Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Keywords
Alaas, decolonization, Indigenization, permafrost, Sakha
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Arctic Science
Volume
11
First Page
1
Last Page
9
Abstract
Many western scientific disciplines adopted Indigenous Knowledge and terminology without deference to or understanding of the original meanings and values attached to Indigenous terms and concepts. This form of scientific appropriation has become a serious barrier to efforts of decolonizing Arctic research. The notion of Alaas is an example of such appropriation by the western science-based system of Indigenous knowledge about human–nature relations. This paper aims to discuss the term Alaas as it is conceptualized in both western science and Indigenous knowledge. The paper will explore the development of “alas” as an international permafrost science term and Alaas as an economic, traditional, cultural, and spiritual space of the Sakha People in Northeastern Siberia. Through an analysis of these histories and meanings, the authors suggest pathways to decolonizing western science-appropriated Indigenous terminology.
Department
Department of Geography
Original Publication Date
9-17-2025
Object Description
1 PDF File
DOI of published version
10.1139/as-2025-0025
Repository
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright
©2025 The Author(s)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Ksenofontov, Stanislav Saas; Kuklina, Vera; Kholodov, Alexander; and Petrov, Andrey, "On Good Terms: Pathways to Decolonizing Science-appropriated Indigenous Terminologies in Arctic Research" (2025). Faculty Publications. 6896.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/6896
Comments
First published in Arctic Science, v11 (2025) published by Canadian Science Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2025-0025