so, how might they be investigated?
c) What are possible drivers for Arctic change and what are some possible complications
in identifying and assessing drivers of change?
d) What existing strategies for coping with or addressing change have been developed
locally? Regionally? What are the challenges in understanding their consequences?
e) Are there particular nodes where drivers and strategies relect contradictory factors
(e.g. socio–political; ecological; developmental; scale; time; conlicts of interest)?
f) Are there potentially new and innovative strategies being considered in the settings
where we work that invite further attention? Are there ways to assess potential
consequences of these strategies?
g) What will we miss if we ignore the changes/drivers you identify?
h) What will we be able to do or do better if we improve our understanding of those
changes/drivers and their societal effects?”
2. Changes in Arctic Social Science
a) What are we able to do now in Arctic social sciences that we could not do 20 years
ago?
b) What results, discoveries, theories, methodological innovations, trends, and (inter)
disciplinary approaches have changed the scope, nature, and place of Arctic social
sciences across knowledge systems?
c) Why do these changes matter to social sciences, the broader scientiic community,
and to society at large?
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3. Broader Impacts of Arctic Social Science
a) In what ways (e.g. theoretical, methodological, topical, etc.) has Arctic social science
inluenced the ield of social science more broadly?
b) What contributions can and should we continue to make, and what new contributions or
do we have the potential to make, in the future?
c) If Arctic conditions act as a global driver, do you see the potential for Arctic social science
to play a critical role outside of the Arctic as well? If so, in what ways?
4. The Future of Arctic Social Sciences
a) What key questions remain unanswered regarding integrated social and social–ecological
systems in the Arctic that require concerted research effort in the next 10–15 years?
b) What are we unable to do as a result of our knowledge gaps? Why does this matter?
c) What do we risk if we are not open to new and emerging issues?
5. Panel–Led Discussion: Integrating Past, Present, and Future Human Ecodynamics in
Arctic Social Science Research.
Scientists are working across traditional disciplinary boundaries and with a wide range of
“others” (e.g. artists; educators, traditional resource users, etc.) in increasingly productive
ways. Much, although certainly not all, of this interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research
is focused on the interaction of humans and the Arctic environment. This research, which
requires working across variable time–scales, with different data sets, and with people outside
of one’s own discipline holds much promise for furthering our understanding of past and
present human ecodynamics. There are also many challenges. We have organized a panel to
discuss: a) the promise and challenge of conducting inter– and transdisciplinary research on
human ecodynamics and in other research areas, b) a consideration of the future of this type
of research, and c) speciic recommendations for research and funding priorities for inter– and
transdisciplinary research.
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The panelists will speak briely (5 minutes or so) on the points below, drawing speciic
examples from their own experience. Then, they will then engage with each other and the larger
group in a discussion of the same points.
a) Based on your experiences, what do you think is a good model for engaging in inter– or
transdisciplinary research?
b) What worked and what were were the challenges in carrying out inter– or transdisciplinary
research (e.g. scholarly training, logistics, funding)?
c) Has your own understanding shifted as a result of such interactions? Has transdisciplinary
work altered the questions you ask? As you try to see the world through other lenses have
you become engaged in altogether new areas of scholarship or approached “old” problems
in new ways?) .
d) Do you see the impact of your own work or discipline on the ways your collaborators
understand their own work?
e) What is the future of inter– and transdisciplinary research in the Arctic (Speciically for
research on human ecodynamics and/or more broadly)? Do you think the current support for
inter– and transdisciplinary work (funding, scholarly accolades, institutional organizations)
is suficient, or do we need more? What, if any, funding priorities do you think there should
be for this type of work?
Brown University (May 31 – June 2, 2016)
Discussion Questions
Below are ive key themes and related open–ended questions that we will explore as a group over
the course of our workshop. Also included are four required readings. Additional recommended
readings can be found on the project website: http://arctichorizons.org/literature. Please spend
some time with the required readings and questions ahead of the workshop to help facilitate a
productive discussion.
As you consider these questions, please give some additional thought to the themes of this
workshop – interdisciplinarity and policy – and consider:
•
ways in which interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approaches have advanced or
hindered progress in your own work or in related research domains,
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•
the dimensions of interdisciplinarity that seem to you most capable of advancing or
hindering research, career development, public understanding of complex issues, and
responsible policy guidance
•
ways in which interdisciplinary research in the North (your own or in general) integrates with,
responds to, is developed as an outcome of, guides or could guide policy developments
in the countries from which you receive funding and in the communities, regions, and
nations where we do our work.
Question 1. The Changing Arctic
a) What do you see as the most important changes affecting the Arctic now and in the
coming decades? What evidence documents these changes?
b) What are the most important drivers of change in Arctic social and natural systems and
what are some possible complications in identifying and assessing these drivers of change
and their interactions?
c) How do issues related to the scales at which these changes occur, manifest, or require
responses complicate social sciences research, interdisciplinary research, public perceptions,
and policy development looking forward?
d) What should we be able to do or to do better if we improve our understanding of those
changes/drivers and their societal effects?
Question 2. Changes in Arctic Social Science
a) What are we able to do now in Arctic social sciences that we could not, or did not, do 20
years ago?
b) What results, discoveries, theories, methodological innovations, trends, and (inter)
disciplinary approaches have transformed the scope, nature, and place of Arctic social
sciences across knowledge systems?
c) Why do these changes matter to social sciences, the broader scientiic community, and
to society at large?
Question 3. Broader Impacts of Arctic Social Science
a) In what ways (e.g. theoretical, methodological, topical, etc.) has Arctic social science
inluenced the ield of social science more broadly?
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b) What contributions can we continue to make that affect domains beyond the social
sciences, and what are the most important new contributions that we have the potential to
make, in the next 20 years?
c) If Arctic conditions act as a global driver, do you see the potential for Arctic social science
to play a critical role outside of the Arctic as well? If so, in what ways?
Question 4. Arctic Social Science and Arctic Policy
a) What responsibilities should Arctic social scientists have, looking forward, to policy
makers and the public?
b) Should our work be guided by efforts to promote better policy development at local,
national, and international levels to help confront and direct social, environmental, political,
and strategic goals?
c) Should Arctic research priorities be guided by national policy goals or be independent
of them?
d) How should we balance potentially competing or divergent policy goals of the countries
that provide our funding and those of communities or countries in which we work?
Question 5. The Future of Arctic Social Sciences
a) What key questions remain unanswered regarding integrated social and social–ecological
systems in the Arctic that require concerted research effort in the next 10–15 years?
b) What are we unable to do as a result of our knowledge gaps? Why does this matter?
c) What do we risk if we are not open to new and emerging issues?
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