Alaska Indigenous Archaeology
ARCL 306 | 6 credits
This course is led by Kristen Barnett, Faculty of Arts
- Course dates: May 1 - May 31, 2024*
- Travel dates: May 1 - May 31, 2024*
- *Prior to these dates, there will be 4-5 required pre-departure lectures and meetings that will be part of official course instruction. Specific dates will be determined at a later time, but will be spread between the months of March and April.
- Format: in-person
- Location: Togiak, Alaska
- Approximate program fee: ~$3715 (Go Global fee, tuition and flights are not included)
- Funding available (click through to learn more about each award)
- Indigenous Global Connections (IGC)
- Go Global Award
- This award combines with IGC
Temyiq Tuyuryaq: a collaborative archaeology the Yup’iit way introduces students to a continuum of Alaska Native lifeways in southwest Alaska. The focus of this course is an ongoing collaborative archaeology partnership with the community of Tuyuryaq (Togiak). Students will engage in community centered partnerships, including participation in Experiential Learning Week (E-Week), co-learning with local youth at the Togiak School and working with elders and knowledge holders. Students will be trained in the methods and principles of Indigenous /Indigenous-centered research and data sovereignty, education programs and field methods including field journals, excavation, mapping, GPR, and drones, including LiDAR (weather permitting) all framed within a decolonial framework challenging western epistemologies and ontologies This course also includes decolonial methods and collaborative methodologies in a hands-on learning environment. This course begins with a required 1 week on-campus classroom and preparation including lectures, readings, and field preparedness. - This field school is part of a 3-year National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant grounded in an Indigenous framework including research and sovereignty. This course requires tent-camping and living off grid.
General Global Seminar requirements
To participate in a Global Seminar, students must:
- Be in good-standing in their faculty (as defined by home faculty)
- In the year leading up to the Global Seminar, have full-time student status (as defined by home faculty)
- Have completed 2nd year requirements before the start of the program (i.e., eligible for 3rd or 4th year standing)
- Have at least a 70% academic average in your last full-time academic session before applying
- Maintain a 70% academic average leading up to the program
- Meet any program specific requirements listed below including pre-requisites before participating
Final selection will be done by the lead faculty program directors. Spots in the program may be limited.
Students who wish to participate in the summer after graduating may be eligible on a case-by-case basis.
The course will begin in Anchorage Alaska where students will have the opportunity to visit two museums and the possibility of meeting with local leaders/experts. Students will then fly as a group through Dillingham, Ak to Togiak. In Togiak, students can expect to participate in multi-generational collaboration for place-based intro to Tuyuryaq archaeology, collaboration on filming, recording, and VR/AR prep, community service work and co-learning. The first week in Togiak students will stay at the Togiak School then transporting to the field camp at Temyiq Tuyuryaq by boat. Time at the field camp will involve excavation, looting/subsistence looting monitoring, GPR mapping, LiDAR mapping, documenting, and recording of heritage sites building a continuum/cultural landscape studies. Field work may include readings and lectures.
This is a remote field school with the bulk of the time taking place in an off-grid field camp which includes tent camping, hauling water, no internet, and minimal access to cellphones. Access to cellphones is limited to weekly calls, emergency use, and safety purposes Students are expected to preparefor cool, wet, and fluxuating weather conditions. A detailed list of required and recommended outdoor gear/supplies will be provided. Students are expected to support minimizing their footprint on the land and the communities hosting them with an acute awareness of resources and consumption. Students will also be expected to help maintain the field camp. This includes rotating camps tasks/chores including kitchen duties and maintaining the sanitation of the bathrooms with oversight and support.
Dependent on location: mix of hotel and tent camping (living off-grid)
Approximate program fees: ~$3715*
*The final fee depends on the number of students in the program. All Global Seminars only run if there is a minimum number of students enrolled.
Included:
- Accommodations
- Program- related travel in-country; (e.g. buses)
- Excursions and entrance fees
- Some group meals
- On-site guest lectures
Not Included:
- Go Global Fee
- Flights
- UBC tuition for credits
- Visa/country entrance fees
- Health/travel insurance
- Personal spending money*
*Some examples of personal costs included: mobile communication, personal transportation that is not related to the learning outcomes of the program, additional meals that are not already identified as part of the Program Fee, immunizations, Visas, etc.
This program is supported by Indigenous Global Connections (IGC) funding.
All eligible students* selected to participate in an IGC-designated Global Seminar will receive $5000 in funding ($4000 from IGC and $1000 from the Go Global Award).
IGC, funded by Global Skills Opportunity Canada, provides undergraduate Canadian and Permanent Resident students with financial support to participate in various non-traditional exchange experiences, cross-cultural collaboration and professional networking with Indigenous peoples in Canada and the Globally - with a focus on sharing and learning with local communities.
As part of the experience participants will engage in pre- and post-experience sharing with other students and community members while fostering reflection and understanding.
See Go Global’s Award page for information on eligibility and requirements of the award