Inuit Studies Conference opens in Alaska

The Inuit Studies Conference opened this week at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, on the theme “Voices from Indigenous Communities: Research, Reality and Reconciliation.”

The keynote speakers to the gathering of academics and researchers from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Europe and Russia included Inuit Circumpolar Conference president Aqqaluk Lynge speaking on “Science, For and Together with Indigenous Peoples” and Inuit Tapiriit Kanaatami president Jose Kusugak on “Traditional Knowledge.”

The gathering focused on the presentation of academic papers, on subjects ranging from mental illness in Alaska native villages and domestic violence in Greenland to complex linguistic issues, such as “A Comparative Study of the Participial in the Inuit and Yupik Languages.”

Native speakers addressed topics such as incorporating traditional knowledge in scientific research, intellectual property rights for that knowledge and the ethical issues involved in research.