Videos by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. An acad... more This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. An academic at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and a leader at the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) Sean works with Alaska Native communities and educators, as well as other Indigenous groups worldwide. His talk is about cultural storytelling: how learning about our history through traditional stories can teach us about our present and our future.
“Uvaŋa atiġa Asiqłuq. My Iñupiaq name is Asiqłuq.” He is also called Sean Topkok. Sean is Iñupiaq, Sámi, Kven, Irish, and Norwegian. His family is from Teller, Alaska, and currently lives in Fairbanks.
Sean has worked at the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) since April 1997. Through his experiences at ANKN, he continues to work closely with Alaska Native communities and educators, as well as other Indigenous groups worldwide. 14 views
Papers by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
State and Local Government Review
Juneau, Alaska, kept COVID-19 deaths lower than in other similar jurisdictions. We argue that ada... more Juneau, Alaska, kept COVID-19 deaths lower than in other similar jurisdictions. We argue that adaptive leadership—the early decisions and actions of Juneau’s leaders, effective communications, and emergent new collaborative structures—in the context of municipal ownership of key assets enabled Juneau’s success. The result of 61 interviews and follow-up research, this case study contributes a better understanding of which institutional design, communication, and collaborative factors mattered in responding to the pandemic. Adaptive leadership provides a better explanation for Juneau’s success than alternatives that focus on its isolation, home-rule status, and socio-economic structure.
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The Morning Watch: Educational and Social Analysis, 2021
Uvvatuq naluallangniaqtugut (I humbly hope we run into game) is a phrase an Iñupiaq person would ... more Uvvatuq naluallangniaqtugut (I humbly hope we run into game) is a phrase an Iñupiaq person would say before going out hunting in the Selawik dialect. We believe all things have a spirit, including animals. If a hunter announces they are going out hunting, the animal spirits will hear that and the hunter may have bad luck. Another phrase said in English is "I am going out for a ride." The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation. The name of the project is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Teaching in Rural Areas using Cultural Knowledge Systems (TRACKS). The UAF team, known as the UAF Development Team, is working with the Northwest Arctic Borough School District to develop STEM lessons utilizing Iñupiaq knowledge systems and university research for middle school-age students in three villages. The UAF participating programs humbly reached out to local community members to establish a TRACKS Team. However, the UAF participating programs wanted the TRACKS Team to identify what is important to teach their children. The community were the ones to identify the research topic, utilizing an analogy Uvvatuq naluallangniaqtugut (I humbly hope we run into game) for an Iñupiaq research process.
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Journal of American Indian Education, 2020
Alaska Natives all hold certain values to be paramount to their cultures. Our cultural values hel... more Alaska Natives all hold certain values to be paramount to their cultures. Our cultural values help define our heritages and have been lived for generations. Our cultural values have been passed down for thousands of years. Many Elders in their respective villages identified cultural values in the early 1980s in hopes to help communities heal from the problem of suicides and drug and alcohol abuse introduced by Outsiders. Many villages formalized their cultural values to ensure future generations retain, teach, and live their ways of life. This case study unites two research projects utilizing Indigenous methodologies to advance an understanding of respective cultural values, and implementing the values with the children, families, communities, and the school. The combined research evolves from a metaphysical and philosophical means to actualizing cultural values in a kindergarten classroom in a remote village in Alaska.
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In this chapter, we unravel the meaning of well-being through the holistic internalization of Iñu... more In this chapter, we unravel the meaning of well-being through the holistic internalization of Iñupiat Ilitqusiat (Iñupiaq values), demonstrated and enacted through a healthy and happy state of mind, body, spirit, and the environment. We portray a parallel journey of traditional and contemporary understanding of Indigenous well-being expressed through Iñupiaq Dance by comparing Tuulik's journey in the unipkaaq(legend) The Eagle Wolf Dance with Asiqłuq's personal journey of well-being in rediscovering his cultural heritage through the formation of the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers of Fairbanks. We turn inwards and outwards to show how healing begins as an introspective process and moves from the individual, to the family, to the community, and beyond. The drumbeats' steady rhythm grounds us in the purpose of following the pathway of our ancestors and celebrating and sharing being Iñupiat through cultural dance.
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This article is a case study of my active involvement in two university courses to collaborate wi... more This article is a case study of my active involvement in two university courses to collaborate with students and community members to document their place and heritages; improve teacher retention by active involvement through course activities; and provide preservice teachers an opportunity to visit a remote Alaskan village and gain firsthand knowledge from first-year teacher experiences.
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In 1995 the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in collaboration with the Alaska Federation of N... more In 1995 the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in collaboration with the Alaska Federation of Natives established the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) to share and promote the exchange of cultural resources and knowledge among Indigenous communities throughout Alaska and beyond. One of the major ANKN initiatives in promoting the use of Indigenous knowledge has been the creation of a clearinghouse and database to identify, review and catalog appropriate national and Alaska-based cultural and curricular resources suitable for Indigenous settings, and make them available throughout the state via the ANKN web site (http://ankn.uaf.edu). In selecting culturally relevant materials for the database and other collections, we have sought to reach beyond the surface features of Indigenous cultural practices and illustrate the potential for comparative study of deep knowledge drawn from both the Native and Western knowledge streams.
