Voices from the Frontlines of Changing Bering Sea, Version 1

The Bering Sea is home to over 70 Indigenous communities of the Iñupiat, Central Yup’ik, Cup’ik, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Unangan, and Chukchi Peoples. In recent years, the Bering Sea has experienced unprecedented declines in sea ice, threatening community food security, infrastructure, and travel. In winters 2018 and 2019, sea ice coverage was by far the lowest observed in at least the last 160 years. Such loss of ice, together with increasing air temperatures and recent winter storm activity, has shifted much focus to the region with renewed questions regarding how local communities and ecosystems are affected. In 2019, scientists from the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) partnered with the Bering Sea Elders Group (BSEG) to create opportunities for Elders to communicate their experiences and knowledge regarding rapid environmental change across their region. In September 2019, ten Elders from eight communities came together for a two-day round-table gathering in Nome, Alaska to share their perspectives, observations, and stories about what sea ice loss means to their villages, the resources they depend on, and their collective future as Arctic Indigenous Peoples.白令海是伊努皮亚特人（Iñupiat）、中央尤皮克人（Central Yup’ik）、库皮克人（Cup’ik）、圣劳伦斯岛尤皮克人（St. Lawrence Island Yupik）、阿留申人（Unangan）以及楚科奇人（Chukchi）等70余个原住民社区的聚居地。近年来，白令海海冰面积出现前所未有的缩减，对当地社区的粮食安全、基础设施及出行活动构成严重威胁。2018年与2019年冬季的海冰覆盖范围，至少是近160年来观测到的最低值。海冰消融叠加气温持续升高与近年冬季风暴频发的多重影响，使该区域再度成为研究焦点，学界也重新围绕当地社区与生态系统的受影响情况提出诸多疑问。2019年，北极变化环境研究计划（Study of Environmental Arctic Change, SEARCH）的科研人员与白令海长老团体（Bering Sea Elders Group, BSEG）展开合作，为长老们搭建平台，使其得以分享其对区域内快速环境变化的亲身经历与传统知识。2019年9月，来自8个社区的10位长老齐聚阿拉斯加诺姆市，参与为期两天的圆桌会议，分享他们对于海冰消融之于其村落、赖以生存的资源以及作为北极原住民的集体未来的看法、观察与亲身故事。