Partnerships with Indigenous Communities

Dr. Topkok will share the history of Indigenous research and best practices working with Indigenous communities. The courses which Asikłuk teaches and research he conducts are working with Indigenous Peoples, co-production of knowledge, Indigenous well-being, documenting Indigenous knowledge systems.

The Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) and the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies (CXCS) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has worked with Indigenous communities since its inception in 1971. ANKN has been established to assist Native people, government agencies, educators and the public in gaining access to the knowledge base that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience over millennia. The Center for Cross-Cultural Studies offers two graduate programs: an MA and a PhD in Indigenous Studies. We serve as a forum for the examination of cross-cultural, Indigenous education, and community development issues across the state and around the world.

Dr. Topkok identifies as Iñupiaq and Sámi. He has worked with Indigenous Peoples locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. Asikłuk began working as a staff person for ANKN in 1997 and began teaching graduate courses since 2006. He has successfully graduated 45 master’s and doctoral students. Currently serves on over 45 graduate committees.

Dr. Topkok serves as a Co-Chair for the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium. Asikłuk is a Pro Vice Chancellor for the World Indigenous Nations University. He is the founder and leader of the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers in Fairbanks. He has been a keynote speaker for many events including statewide conferences, Sámi allaskulva and Scotland Place-based Education, and other international conferences.

Demographic Responses of Waterbirds Breeding in Heavily-Managed Landscapes: Anthropogenic or Natural Habitats?

This joint presentation focuses on the demographic consequences for waterbirds nesting on anthropogenic islands in rapidly changing human-dominated landscapes. This work, drawn from examples in Florida and coastal Texas, documents waterbird responses to environmental changes that are occurring around the globe.

Jacquie Evans currently works as a Science Integration Specialist for the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, a private-public partnership under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service focused on conserving habitat for migratory birds. She received her B.Sc. from Arizona State University and M.Sc. from Florida Atlantic University in 2020 where she studied the breeding ecology of Tricolored Herons and Snowy Egrets on Lake Okeechobee, Florida under the guidance of Dr. Dale Gawlik. She has spent her early professional career in private land conservation, starting as a Private Lands Biologist for Pheasants Forever in eastern Colorado. In her current position with the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, Jacquie works to integrate biological science and planning produced by joint venture partners into U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Bill Programs to improve the conservation outcomes of these programs for migratory birds in Montana. Jacquie is also the chair of the Grassland Retention Team under the Montana Grassland Partnership, a collaborative group of conservation professionals working together to prevent conversion of wetland and grassland habitat to row crop agriculture in North-Central Montana. Jacquie was awarded the 2024 Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Gold Star Award for exceptional commitment and achievement in conservation efforts for this work. In addition to these roles, Jacquie is a passionate birder and avid native plant gardener.

Dale Gawlik is the Endowed Chair for Conservation and Biodiversity and a Professor of Life Sciences at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. Prior to coming to the Harte Research Institute, Dr. Gawlik spent 26 years in South Florida conducting research on waterbirds and their habitat, with a special focus on models that assist water managers by linking bird responses to the hydrological management of the greater Everglades of Florida, USA. He and his students have published over 85 papers, many focused on how water level fluctuations in coastal and freshwater ecosystems affect wading bird populations. Dr. Gawlik continues his research theme of waterbird responses to habitat changes in heavily managed landscapes, but now with an emphasis on conserving a network of coastal colony islands along the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Gawlik is a Fellow in the American Ornithological Society, and he serves on the IUCN Heron Specialist Group and IUCN Stork, Ibis, and Spoonbill Specialist Group. He also is a member of the binational Whooping Crane Recovery Plan Implementation Team, the Wood Stork Working Group, and the Reddish Egret International Working Group. Dr. Gawlik has served in elected leadership positions for the Waterbird Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society.