Quliyanguarpet—Our Story: Learning and Participating for Community Resilience in the Sub-Arctic

At Wild Rose Education (WRE), we believe that the most powerful stories are those written through collaboration and active listening. This April, WRE is honored to participate in the 4th annual Collective Alaska Native Perspectives (CANP 2026) workshop in Homer, Alaska at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. Centered on the theme "Quliyanguarpet—Our Story," this intensive multi-day learning experience is a critical step in deepening our commitment to the LEKDA (Local Ecological Knowledge + Data = Action) project.

Photo by Pops Weisser on Homer AK facebook page

Immersive Learning: "Learning by Doing, Observing, and Listening"

The workshop, facilitated and hosted by the Chugach Regional Resources Commission  (CRRC), mirrors the Alutiiq cultural value of "learning by doing, observing and listening". For Sarah Johnson and the WRE team, participation means moving beyond theory and into the heart of Indigenous-led science.

Through active participation in sessions led by local experts, we are refining the way we support the Chugach School District:

• Applied TEK and Indigenous-Led Science: Learning from Dr. Henry Huntington, we are exploring practical frameworks to weave Western scientific tools with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This learning directly informs the development of a Two-Eyed Seeing curriculum for our students.

• Subsistence and Alaska Native Ways of Life: Participating in sessions with Dustin Carl helps us identify the environmental variables—such as the health and timing of traditional food sources—that are most culturally significant for students to track in their Ocean Observation Notebooks (OON).

• Village Protocol and Communication:

  Learning about Village Protocol from Allison Carl and cross-cultural communication from Sperry Ash ensures that WRE enters rural communities with deep respect. These lessons will influence how we support student researchers in their home communities.

Program and workshop agenda

Participating in Cultural Traditions

Learning at CANP 2026 is not limited to the classroom. WRE is participating in hands-on cultural activities, including waterproof stitch making, cottonwood salve making, and Alutiiq dart games (augca’aq). These traditional practices serve as pedagogical templates for student labs that combine botanical science with traditional application, helping students recognize deeper connections between their people and the marine ecosystem.

The workshop concludes with a Traditional Meal and Potluck Celebration, where participants share culturally significant dishes they have collected, caught, or hunted. Sarah will bring southwest Colorado grown dry beans from Dove Creek, Hatch green chilies, and her own home grown garlic to the potluck. This act of Sharing—a core Chugach value—reminds us that data and science are ultimately about the well-being and responsibility we have to one another.

Strengthening the Future of LEKDA

The insights gained from participating in this workshop are foundational to the future of the LEKDA project. By understanding the landscape of Alaska Native Governance and Co-Stewardship, we are better equipped to teach students how their data acquisition supports Tribal sovereignty and community resilience.

Quliyanguarpet—Our Story is a reminder that the LEKDA project is not just an educational initiative; it is a collective narrative of resilience. Through our participation in Homer, Wild Rose Education is ensuring that the Action in LEKDA is rooted in Epistemological Justice—valuing Indigenous ways of knowing as equal to Western science—to support community self-determination across the sub-arctic and beyond.

The Path Toward "Becoming What Can Be"

By participating in CANP 2026, Sarah Johnson is not just checking a box; she is building on a deep history of Northern engagement to facilitate becoming what can be for communities on the front lines of climate change. This expertise is rooted in WRE’s long-standing connection to the International Arctic Buoy Program and the Float Your Boat project, as well as Sarah’s experience from two previous research visits to Utqiaġvik on Alaska’s North Slope. While those past efforts centered on the high Arctic, now WRE is focusing on the sub-arctic through the LEKDA project and CANP training in Homer. Sarah’s time in the sub-arctic ensures that Wild Rose Education continues to lead with equity, rigor, and a profound respect for the traditional knowledge systems of the people we serve across North America.

Where exactly is Homer on the Kenai Peninsula in south central Alaska?