Native Yup Research Articles

UAV-Based Remote Sensing for Managing Alaskan Native Heritage Landscapes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

The Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta is home to the Alaskan Native Yup’ik people who have inhabited this remote, subarctic tundra for over 1500 years. Today, their ancestral lifeways and cultural landscapes are at risk from severe climate change-related threats. In turn, we propose that remote sensing technologies, particularly with sensors mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms, are uniquely suited for protecting Yup’ik landscape heritage. Based on collaborative, community-based fieldwork in Quinhagak, AK, we present evidence that cultural sites—ranging from historic fishing camps to pre-contact winter villages—exhibit predictably atypical vegetation patterns based on the local ecological biome. Furthermore, these vegetation patterns can be recorded and statistically quantified through the analysis of multispectral imagery obtained from UAV-mounted sensors with three different false color composite rasters and vegetation indices depending on biome type. Finally, we suggest how the Yupiit can combine these methodologies/workflows with local knowledge to monitor the broader heritage landscape in the face of climate change.

Strengths-Based Assessment for Suicide Prevention: Reasons for Life as a Protective Factor From Yup'ik Alaska Native Youth Suicide.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native youth, and within the Alaska Native youth subpopulation, the leading cause of death. In response to this public health crisis, American Indian and Alaska Native communities have created strategies to protect their young people by building resilience using localized Indigenous well-being frameworks and cultural strengths. These approaches to suicide prevention emphasize promotion of protective factors over risk reduction. A measure of culturally based protective factors from suicide risk has potential to assess outcomes from these strengths-based, culturally grounded suicide prevention efforts, and can potentially address several substantive concerns regarding direct assessment of suicide risk. We report on the Reasons for Life (RFL) scale, a measure of protective factors from suicide, testing psychometric properties including internal structure with 302 rural Alaska Native Yup'ik youth. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the RFL is best described through three distinct first-order factors organized under one higher second-order factor. Item response theory analyses identified 11 satisfactorily functioning items. The RFL correlates with other measures of more general protective factors. Implications of these findings are described, including generalizability to other American Indian and Alaska Native, other Indigenous, and other culturally distinct suicide disparities groups.

Linkage and association analysis of circulating vitamin D and parathyroid hormone identifies novel loci in Alaska Native Yup'ik people.

BackgroundVitamin D deficiency is a well-documented public health issue with both genetic and environmental determinants. Populations living at far northern latitudes are vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency and its health sequelae, although consumption of traditional native dietary pattern rich in fish and marine mammals may buffer the effects of reduced sunlight exposure. To date, few studies have investigated the genetics of vitamin D metabolism in circumpolar populations or considered genediet interactions with fish and n-3 fatty acid intake.MethodsWe searched for genomic regions exhibiting linkage and association with circulating levels of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in 982 Yup’ik individuals from the Center for Alaska Native Health Research Study. We also investigated potential interactions between genetic variants and a biomarker of traditional dietary intake, the δ15N value.ResultsWe identified several novel regions linked with circulating vitamin D and PTH as well as replicated a previous linkage finding on 2p16.2 for vitamin D. Bioinformatic analysis revealed multiple candidate genes for both PTH and vitamin D, including CUBN, MGAT3, and NFKBIA. Targeted association analysis identified NEBL as a candidate gene for vitamin D and FNDC3B for PTH. We observed significant associations between a variant in MXD1 and vitamin D only when an interaction with the δ15N value was included. Finally, we integrated pathway level information to illustrate the biological validity of the proposed candidate genes.ConclusionWe provide evidence of linkage between several biologically plausible genomic regions and vitamin D metabolism in a circumpolar population. Additionally, these findings suggest that a traditional dietary pattern may modulate genetic effects on circulating vitamin D.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12263-016-0538-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association between added sugar intake and dental caries in Yup'ik children using a novel hair biomarker.

BackgroundDental caries (tooth decay) is a significant public health problem in Alaska Native children. Dietary added sugars are considered one of the main risk factors. In this cross-sectional pilot study, we used a validated hair-based biomarker to measure added sugar intake in Alaska Native Yup’ik children ages 6–17 years (N = 51). We hypothesized that added sugar intake would be positively associated with tooth decay.MethodsA 66-item parent survey was administered, a hair sample was collected from each child, and a dental exam was conducted. Added sugar intake (grams/day) was measured from hair samples using a linear combination of carbon and nitrogen ratios. We used linear and log-linear regression models with robust standard errors to test our hypothesis that children with higher added sugar intake would have a higher proportion of carious tooth surfaces.ResultsThe mean proportion of carious tooth surfaces was 30.8 % (standard deviation: 23.2 %). Hair biomarker-based added sugar intake was associated with absolute (6.4 %; 95 % CI: 1.2 %, 11.6 %; P = .02) and relative increases in the proportion of carious tooth surfaces (24.2 %; 95 % CI: 10.6 %, 39.4 %; P < .01). There were no associations between self-reported measures of sugar-sweetened food and beverage intake and tooth decay.ConclusionsAdded sugar intake as assessed by hair biomarker was significantly and positively associated with tooth decay in our sample of Yup’ik children. Self-reported dietary measures were not associated tooth decay. Most added sugars were from sugar-sweetened fruit drinks consumed at home. Future dietary interventions aimed at improving the oral health of Alaska Native children should consider use of objective biomarkers to assess and measure changes in home-based added sugar intake, particularly sugar-sweetened fruit drinks.

The Arctic: Past or Prologue?

The word unaami from the Alaskan Native Yup'ik language translates broadly to “tomorrow”, and is commonly used with a connotation of change. There is no question that Arctic environments are changi...

Preserving a space for cross-cultural collaborations: an account of insider/outsider issues

This paper focuses on the notions of insider and outsider and these positions as they are situated in and out of the established western academic tradition, and the associated ethical, epistemological and methodological concerns, specifically as relates to both our independent and collaborative research with(in) Alaska Native Yup'ik communities. The paper begins with a brief discussion of traditional views of the dualistic notion of insider/outsider in ethnographic research, which is juxtaposed with tensions existing between traditional views of insider/outsider and the views of Indigenous ethnographers conducting research among Indigenous populations. Using examples taken from our independent and collaborative research data and transcripts from our Independent Study discussions, we map the paths taken in reconstructing a dualistic view of insider/outsider, western/indigenous, knowledge creator/knowledge receiver. Drawing on Habermas' theory of communicative action, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of language and learning and Indigenous approaches to decolonising research methodologies, we take first steps to open a dialogue that reconceptualises what it means to participate in collaborative research, working the hyphen with(in) the contact zone.

Using Ethnoarchaeology and Soils Chemistry to Examine Fisheries on the Arctic Alaskan Coast

The Arctic coast is a critical region for archaeologists to understand how fisheries have impacted hunter-gatherer development. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwestern Alaska is an ideal social and natural environment for archaeologists to study contemporary fisheries activity and their soils signatures. Here we discuss our combined methodological approach to studying fisheries among Native Yup'ik communities with a specific focus on the ethnographic component of our research. We suggest that fisheries-focused research promises to inform current models of coastal adaptation and behavior.