In this article, we examine how governance can be more effectively integrated with quantitative e... more In this article, we examine how governance can be more effectively integrated with quantitative evaluation methods in applied resource management. Governance refers to how societies organize to make decisions in ways that influence management choices (e.g., harvest allocation), such as levels of participation, the inclusion of different types of knowledge, and legitimacy of processes that lead to decisions. Using a fisheries example, we show that a failure to consider the governance context for quantitative evaluation of alternative management strategies may lead to unexpected consequences or break points in decision-making, bias estimates of risk and returns from management choices, and mask the potential for undesirable social and ecological outcomes.
This paper analyses landscape terminology in Ewenki, one of the Tungusic languages spoken by indi... more This paper analyses landscape terminology in Ewenki, one of the Tungusic languages spoken by indigenous hunters and reindeer herders in Siberia, using examples of three key conceptual categories: ‘...
For the individual in Tlingit society, geographic knowledge is organized along two fundamental ax... more For the individual in Tlingit society, geographic knowledge is organized along two fundamental axes: social structure and subsistence production. The key role of social structure in the formation of Tlingit geographic knowledge was first alluded to by de Laguna (1960:17-18), who ...
This paper examines processes by which Alaskan and Siberian indigenous peoples have been rendered... more This paper examines processes by which Alaskan and Siberian indigenous peoples have been rendered as political subjects, “traditional” hunters-gathers, and sustainable enterprise owners amid their respective colonial and post-colonial industrial economies. The comparison is instructive because, despite being part of diametrically opposed (Soviet versus USA) national political organizations, policies and the exercise of biopower towards indigenous peoples have proceeded along similar lines. In the post-colonial era, these lines have converged around neoliberal and social development policies which support indigenous “self-determination” through minimal subsistence rights and the creation of ethnic enterprises and partnerships with non-indigenous capitalist corporations. On both sides of the North Pacific, however, this transition has come about without formal recognition of the well-developed systems of aboriginal marine tenure and fishing rights, as has been the case in other indigenous-state Treaty regimes (e.g., Canada and New Zealand). The lack of such protections, we argue, has led to poor management of coastal zones as social-ecological systems, making sustainable indigenous livelihoods and small enterprises based on marine resources difficult to develop or maintain. We examine, in particular, the relationship of Sakhalin and Southeast Alaska indigenous hunter-fishers as strong, independent peoples whose salmon fishing rights were usurped and their corporate groups reorganized to fit notions of modern industrial and neoliberal social-economic organization. Further, we argue for more synergistic policies between indigenous subsistence and commercial economies to reduce ‘black market’ transactions and conserve valuable fishing knowledge, skills, and cultural practices which are vital to heritage, livelihoods, and wellbeing.
The article examines the process of production and change of place names based on data collected ... more The article examines the process of production and change of place names based on data collected in 2017 among the Okhotsk Ewenki, the easternmost Indigenous community in Siberia, Russia. Through ethnographic and semiotic analysis, we show that Ewenki place names are not simply reproduced, but rather generated and transformed through empathic contact and engagement within a semiotic circle of shared knowledge and praxis among humans and other beings encountered, especially in ambulatory travel. We consider place names as complex signs which evolve from landscape, mobility as a spatial practice, and relationships with nonhuman beings. Through ecosemiotics and nonhuman ontology, we examine how the concept of shifting landscapes and interactions with different environmental agents, especially animals, contribute to the production of space and place names and their changes. We also show that the responsible voicing of the land with place names is related to Ewenki understandings of territorial prerogatives, and rights, which are perceived as being shared with other beings.
Haa Leelk'w Has Aani Saax'u / Our Grandparents' Names on the Land presents the result... more Haa Leelk'w Has Aani Saax'u / Our Grandparents' Names on the Land presents the results of a collaborative project with Native communities of Southeast Alaska to record indigenous geographic names. Documenting and analyzing more than 3,000 Tlingit, Haida, and other Native names on the land, it highlights their descriptive force and cultural significance. With community maps, tables, and photographs, this book will be invaluable for those seeking to understand Alaska Native geographic perspectives. As Tlingits from the Hoonah Indian Association explain in the book: "Long before Russian, French, Spanish, and British explorers mapped and named the mountains and bays of the Huna Tlingit homeland, we identified special places in our own vibrant, descriptive ways. Tlingit place names reflect important natural resources, ancestral stories, sacred places, and major geological and historic events. Our place names describe more than just inanimate locations for we perceive the...
