Sabena Elisabeth Allen

SABENA ALLEN, then a graduate student at University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded funding in September 2023 to aid research on “The Importance of Haa Kuusteeyí – ‘Our Way of Life’: Tlingit Survivance Through Ongoing Apocalypse,” supervised by Dr. Ryan Jobson. This project was based in Sitka, an island town in southeast Alaska, and considered Lingít (Tlingit) knowledge in relation to climate change discourse. The research questions centered on the Lingít concept of haa ḵuusteeyí, or “our way of life,” which entails not only what you do, but also how you do it. The research looked at how this concept, and cultural values of respect, collaboration, and determination, were being discussed in a number of Native-run non-profits as well as local and regional tribal governments. These organizations are guided by this ethical orientation, as well as an emphasis on Indigenous knowledge as an essential aspect of climate change research and policy. The confluence of ethical commitments and acknowledgement of the value of Indigenous knowledge is regarded by organizations as central to climate activism. Ultimately, haa ḵuusteeyí must be lived and enacted, not simply discussed. This is something that Lingít people continue to do in their everyday lives, and some of these values are also enacted by organizations that focus on networking, collaboration, and building regional coalitions. Such organizations were better able to bring Indigenous values and knowledge into their climate solutions due to shared perspectives and effective community collaboration.