On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska
Climate adaptation for Indigenous communities is not as simple as making good policy; it is equally about how policy is implemented and how collaboration unfolds between settler governments and Indigenous stakeholders. Rural Alaska Native villages are among the most environmentally threatened commun...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024
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| _version_ | 1826313893090164736 |
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| author | Lezak, S Rock, G |
| author_facet | Lezak, S Rock, G |
| author_sort | Lezak, S |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Climate adaptation for Indigenous communities is not as simple as making good policy; it is equally about how policy is implemented and how collaboration unfolds between settler governments and Indigenous stakeholders. Rural Alaska Native villages are among the most environmentally threatened communities in the United States. Their ability to effectively manage environmental change and preserve sovereignty depends upon successful collaboration with a range of stakeholders, especially federal agencies. For more than two decades, academics and government agencies have documented a consistent pattern of failures, particularly by federal actors, to effectively manage adaptation challenges. These obstacles are sometimes misrepresented as policy failures. While poor policy is certainly involved in these poor outcomes, this paper highlights a set of barriers to successful collaboration that are not policy issues, per se, but rather micropolitical issues; that is, they pertain to the conduct of government in the context of Tribal relationships. Unaddressed, these micropolitical issues have created obstacles to Alaska Native communities’ self-determination as they adapt to a changing landscape. These barriers are explored in a case study drawn from Typhoon Merbok, which struck Western Alaska in 2022, and empirically grounded in a series of interviews and participant observation with experts, elders, elected officials, and Tribal staff. This article concludes with several concrete recommendations to improve the practice of domestic diplomacy between Indigenous communities and colonial governments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:23:34Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:656ffb33-4326-44fa-8c46-64eca42efd24 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:23:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:656ffb33-4326-44fa-8c46-64eca42efd242024-08-19T20:06:54ZOn Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western AlaskaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:656ffb33-4326-44fa-8c46-64eca42efd24EnglishJisc Publications RouterSpringer2024Lezak, SRock, GClimate adaptation for Indigenous communities is not as simple as making good policy; it is equally about how policy is implemented and how collaboration unfolds between settler governments and Indigenous stakeholders. Rural Alaska Native villages are among the most environmentally threatened communities in the United States. Their ability to effectively manage environmental change and preserve sovereignty depends upon successful collaboration with a range of stakeholders, especially federal agencies. For more than two decades, academics and government agencies have documented a consistent pattern of failures, particularly by federal actors, to effectively manage adaptation challenges. These obstacles are sometimes misrepresented as policy failures. While poor policy is certainly involved in these poor outcomes, this paper highlights a set of barriers to successful collaboration that are not policy issues, per se, but rather micropolitical issues; that is, they pertain to the conduct of government in the context of Tribal relationships. Unaddressed, these micropolitical issues have created obstacles to Alaska Native communities’ self-determination as they adapt to a changing landscape. These barriers are explored in a case study drawn from Typhoon Merbok, which struck Western Alaska in 2022, and empirically grounded in a series of interviews and participant observation with experts, elders, elected officials, and Tribal staff. This article concludes with several concrete recommendations to improve the practice of domestic diplomacy between Indigenous communities and colonial governments. |
| spellingShingle | Lezak, S Rock, G On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title | On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title_full | On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title_fullStr | On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title_short | On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska |
| title_sort | on micropolitics climate adaptation and indigenous governance in western alaska |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lezaks onmicropoliticsclimateadaptationandindigenousgovernanceinwesternalaska AT rockg onmicropoliticsclimateadaptationandindigenousgovernanceinwesternalaska |