Indigenous Regenerative Ocean Farming in Alaska
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OnlineFree, Open to the Public
The Native Conservancy is an organization that promotes experimentation to develop regenerative solutions mapped to traditional pathways.
Indigenous Regenerative Ocean Farming in Alaska
Dune Lankard, President, Native Conservancy and
Tesia Bobrycki, Director of Regenerative Economy, Native Conservancy
Tuesday, November 23rd
6:00pm to 7:00pm Pacific Time
Online via Zoom (details below)
Video Available
About the Topic
One of our bold strategies is growing kelp to feed our people and restore habitat. We love kelp. This solution connects with subsistence practices of our ancestors and has great potential for habitat restoration, deep sea carbon sequestration, nutritional food products and a range of other impressive attributes. Kelp growing in Alaska also compliments the commercial fishing off-season in Alaska allowing for economic diversification and stability for native people. This new (to the US) industry is receiving national attention, with many looking to Alaska as potentially becoming the green belt of the sea. Our coastal communities can no longer rely on the seafood industry alone for economic reliance and subsistence. We have seen firsthand how the seafood industry was overcome by monopoly processors and distributors, with family fishermen struggling to retain profits to support their communities and know we must act quickly to create a different future for kelp. We are boldly stepping forward now to break down any potential barrier to entry for native people and to create a pathway for women, young people, and families to confidently step into a life of ocean farming. We can share the numerous barriers to entry including permitting, investors, regulations, seed production, processing and distribution. Our programs aim to take a practical and inclusive approach to tackling these challenges and creating a new, brighter future for native people. We are working on these bold and innovative ways to ensure our communities thrive not only today, but for the next generations to come.
About the Speakers
Dune Lankard, President, Founder, and CEO of the Native Conservancy
An Eyak Athabaskan Native of the Eagle Clan, Dune grew up in Cordova, in southcentral Alaska. Born into a fishing family, his life education as a subsistence and commercial fisherman began at age five. He later earned a living as a fishery and processing consultant and commercial fisher in the Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill transformed him into a social change activist and Native Rights leader. He had founded/co-founded several key organizations, including the Eyak Preservation Council, the FIRE Fund (Fund for Indigenous Rights and the Environment); the RED OIL Network (Resisting Environmental Degradation of Indigenous Lands), and the Native Conservancy. His work helped win the preservation of more than 1 million acres of the Copper River Delta and wide recognition, including Time magazine’s Hero of the Planet; and fellowships with the Ashoka Foundation and Hunt Alternatives Fund, Future of Fish, among others.
Tesia Bobrycki, Director of Regenerative Economy, Native Conservancy
Tesia supports Native Conservancy programs through coordination, communications and development and manages logistics, operationalreporting and research assistance for Native Conservancy programs. Tesia joined the team with five years of program coordination in the nonprofit sector with a focus on land rights and conservation. She has a passion for finding solutions that equally prioritize the needs of land and community, believing that environmental justice, food sovereignty and human rights are intrinsically connected. Tesia is thrilled to be working with Native Conservancy on programs that tangibly advance the sustainability and prosperity of communities and the marine environments on which they depend. She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and was awarded highest honors for her undergraduate thesis on involuntary relocations of agrarian communities. From 2014 to 2018 she supported the North American operations of Survival International, focusing on forwarding programs in land rights education and policy.
Suggested Pre-Reading
- Reclaiming Native Knowledges Through Kelp Farming in Cordova, Alaska, by Jen Rose Smith, Vogue Magazine, June 11, 2021
Zoom Link
Center for the Blue Economy Speaker Series
Password: HappyOcean
Meeting ID: 913 5122 5266
Or Telephone: US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923
Meeting ID: 913 5122 5266
Phone Password: 7362729534 (No participant ID, press # to bypass)
International numbers available: https://middlebury.zoom.us/u/aezDx4SoHL
Please note: We will be recording this lecture to post to the Center for the Blue Economy YouTube and here on this webpage. Participants will be notified upon joining the meeting that it is being recorded, and must consent to participate. We reserve the right to exclude disruptive participants.
Questions
The Center for the Blue Economy is a research organization at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Our mission is to promote a sustainable ocean and coastal economy (the “Blue Economy”) through leadership in research, analysis, and education. For questions contact: Rachel C. at cbe@middlebury.edu or visit centerfortheblueeconomy.org or call 831-647-4183 (must leave message and receive call back).