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Sociocultural Features of the Bering Strait Region

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Governing Arctic Seas: Regional Lessons from the Bering Strait and Barents Sea

Part of the book series: Informed Decisionmaking for Sustainability ((IDS))

Abstract

The Bering Strait Region is the homeland and current home to Inupiaq, Yu’pik, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Siberian Yupik and Chukchi people, as well as the contemporary home to non-Indigenous residents. The traditional subsistence practices and Traditional Knowledge of the region’s Indigenous people are key factors in the maintenance of cultural identity and food security. Climate change, vessel traffic, research activities, tourism, co-management, and infrastructure are among the many challenges and opportunities faced by region communities today. In particular, the loss of sea ice is a current and growing problem that contributes to food insecurity and creates risks to the health and well-being of Indigenous communities. Governance actions should support the maintenance of healthy communities, ecosystems and economies; should actively assist in promoting access to subsistence resources; and should enhance the ability and capacity of Tribes and Indigenous communities to enact self-governance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Alaska Native people are the Indigenous people of Alaska. Non-Alaska Native people do not have Indigenous heritage in Alaska.

  2. 2.

    U.S. Census data does not separate out Alaska Native from American Indian, but rather has a category of “American Indian and Alaska Native Alone” (US Census Bureau 2017). The census also reports on individuals that checked more than one ethnicity as “Two or More Races.” In most communities in the Bering Strait the numbers from these categories represent individuals with Alaska Native heritage.

  3. 3.

    Kawerak (www.kawerak.org) is the Alaska Native Tribal consortium for the Bering Strait region. The organization provides a variety of services to region residents such as childhood education, vocational rehabilitation, job training, land management, social science research, operation of a cultural center, and other activities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Science Program, Kawerak, Inc., Nome, AK, USA

    Julie Raymond-Yakoubian

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Eduard Zdor

Authors
  1. Julie Raymond-Yakoubian
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  2. Eduard Zdor
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Correspondence to Julie Raymond-Yakoubian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Oran R. Young

  2. Science Diplomacy Center, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Paul Arthur Berkman

  3. Department of International Law, MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia

    Alexander N. Vylegzhanin

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Raymond-Yakoubian, J., Zdor, E. (2020). Sociocultural Features of the Bering Strait Region. In: Young, O., Berkman, P., Vylegzhanin, A. (eds) Governing Arctic Seas: Regional Lessons from the Bering Strait and Barents Sea. Informed Decisionmaking for Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25674-6_4

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