Browsing by Author "Ferguson, Jenanne"
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Item Checking in on Sakha Studies(2021) Ferguson, JenanneIn going over submissions to Sibirica at the beginning of 2021, I found several articles related to culture and history in the Sakha Republic. Naturally, I thought it would be illuminating to bring them together to see how they might complement each other. Although this is not a typical special issue with a planned overarching theme, I found that these articles are not only geographically united but subtly reflective of broad underlying concerns—the revitalization and continuity of culture, and the agency of minoritized and indigenous peoples in striving for self-definition and survival. This issue is a way of “checking in” on the state of some of the diverse scholarly work happening in and on Sakha (Yakutia) in recent months and years—from the perspectives of researchers in anthropology, literary studies, history, and art history and criticism.Item Feeding the land: the importance of paying attention to Sakha language with Traditional Ecological Knowledge(2023) Sidorova, Evgeniia; Ferguson, JenanneThrough (auto)ethnographic research in the Amga and Megino-Khangalas uluses (districts) in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), in this article, we discuss the intrinsic importance of paying close attention to Indigenous languages when exploring Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Here, language refers not only to vocabulary but also to the kinds of communicative practices or speech acts used to transmit or talk about TEK, especially those that reveal the indivisibility of the physical and spiritual elements in many Indigenous ontologies. Through the presentation of narratives of two researchers—one ethnically Sakha, one not—we highlight the centrality of language to maintaining the integrity of TEK and other Indigenous knowledge. We argue that not only must language be centered and documented to reflect the importance of language choice, but terminology should be situated within stories or narratives to best reveal connections of language to ontology, highlighting the interconnectedness of language and knowledge.Item Fresh eyes(2022) Ferguson, JenanneOnce again, this issue of Sibirica is diverse and disparate. We move from understanding food security as a laboratory in the northern districts of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) all the way to a brief yet trilingual Tuvan geological glossary, with stops along the way to learn about an influential yet little-known Buryat activist, as well as cultural developments in Magadan in the 1950s and 1960s. However, what unites these varied pieces is a central theme of creativity, and the effects of approaching problems with fresh eyes and new ideas even amid restrictive conditions or systems—whether political or infrastructural.Item How words make the world: language materialities and the circulation of the Sakha algys(2021) Ferguson, JenanneThis article investigates contemporary uses of the Sakha language algys (blessing poems) and reveals the “old” and “new” types of language materiality present in this genre of ritual poetry. Focusing primarily on one example of algys shared online in 2018, I discuss how performing algys has always involved close interconnection between language and the material world and present the changing contexts and forms of algys transmission that highlight both fixity and fluidity in the way speakers conceive of language and materiality. Despite the new mobilities and technologies that build upon the previously established written textual forms of this poetry—and contribute to its continued circulation and transmission—certain elements of traditional algys remains salient for speakers, reinforced by ideologies or ontologies of language that foreground the power of the (spoken) word. This is connected to the production of qualia and the invocation of chronotopes. Thus, while textual forms further enable processes of citationality as they are circulated online; the written words alone do not constitute an algys. Rather, here the importance of embodied, spoken language materiality is at the fore.Item The impact that cultural food security has on identity and well-being in the second-generation U.S. American minority college students(2021) Wright, Kathrine E.; Lucero, Julie E.; Ferguson, Jenanne; Granner, Michelle L.; Devereux, Paul G.; Pearson, Jennifer L.; Crosbie, EricFood contributes to an individual’s physical and mental well-being and expresses one’s cultural identity through preparation, sharing, and consumption (i.e., foodways). Inadequate access to cultural foods can create cultural stress and affect one’s identity and well-being. In particular, second-generation U.S. American student populations may have a higher risk for cultural stress due to being away from family, academic stress, environmental changes, and diminished financial stability to purchase cultural foods. Thus, an exploratory qualitative methodology was used to elicit information about second-generation U.S. Americans’ food experiences to identify how cultural foods play a role in individual identity and how individual well-being is influenced by the presence or lack of cultural foods. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with second-generation American students at the University of Nevada, Reno, who self-identified as a cultural or ethnic minority. A standard thematic analysis was conducted. The authors identified that cultural food security influenced the ability to practice foodways, which tied Second-generation American students to their cultural identities. The absence of foodways led to anxiety and depression among students, amplifying the feelings of identity degradation. Second-generation American students discussed that the ability to practice their foodways improved multiple well-being components and led to feelings of happiness, decreased stress, warmth, better digestion, and a sense of belonging, comfort, and safety. College populations continue to grow and become more diverse, and with the increasing Second-generation American students, it is essential to improve the access and availability of cultural foods to improve their overall well-being. (245/250 words).Item The influence of cultural food security on cultural identity and well-being: a qualitative comparison between second-generation American and international students in the United States(2021) Wright, Kathrine E.; Lucero, Julie E.; Ferguson, Jenanne; Granner, Michelle L.; Devereux, Paul G.; Pearson, Jennifer L.; Crosbie, EricThe purpose of this study was to explore the impact of cultural food insecurity on identity and well-being in second-generation American and international university students. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted from January–April 2020. Audio transcripts were analyzed using continuous and abductive thematic analysis. Students indicated that cultural foodways enhanced their well-being by facilitating their cultural/ethnic identity maintenance, connection, and expression. Conversely, cultural food insecurity diminished student well-being due to reduced cultural anchors, highlighting the importance of cultural food in this population. Universities that reduce cultural foodways barriers may mitigate cultural food insecurity for second-generation American and international university students.Item Introduction(2023) Ziker, John P.; Ferguson, Jenanne; Davydov, VladimirThis book traverses socio-cultural diversity and human-environment systems across Siberia along six major research themes, each discussed in detail below. Thus, instead of trying to capture each and every corner of this vast social and geographic space, this book is organized along contemporary themes of anthropological research in Siberia, providing rich case studies within each thematic cluster. By focusing on these themes emerging in the current research, we can go beyond a collection of encyclopedic entries in order to learn more about the dynamics of change and perceptions of local peoples. This volume is organized around six research themes: Indigenous language revival and cultural change; land, law, and ecology; co-creation of people and the state; formal and grassroots infrastructure and Siberian mobility; religious mosaics in Siberia; and conceptions of history.Item Lost in translation: overcoming distinctions in worldviews in environmental impact assessments in Canada and Russia(2023) Sidorova, Evgeniia; Ferguson, JenanneHow would the usage of Indigenous languages contribute to overcoming the epistemological gap between Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Impact Assessments? This article examines incommensurabilities that arise in Sakha-Russian and Cree-English translations of EIA through the translations of the most common words in samples. Without being embedded in Indigenous languages, TEK and other knowledges are easily decontextualized, and results in the loss of layers of meaning. This study adopted a linguistic anthropological approach to language combined with content analysis and guided by a poststructuralist mode of analysis. We argue policies around EIA/EAs must be shifted to center Indigenous languages as the source of TEK and ensure that there is space for these languages to be used in the consultation processes.Item The persistence of antiquity: language ideologies and perceptions of language vitality among Sakha speakers(2022) Ferguson, JenanneThis paper explores language ideologies and attitudes among both urban and rural speakers of Sakha (Yakut) in the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation. Like other non-Russian languages in the Soviet era, Sakha was subject to many repressive and often contradictory policies; while today there is a sizeable, growing population of speakers and the presence of top-down support for the language within the Sakha Republic’s government, many contemporary Sakha speakers still express uncertainty about the future of Sakha. Differing perceptions of linguistic value and vitality together with the sustenance or abandonment of connections with other local speakers all shape Sakha speakers’ beliefs about whether the language is flourishing or disappearing. By tracing the shifts in contemporary metalinguistic discourse that circulates as language ideologies, we can see that while there have been positive changes in Sakha language policy and practices, some ambiguities from the Soviet period still linger and continue to influence how speakers view the future of the language.Item Revisitations(2022) Ferguson, JenanneIt is often challenging to find the strands that connect articles in a given issue of a small yet heavily interdisciplinary regional studies journal. Yet I often marvel at how certain themes emerge time and time again. This issue is random at first glance; the topics are individually diverse when compared, but it is mostly their perennially significant nature within our region that makes them similar. Therefore, in this first issue of Sibirica’s twenty-first volume, I found that a theme of revisiting (and