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In any graduate research methods course, one must teach the underlying assumptions of various res... more In any graduate research methods course, one must teach the underlying assumptions of various research paradigms, and the interrelated philosophical principles of epistemology, ontology and axiology. At an Alaskan university, many people do research and work with Alaska Native communities, so a grasp of an Alaska Native epistemology is crucial. This paper explores how and why Author One, Maureen Hogan, teaches epistemology (in general) and Indigenous epistemology (in particular) in her graduate field-based research methods course. Second, she reflects upon why she may or may not be successful in this task. Throughout the article, Sean Topkok, Author Two, a recent doctoral student, shares how he developed his own Iñupiaq research method, Katimarugut, in the class. To date, an Alaska Native research methodology does not exist. Together, we hope to add one useful model for decolonizing the academy.
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Journal of Geoscience Education, 2014
ABSTRACT
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Thesis Chapters by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
Iñupiat Ilitqusiat: Inner Views of Our Iñupiaq Values examines how Iñupiat pass down elements of ... more Iñupiat Ilitqusiat: Inner Views of Our Iñupiaq Values examines how Iñupiat pass down elements of our cultural heritage to future generations. The research is community-driven by the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers of Fairbanks, families with Iñupiaq children in their household, and other Iñupiat worldwide. My doctoral research addresses how we view each cultural value, how our Iñupiat Ilitqusiat (Iñupiaq Values) have been passed down, and how we pass down our Iñupiaq cultural heritage to our future cultural-bearers. Participants talk about our Iñupiat Ilitqusiat to acknowledge that we are Iñupiat wherever we live. I assert that in order to conduct culturally-appropriate research with Iñupiaq people, it is imperative to observe cultural protocols and values, to equally include Indigenous narrative history and Western literature in the review process, and to observe Iñupiaq methods and methodology when gathering data. In our findings, we acknowledge that our cultural values help define our heritage. They are embedded in our lives and in our stories. They are in our spirit, passed down to us through our ancestors. Each Iñupiat Ilitqusiat converges with each other when we examine how each cultural value applies to our lives. We need to continue talking about our cultural values in every village to ensure our descendants live their cultural heritage.
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The urban Iñupiat have a story to share with other Iñupiat. It is not blood quantum that defines ... more The urban Iñupiat have a story to share with other Iñupiat. It is not blood quantum that defines the Alaska Native. All contemporary Iñupiat have adapted to contemporary times, whether they live in a rural community or in an urban setting. Western influence has affected all of our lives.
The analysis of contemporary Iñupiat living in an urban environment will contribute to the understanding of all Iñupiat today. The adaptations are relevant wherever the Iñupiat live. This is a fairly new research concept, since the situation of urban Iñupiat occupation is occurring more frequently nowadays. This may directly relate to other Alaska Native groups living in an urban environment.
Each Alaska Native group has their own set of Native values. The Native values help define their Native cultural heritage. How the Alaska Native people define who they are is interconnected with the Alaska Native values that the Elders have established to pass on to the future cultural bearers.
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Teaching Documents by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
The purpose of the Alaska Native Studies Council Writing Style Guide is to standardize and res... more The purpose of the Alaska Native Studies Council Writing Style Guide is to standardize and resolve questions of usage, punctuation, and standard publishing style when writing for Alaska Native collateral, publications, and online content. This is based on the NANA Writing Style Guide ( http://nana-dev.com/about/the_nana_logo/writing_style_guide/) and adapted for Alaska statewide writing standard. The intention is to develop consistency in writing for
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Drafts by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
Asikluk Curriculum Vitae as of April 2021
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Videos by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
“Uvaŋa atiġa Asiqłuq. My Iñupiaq name is Asiqłuq.” He is also called Sean Topkok. Sean is Iñupiaq, Sámi, Kven, Irish, and Norwegian. His family is from Teller, Alaska, and currently lives in Fairbanks.
Sean has worked at the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) since April 1997. Through his experiences at ANKN, he continues to work closely with Alaska Native communities and educators, as well as other Indigenous groups worldwide.
Papers by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
Thesis Chapters by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
The analysis of contemporary Iñupiat living in an urban environment will contribute to the understanding of all Iñupiat today. The adaptations are relevant wherever the Iñupiat live. This is a fairly new research concept, since the situation of urban Iñupiat occupation is occurring more frequently nowadays. This may directly relate to other Alaska Native groups living in an urban environment.
Each Alaska Native group has their own set of Native values. The Native values help define their Native cultural heritage. How the Alaska Native people define who they are is interconnected with the Alaska Native values that the Elders have established to pass on to the future cultural bearers.
Teaching Documents by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
Drafts by Sean Asikłuk Topkok, Ph.D.
“Uvaŋa atiġa Asiqłuq. My Iñupiaq name is Asiqłuq.” He is also called Sean Topkok. Sean is Iñupiaq, Sámi, Kven, Irish, and Norwegian. His family is from Teller, Alaska, and currently lives in Fairbanks.
Sean has worked at the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) since April 1997. Through his experiences at ANKN, he continues to work closely with Alaska Native communities and educators, as well as other Indigenous groups worldwide.
The analysis of contemporary Iñupiat living in an urban environment will contribute to the understanding of all Iñupiat today. The adaptations are relevant wherever the Iñupiat live. This is a fairly new research concept, since the situation of urban Iñupiat occupation is occurring more frequently nowadays. This may directly relate to other Alaska Native groups living in an urban environment.
Each Alaska Native group has their own set of Native values. The Native values help define their Native cultural heritage. How the Alaska Native people define who they are is interconnected with the Alaska Native values that the Elders have established to pass on to the future cultural bearers.