Walrus is a key subsistence food for Indigenous communities in Alaska's North Slope. But climate change has shifted walrus habits. In a new project, The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Museum of the North are working with Indigenous hunters from Point Lay to understand these changes and document traditional knowledge. The Alaska Desk's Alena Naiden reports on the collaboration.
Eduard Kergytagyn Zdor, an anthropology postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is one of the researchers who will be doing interviews. Zdor is a Chukchi Indigenous leader from Chukotka in Eastern Russia, a community where walrus is also a key subsistence resource. “This is about how to help local communities to deal with modern challenges, including climate change.”