rethinking) came to the fore. The four articles included here all revisit key themes in Siberian studies—from human-animal interconnectedness and bear ceremonialism to state-instituted identity categories and urbanization—from fresh perspectives.Item Solving or not solving problems(2021) Ferguson, JenanneThe three articles featured in this issue may not appear to be related, but within their varying contexts, I found myself teasing out several chords that resonate throughout them, and one, in particular, struck me as notable. Directly or indirectly, these articles (as well as the report) all address the notion of problem-solving in some shape or form. Whether a historical account of protest as an attempt to solve issues of discontent among fur trade workers in Russian America, approaches to discussing climate change in northeastern Siberia, coping with failing infrastructure and the negotiation of corporate versus state responsibility—or dealing with COVID lockdowns and scholarly knowledge exchange at present—the articles in this issue all explore the confrontation of problems and how they might be solved.Item The spectrum of intersectionality in the Arctic: from discrimination to diversity and inclusion(2023) Ferguson, Jenanne; Abdel-Fattah, Dina; Friedrich, Doris; Lee, Olivia Lee; Nikolaeva, SardanaThis first special issue of 2023 began with a call for papers that highlighted a key facet of the population often overlooked by outsiders to the Arctic—despite its relatively sparse overall numbers and low population density, the region is full of human diversity. This diversity exists within the inhabitants, both Indigenous and (im)migrant (whether temporary or permanent), rural and urban, and by sexual orientation, gender roles, class, and ethnicity, on multiple parameters. For this issue, we go beyond the borders of Siberia to examine some of those key factors and their impacts on the lives of neighboring circumpolar peoples in North America, Greenland, and Scandinavia as well, in order to better understand commonalities as well as divergences in the experiences of those living in northern regions.Item The subsistence practices and food insecurity in the Arctic Circle - a focus on the Inuit and Sámi communities(2023) Sheikh, Marium; Ferguson, JenanneOver this semester, I was deeply touched by how food was so spiritual for arctic communities and how their lives were shaped around their subsistence practices. I often found myself comparing my lifestyle to the one Sami and Inuit. I noticed a vast differences in our lifestyles. I quickly realized that their conditions meant they needed to follow their ancestors’ way of life and not get affected by globalization or modernization. However, things have changed over the years, and arctic communities are slowly losing their cultural roots due to socio-political intervention. Hence, the topic of subsistence in the arctic circle began to pique my interest. Moreover, Inuits and Sami have a few similar experiences and lifestyles, so it was interesting to compare both communities and discuss their struggles. I am passionate about discussing the issue of food security in the Inuit community because it must be highlighted, and more solutions must be discussed to help tackle food insecurity in the Arctic Circle. Moreover, Sami and Inuit are communities that find themselves dispersed in different areas of the land, yet they have been practicing the same way for centuries. Canada and Scandinavia both have been actively involved in trying to reverse the effects of colonization and help establish a better support system for indigenous communities. Both communities have the capacity to be self-sufficiently if there was no socio-political interference caused by colonization which has altered the structure of various practices that are critical to the stability and survival of their community.Item The usage of Indigenous languages as a tool for meaningful engagement with northern Indigenous communities(2023) Ferguson, Jenanne; Sidorova, EvgeniiaThe Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) program integrates formal academic research and a strategy of engagement with potentially impacted communities (Fellows et al. 2020). Finding common ground among Indigenous peoples, governments and industry on engagement and consultation practices is imperative to the future of resource development and the Canadian economy, and ultimately to the reconciliation of the relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Canada (Boyd and Lorefice 2018). In this paper, we focus on language, stressing that languages are more than just tools. Rather, all communicative systems also hold both individual and cultural identities, histories and memory, and encode knowledge in specific ways. This article investigates how Indigenous languages can contribute to meaningful engagement particularly within the context of the CNC concept; our recommendations also work toward strengthening existing Indigenous policy initiatives in Canada, uplifting Indigenous worldviews, and potentially supporting the reconciliation process. We draw upon primarily Indigenous scholars in explaining the reasons why using Indigenous languages matters for fostering meaningful engagement during research, consultation, and community engagement activities and address methods by which they can be implemented. After examining some past/ongoing attempts at this incorporation, we identify in our policy recommendations five different ways that the entire process of community engagement can align with the usage of Indigenous languages.