NSF Award
1542208
This award will support a series of workshops focused on connecting the Water Indigenous Network (WIN) of the US North West Coastal Tribes and Alaska Native communities with the Yakut and Evenk Peoples who reside in the Sakha Republic of Russia along the Lena River. The Lena River is the 11th longest river in the world, has the 9th largest watershed, and provides fresh water to the Arctic Ocean. WIN scientists are creating a program by which global watersheds can be monitored year round by local people, something not possible by field scientists because most can only visit their research sites in the summer season for a few weeks. WIN will train local people in scientific methodologies for monitoring the health and production of the Lena River Watershed. Local monitoring will provide data on one of the world?s largest watersheds; information critical to understanding the Arctic Ocean ecosystem and how it is changing.<br/><br/>In collaboration with scientists from Oregon Health and Science Universities Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and the Woods Hole Research Center, with this award WIN will organize workshops among the Yakut and Evenk Peoples to bring scientists and indigenous communities together to explore issues that affect indigenous people?s knowledge and culture along the world?s rivers. The workshops will include training in GIS Mapping of watersheds, digital database construction and archiving, video documentation, photo documentation, water quality sampling protocols and techniques, and traditional knowledge story telling and documentation. The workshops will also give the WIN team the opportunity to meet with local and regional leaders and government representatives to gain their support for local participation in network activities.
