First Time Visitors

The documents posted on this site have been developed for easy access and use by Alaska Tribes. Unintentionally, we are increasingly receiving hits from a broader audience with which we are happy to be able to share our information. We have noted in the past however that those unfamiliar with the conditions and circumstances in Alaska Native Villages are apt to generate seemingly obvious solutions to the Village solid waste and water sanitation problems. However, there are many reasons that these problems exist. These reasons include socio-, cultural-, economic, legal-, logistical-, and infrastructural considerations and all must be taken into account or failure will likely result (and has, in numerous instances). Wherever in the world you are, no project, no program, and no protocol will succeed in the long-term without the explicit involvement of, guidance by, and courteous respect for, the people who are to benefit. Conventional engineering only works in conventional communities because the context is implicitly included. Engineering in non-conventional communities must be carried out by explicitly revisiting each assumption and replacing it with one that fits.

The below references are provided for those wishing to understand in part the inherent complexities involved in working with Villages to improve sanitation conditions.

Alaska Natives Commission. Final Report. Anchorage, AK, Vol.1-3, 1994. http://www.alaskool.org/resources/anc_reports.htm

Alaska Commission on Rural Governance and Empowerment (ACRGE), Final Report to the Governor. 1999.

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. An Alaska Challenge: Native Village Sanitation. Washington, DC: U.S. GPO,OTA-ENV-591, 1994. http://www.fas.org/ota/reports/9401.pdf

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Division. Federal Field Workgroup Report to Congress on Alaska Rural Sanitation. Seattle, WA: U.S. GPO, EPA 910/R-95-002, 1995.

Napoleon, Harold, edited by Eric Madsen, Yunyaraq: The Way of Being Human

Zender, Lynn, “Solid Waste Management on Indian Reservations: Limitations of Conventional Solid Waste Engineering”, Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1999.