I traveled to Savoonga in the summer 2022 to carry out focus groups for the forthcoming research to measure predominant wind direction changes in SLI. We gathered input from elders, hunters, and clan leaders on the importance of watching the weather the Siberian Yupik way, focusing on observation of grass lay as an indicator of wind direction. That same year, I also visited Shaktoolik and Teller, and collected aerial videos and photos from the villages to document vulnerability and adaptation, looking to compile them in a short documentary about AKSIK.
We are working on a publication to explore how TEK, as a way of knowing, is simultaneously threatened by and a source of adaptation against fast climatic and technological changes in Savoonga. We want to explore how the relationships between Indigenous Knowledge and Western science can be intentional, equitable, and fruitful for all parties involved by centering Indigenous interests and cosmologies long disregarded in Western academia. I returned to Savoonga in April 2023 to share the results, delivering community posters and speaking to young people and adults at Savoonga’s High School.