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Heather Sauyaq (Soy-ugkh) Jean Kwamboka Gordon is the owner and principle consultant at Sauyaq Solutions, working with Indigenous Tribes and communities on research, evaluation, and technical assistance. She has served in the federal government, nonprofit world, academia, and now directly serves Tribes, organizations, and communities. Heather was born and raised in Homer, Alaska. She is Iñupiaq and an enrolled Tribal member of the Nome Eskimo Community, a federally recognized Tribe. Her Iñupiaq name, Sauyaq, means drum. She works to be a good relative and  advocate for Indigenous people, beating the drum to lift up Indigenous voices. The Sauyaq or drum is used at all gatherings and ceremonies to bring people together. In some Iñupiaq dialects the word for ‘skin’ of the drum also means ‘future eye’ relating to the ‘eye of awareness’. Heather married into a Kenyan Kisii Tribal family and was gifted the name Kwamboka which means crossing a bridge. She was gifted this name her second visit to Kenya when she was able to move between her own and the Kisii culture.

 

Heather holds a PhD in Indigenous Studies with a concentration in Indigenous Sustainability. Her work highlights links between culture and wellbeing, addresses sustainability and justice, emphasizes connectedness with nonhuman and more than human kin, and speaks about the importance of listening to Indigenous Knowledges. She is a boundary spanner between knowledge systems and a science diplomat to communicate research to policy makers. She co-lead/organized the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change in 2023. She serves on the US National Academy of Sciences Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge, Methods, and Approaches committee, the Arctic Research Consortium of the US Board of Directors, as co-chair for the International Conferences on Arctic Research Planning IV Understanding Vulnerability/Resilience of Arctic Environments/Societies-Supporting Sustainable Development priority, as an expert in cultural heritage and Indigenous sustainability for the U.S. Department of State Speaker Program, as adjunct faculty for American University’s Measurement and Evaluation program, and on multiple advisory boards.

 

Contact/Socials:

Email: sauyaqsolutionsllc@gmail.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hjgordon/

Twitter: @HeatherJ_Gordon

Threads: @sauyaq

Bluesky: @sauyaq.bsky.social

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Heather-Gordon

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/sauyaq

 

Dr. John Pennington is a 2023 graduate of the College of Indigenous Studies' Cross-Cultural Studies program. He is Deputy Director of the Center for Arctic Security & Resilience (CASR) at UAF. As a practitioner, he serves as the Homeland Security & Emergency Management advisor for the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS), the federally recognized regional tribe spanning 95,000 square miles within the Arctic. He has led response and recovery to over 30 federally declared disasters, most impacting American Indians and Alaska Natives. His research focus remains on tribal sovereignty and self-determination related to policy in homeland security and emergency management.  

Dr. James Morton Jr. is a research faculty member for the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) of the Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). His research interests are oriented to further understand and address leader development as a means to improve organizational capabilities while mitigating suicide risk among military service members, veterans, and first responders. Dr. Morton directs the Military Health and Readiness Consortium (MiHRC), which aims to collaborate with scholars seeking to enhance national security and build mission readiness through science-based knowledge.

Additionally, Dr. Morton is an affiliate of the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience (CASR) within the College of Business and Security Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Within CASR, he focuses on understanding the relationships between Indigenous people and military forces, particularly among special operation forces in the Circumpolar North region.

He received his doctorate at Southern Illinois University in Counselor Education and Supervision and Educational Psychology, a Master of Education in Mental Health Counseling at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, a Master of Arts in International Relations, and a Bachelors in Technology in Developing Countries from the University of Connecticut. He is a nationally board-certified professional counselor.

Dr. Morton is a U.S. Army retiree, last serving as a Native Affairs advisor for Alaskan Command (ALCOM). His nearly 30 years of service combine active and reserve duties, including serving as a qualified U.S. Special Forces operator, Infantry Officer, and Military Intelligence Officer. He has had multiple deployments working with nations in various capacities.

Michael Koskey is an associate professor with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, which offers a Master's of Arts and a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies. While serving in the Marine Corps he received a BS in Anthropology and a BA in Political Science from the University of Central Florida, and afterward received an MS in Anthropology from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Mike's research focuses on oral history, traditional knowledge, ethnohistory, culture change, political economy, decolonization, Indigenous food sovereignty and security, resource use and allocation, and Indigenous cosmology/mythology. He is married and has two grown sons, lives in Goldstream Valley, and enjoys hiking, hunting, and blacksmithing with family and friends.

“Uvaŋa atiġa Asikłuk. Ataataga Sanguk. Aanaga Aileen. Iḷatga Iiġalugniagvik. Qawiaraġmuiruŋa. My Iñupiaq name is Asikłuk. My parents are the late Clifford and Aileen Topkok of Teller. My white-fox name is Dr. Sean Topkok. I am Iñupiaq, Sámi, Kven, Irish, and Norwegian. My family comes from Iiġalugniagvik (place to go fishing), the place name of Teller. I am a person of Kawerak.”

Dr. Topkok is the Director for the Indigenous Studies master’s and doctoral programs at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies. His research interests include multicultural and Indigenous education, decolonization and Indigenist methods and methodologies, working with communities to help them document their cultural heritages, and community well-being.

Michael Koskey is an associate professor with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, which offers a Master's of Arts and a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies. While serving in the Marine Corps he received a BS in Anthropology and a BA in Political Science from the University of Central Florida, and afterward received an MS in Anthropology from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Mike's research focuses on oral history, traditional knowledge, ethnohistory, culture change, political economy, decolonization, Indigenous food sovereignty and security, resource use and allocation, and Indigenous cosmology/mythology. He is married and has two grown sons, lives in Goldstream Valley, and enjoys hiking, hunting, and blacksmithing with family and friends.

Laurie Trotta is the Graduate Success Coordinator for the UAF College of Indigenous Studies, where she is responsible for overseeing the academic advising of graduate students throughout their graduate school lifecycle, from prospective student status through graduation. On a mission to help students achieve their aspirations and goals, she is focused on providing all the support a student needs, advocating for students, and creating a welcome and supportive environment for all.

Prior to taking on this role, she was the Coordinator for the Department of Tribal Governance for 3 years. Before joining the Tribal Governance team, Trotta spent 6 years working as a Coordinator with the Migrant Education Program supporting students and their families living a subsistence lifestyle.  She has dedicated her career to education helping students reach their highest potential by finding the path that best suits them and to the sustainability of the natural environment.

Trotta started her career as a fish biologist, aquaculturist, and aquatic ecologist before moving on to teach a variety of aquaculture, aquatic science, and renewable resource courses and advise students in the Environmental Sciences academic programs. She also advised a student Outdoor Recreation Club for 12 years and did everything from backpacking in the Adirondack Mountains to exploring Denali National Park and surfing in Costa Rica. 

After 22 years of university service at New York State Agriculture and Technology colleges, Laurie moved to Fairbanks, a longtime second home that is now her primary home. In her spare time, she likes to spend time out of doors with her dogs, hiking, paddling, fishing, and berry picking.  Indoors, she enjoys cooking, needle crafts, drawing, or reading.