Heritage Voices · The Archaeology Podcast Network

Tamamta (all of us): Transforming Western and Indigenous Sciences together - Ep 89

·57 min·3 clips

Jessica Black says it will be the fifth year without Yukon River salmon fishing because Chinook and chum collapsed.

Jessica Equinto opens by acknowledging the lands she is recording on and then introduces Dr. Jessica Black and Dr. Courtney Carruthers. Dr. Black’s background in social work and her research on governance and well-being among Alaska Native peoples frame the conversation from the start. Dr. Carruthers and Dr. Black then turn to the Indigenizing Salmon Science and Management Project. The project is described as an effort to document the breadth and depth of Indigenous knowledge related to fisheries, science, and governance. It also aims to understand how federal and state managers do or do not bring that knowledge into salmon science and governance. Dr. Black explains that she approaches the project from Indigenous values. She names respect, relationality, reciprocity, and redistribution as central to how she works. Those values shape both the project’s goals and its structure. Elders advise the team on how to proceed. Indigenous scholars are brought in as collaborators, and students at UAF working toward bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees help document interviews in their own regions. The project stretches across places such as the Yukon River, Bristol Bay, the Aleutians, and the Kuskokwim River. Dr. Black describes the methodology as distinctive because it reflects Indigenous values and Indigenous ways of working. The episode focuses on how research design, community accountability, and scientific practice can be held together.

As heard by us

A grounded conversation about salmon science, governance, and Indigenous-led research.

Heritage Voices episode 89 brings together Dr. Jessica Black and Dr. Courtney Carruthers for a grounded look at the Indigenizing Salmon Science and Management Project.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Listen if you want a calm, detailed conversation about transforming salmon science and management through Indigenous knowledge.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Heritage Voices