In this article, we examine how governance can be more effectively integrated with quantitative e... more In this article, we examine how governance can be more effectively integrated with quantitative evaluation methods in applied resource management. Governance refers to how societies organize to make decisions in ways that influence management choices (e.g., harvest allocation), such as levels of participation, the inclusion of different types of knowledge, and legitimacy of processes that lead to decisions. Using a fisheries example, we show that a failure to consider the governance context for quantitative evaluation of alternative management strategies may lead to unexpected consequences or break points in decision-making, bias estimates of risk and returns from management choices, and mask the potential for undesirable social and ecological outcomes.
This paper analyses landscape terminology in Ewenki, one of the Tungusic languages spoken by indi... more This paper analyses landscape terminology in Ewenki, one of the Tungusic languages spoken by indigenous hunters and reindeer herders in Siberia, using examples of three key conceptual categories: ‘...
For the individual in Tlingit society, geographic knowledge is organized along two fundamental ax... more For the individual in Tlingit society, geographic knowledge is organized along two fundamental axes: social structure and subsistence production. The key role of social structure in the formation of Tlingit geographic knowledge was first alluded to by de Laguna (1960:17-18), who ...
This paper examines processes by which Alaskan and Siberian indigenous peoples have been rendered... more This paper examines processes by which Alaskan and Siberian indigenous peoples have been rendered as political subjects, “traditional” hunters-gathers, and sustainable enterprise owners amid their respective colonial and post-colonial industrial economies. The comparison is instructive because, despite being part of diametrically opposed (Soviet versus USA) national political organizations, policies and the exercise of biopower towards indigenous peoples have proceeded along similar lines. In the post-colonial era, these lines have converged around neoliberal and social development policies which support indigenous “self-determination” through minimal subsistence rights and the creation of ethnic enterprises and partnerships with non-indigenous capitalist corporations. On both sides of the North Pacific, however, this transition has come about without formal recognition of the well-developed systems of aboriginal marine tenure and fishing rights, as has been the case in other indigenous-state Treaty regimes (e.g., Canada and New Zealand). The lack of such protections, we argue, has led to poor management of coastal zones as social-ecological systems, making sustainable indigenous livelihoods and small enterprises based on marine resources difficult to develop or maintain. We examine, in particular, the relationship of Sakhalin and Southeast Alaska indigenous hunter-fishers as strong, independent peoples whose salmon fishing rights were usurped and their corporate groups reorganized to fit notions of modern industrial and neoliberal social-economic organization. Further, we argue for more synergistic policies between indigenous subsistence and commercial economies to reduce ‘black market’ transactions and conserve valuable fishing knowledge, skills, and cultural practices which are vital to heritage, livelihoods, and wellbeing.
The article examines the process of production and change of place names based on data collected ... more The article examines the process of production and change of place names based on data collected in 2017 among the Okhotsk Ewenki, the easternmost Indigenous community in Siberia, Russia. Through ethnographic and semiotic analysis, we show that Ewenki place names are not simply reproduced, but rather generated and transformed through empathic contact and engagement within a semiotic circle of shared knowledge and praxis among humans and other beings encountered, especially in ambulatory travel. We consider place names as complex signs which evolve from landscape, mobility as a spatial practice, and relationships with nonhuman beings. Through ecosemiotics and nonhuman ontology, we examine how the concept of shifting landscapes and interactions with different environmental agents, especially animals, contribute to the production of space and place names and their changes. We also show that the responsible voicing of the land with place names is related to Ewenki understandings of territorial prerogatives, and rights, which are perceived as being shared with other beings.
Haa Leelk'w Has Aani Saax'u / Our Grandparents' Names on the Land presents the result... more Haa Leelk'w Has Aani Saax'u / Our Grandparents' Names on the Land presents the results of a collaborative project with Native communities of Southeast Alaska to record indigenous geographic names. Documenting and analyzing more than 3,000 Tlingit, Haida, and other Native names on the land, it highlights their descriptive force and cultural significance. With community maps, tables, and photographs, this book will be invaluable for those seeking to understand Alaska Native geographic perspectives. As Tlingits from the Hoonah Indian Association explain in the book: "Long before Russian, French, Spanish, and British explorers mapped and named the mountains and bays of the Huna Tlingit homeland, we identified special places in our own vibrant, descriptive ways. Tlingit place names reflect important natural resources, ancestral stories, sacred places, and major geological and historic events. Our place names describe more than just inanimate locations for we perceive the...
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Papers by Thomas F Thornton