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Dartmouth-University of Alaska Southeast: Engaging Indigenous Knowledge in Alaska Marine Policy Making

Climate change is causing shifts and variability in social-ecological systems. To prepare, federal and state leaders have directed policy makers to consider Indigenous knowledge in their decision making. However, the steps policy makers should take to engage Indigenous knowledge remain unclear.

To fill this gap, this project seeks to answer this question: How do existing federal and state regulatory processes inhibit, or facilitate, policy makers' abilities to use Indigenous knowledge to inform their decision making?

Project Overview

To answer the question, the project team will be interviewing current and former marine policy makers to understand their perspectives on processes that facilitate, or inhibit, their abilities to engage Indigenous knowledge in decision making. The team will also examine how policy makers, Tribal representatives, and other stakeholders discuss Indigenous Knowledge in public policy making meetings.

The selected intern will work with the project team to analyze interviews using qualitative coding software. Students will be invited to participate in project publications and in presentations of project results to policy makers and Alaska Native organizations.

Housing arrangements may be available through the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. Juneau is Alaska's capital city and a central hub for policy making and research.

Details & Requirements

LOCATION: University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska

DURATION: 8-10 weeks 

ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for funding, you must have an "L term" (Leave Term) status with the College.

ITEMS TO SUBMIT WITH YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION

You are required to submit a resume/CV and unofficial transcript with your application at the time of submission. These are uploaded directly into the application.

Budget

  • Standard funding available for travel-based internships is $5,500. If expenses are higher than the standard award amount please specify and articulate where additional funds are needed. Consideration will be given on a case-by-case basis. Please provide detail in the budget outline.

Resume or CV

  • Please submit a current resume or CV.

Supervisor Statement

  • Applicants must ask their host organizations to complete the Supervisor Statement, which verifies your offer of internship and includes a description of the work to be completed. This is not required if applying to partnered opportunities. 

Recommendation(s)

Requests for recommendations are made directly through the application link. Please begin your application and use the links provided to invite recommenders to complete an online form

  • One recommendation must come from a Dartmouth faculty member

  • A second recommendation is suggested, but not required. Secondary recommendations can come from previous employers, advisors, staff, or an additional faculty member. 

Writing Sample:

  • This should be a research paper, opinion piece, newsletter article, narrative paper, blog post or creative essay that demonstrates your writing/research skills. Sample should be 1-3 pages in length.

Applications missing the above elements will be considered incomplete.

For more information on Dartmouth's Travel Safety Policy, Travel Registry, and Exception process, please visit the Global Dartmouth website here. 

Post-Travel Requirements

Returning interns agree to participate in workshops or informational sessions related to internships. Following completion of the internship, students are required to submit a 3-5 page report describing not only the kind of work done, but also something about the organizational host, the people with whom the intern worked, and how the experience was meaningful.

Application & Deadlines

Deadlines:

This is an internship that is available on a quarterly basis. Deadlines for future internships will be updated here.

Currently, we are accepting applications for Spring Internships. 

  • ​Spring internships: EXTENDED: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
  • Summer internships: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

APPLICATION: To apply for funding, complete the Arctic-Environment Remote Internship online application by the deadline.

This is a generic application for the Arctic-Environment Internships, please indicate you are applying for the Dartmouth-Juneau Internship. If you are interested in our other Arctic-Environment Internships, please find them here. Note: You may apply for more than one Arctic-Environment Opportunity at a time. Please specific your first and second choice of opportunity.

Expressions of interest and questions may be directed to Arctic Program Manager, Sanaa K. Siddiqi.