A new edition of the ground-breaking map showing the traditional indigenous language regions of Alaska—and related languages of neighboring areas of Canada and Russia—is now available. It is the first revision in nearly 30 years and was generated with geographic information system (GIS) technology. The map is the joint product of researchers at UAF’s Alaska Native Language Center and UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. This work updates the map originally compiled in 1974 by Michael Krauss, then director of the language center, and last updated in 1982.
Communities in Alaska and around the Arctic—especially those where Alaska Natives and other indigenous peoples make up most of the population—face many forces of change, including the effects of climate change, pressures on subsistence resources and on mixed cash-subsistence economies, rising costs of living, and lack of jobs for young people—including in coastal communities, where opportunities in commercial fisheries have diminished. ISER researchers study issues affecting Arctic communities, often with national or international partners. Examples of that work include assessments of the resilience and adaptability of communities in the face of change.