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The Rematriation Project

Iñupiat have specific scientific knowledges of our homeland and its changes over time that complement and extend western science. We have this traditional knowledge documented in various ways and stored in homes, schools, and organizational buildings. However, these collections are scattered and at risk of loss from housing and building insecurity, deteriorating infrastructure, mold, inadequate storage, and environmental crises. Making accessible digital versions of these knowledges is imperative. Creating digital archives is one part of the solution, increasing local capacities for digital archiving and data literacies is another.

The Rematriation Project—led by Aqqaluk Trust, an Inuit-led and Inuit-serving organization in the frontline community of Kotzebue, Alaska, in partnership with a team of scholars from Virginia Tech (itself led by an Iñupiaq scholar from Kotzebue)—aims to create capacity for and access to digital archives related to Inuit cultural, tribal, and scientific knowledges and history to assist tribes and local communities in developing localized, culturally appropriate approaches and solutions to their own self-determined needs, such as climate change.

Find out more about the project at our website, rematriate.net

What are we building?

The team has digitized a small collection of papers and other artifacts of the deceased Siberian Yupik leader, Caleb Pungowiyi (Corina & Cana’s father). These papers were donated to this project by the Pungowiyi family and Caleb Scholars Program and are currently located at Virginia Tech. This collection provides us with a convenient initial model for our work that can be scaled by Aqqaluk Trust and others to meet future and broader rematriation needs.

Why Caleb Pungowiyi?

Caleb Pungowiyi’s materials work well as an initial model for digital archiving for numerous reasons. He worked tirelessly to have Indigenous perspectives, needs, and knowledges included as part of major policy discussions about climate change and other conservation issues. His impact on policy discussion included the US Marine Mammal Commission and the Arctic Council, and his “voice” resonates still across Arctic advocacy and research circles. Pungowiyi’s materials are a rich source of information about climate change and Indigenous methods of recognizing and adapting to climate change.

Pungowiyi’s materials provide a strong example of the types of materials and knowledge resources that exist in Inuit communities—materials that need to be digitally preserved and accessible.