Yaqulget qaillun pilartat (What the birds do): Yup'ik eskimo understandingof geese and those who study them

Traditional knowledge of the effects of storm surges and changing coastal e cology on the breeding habits of geese (specifically black brant) in the co astal wetlands of southwestern Alaska was documented in a project initiated by non-Native biologists and an anthropologist. The project was both imple mented and controlled by the local nonprofit regional corporation, which em ployed village researchers to interview elders and record their understandi ngs of goose biology and habitat as related to storm surges. Although local and scientific understandings of brant behaviour generally agree on what i s occurring (i.e., foraging habits, effects of past floods and coastal stor m surges, and changes in nesting grounds), they do not always agree on why these changes are taking place. At the request of village researchers, inte rviews also documented Native residents' perception of non-Native research and regulation in the coastal wetlands. Elders articulated a fundamental co nflict between the Yup'ik view of geese as nonhuman persons and the non-Nat ive view of geese as manageable wildlife, and they expressed deep resentmen t toward the nonlocal control that researchers and wildlife managers repres ent. Many feel that local control of their land and their lives is more in jeopardy than the geese. Moreover, respect for elders is as important as re spect for animals in affecting management processes at the community level, creating potential conflict which younger Yup'ik men and women with traini ng in biology find difficult to resolve. Along with articulating resistance to control, elders' testimony presents possible solutions to this contenti ous issue, solutions founded on personal relations between community member s and scientists. Villagers' statements reflect their view that how non-Nat ives work in the area is as important as what is accomplished. Cooperative management of research projects like this one appears to be as important as any specific research policy or results.