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Many western scientific disciplines adopted Indigenous Knowledge and terminology without deference or understanding of the original meanings and values attached to Indigenous terms and concepts. This form of scientific appropriation has become a serious issue in light 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 represented in both western science and Indigenous knowledge. The paper will explore the development of ‘alaas’ as an international permafrost science term and Alaas as an economic, traditional, cultural and spiritual space of the Sakha People in Northeastern Siberia. In analyzing these histories and meanings, the authors will attempt to provide a pathway to decolonizing western science-appropriated Indigenous terminology. 

This dataset includes shapefiles and maps representing the usage of open public spaces (OPS) in Fairbanks, Alaska, with attention to green, blue, and white spaces. It documents patterns of OPS usage across demographic categories—including gender, race, and age—and highlights the social and cultural value of these spaces as elements of Arctic biocultural heritage. The dataset is the outcome of two collaborative research initiatives: - “Building Socio-Ecological Resilience through Urban Green, Blue and White Space (SERUS)” (NSF Award #2024166), which focuses on enhancing urban environmental resilience; and - “Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities as a Potential Resource for Climate Adaptation (ARCA)” (NSF Award #2420616), which examines how cultural and ecological knowledge embedded in urban spaces can support climate adaptation. Spatial boundaries of OPS were derived from the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Geographic Information System (GIS) database. Usage data were generated through qualitative interviews conducted between 2023 and 2024. Maps were created in 2025 to visualize spatial trends, patterns of inclusion or avoidance, and demographic differences in OPS engagement. This dataset contributes to understanding spatial justice, environmental equity, and the biocultural significance of public spaces in Arctic cities. 

Abstract This article focuses on informal road networks in remote Siberian communities: their connectivity and the relations between road owners and road users. These informal roads serve both as conduits and hindrances for local connectivities. Data was collected in the villages Vershina Khandy and Tokma of the Irkutsk region, and the study describes the variety of informal roads in the region: subsistence trails and tracks, inter-settlement roads, forest roads, and oil and gas service roads. Different actors participate in the expansion of the informal road network; our research demonstrates that communities accommodate new infrastructures and negotiate their mobility and connectivity informally according to their needs and desires under uneven power hierarchies. In conclusion, we discuss the possibilities and constraints that different groups of roads users experience because of the informal character of roads. 

The Arctic region is a complex and dynamic environment, inhabited by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and non-human species. Understanding and engaging with the Arctic requires interdisciplinary approaches that integrate sciences, arts, local knowledge, and Indigenous perspectives. The exhibition, Arctic InfraScapes, (2023) and other multimedia projects initiated by the international platform ArtSLInK (Arts, Science, Local, and Indigenous Knowledge) used an audio-visual language and recent digital realms to express concepts and ideas about the future of the Arctichardandsoftinfrastructures affected by the climate change. The article presents the Indigenous scholar and curator’s perspective on the form and process of creating multimodal narrative(s) based on the ArtSLInK methodological approach. It seeks to showcase how this approach provides grounds for analyzing the possibilities and challenges associated with converging diverse knowledge systems. 

The availability of natural resources drives the exploration and transformation of remote regions in the Arctic and beyond. Extractive infrastructure is one of the major sources of industrial development and environmental impact on landscapes. For Indigenous people, these landscapes are homely environments full of sentient beings, and for other local communities, they provide a wide variety of subsistence and hunting resources. While extractive infrastructure violence is the evident issue for many Indigenous communities, there are more complicated situations where extractive infrastructure is adopted and utilized for the subsistence and support of other human and more-than-human relations in local and Indigenous communities. Based on materials from interviews and observations with Evenki communities in Eastern Siberia in 2013–2021, the authors discuss the complex relations and sustainability issues entangled around infrastructure objects’ creation, use, maintenance, and transformations. The results demonstrate a wide variety of relations between obshchinas (non-governmental organizations of Indigenous peoples) and extractive companies constructed with infrastructure development of the latter. The paper discusses the shortcomings of the top-down approach in infrastructure planning and the need for contextualization and meaningful engagement with affected communities, some examples of which have already taken place in specific locales. The study concludes by calling for the support of environmentally and socially just infrastructure defined by Indigenous people and local communities as a way to increase sustainability. 

Hydrocarbon and timber industries are rapidly developing informal road networks in Siberian boreal forests, or taiga. Informal roads are undocumented, often unpaved roads, not maintained by governments, inclusive of local trails to wide industrial easements. Remote communities use informal roads for subsistence hunting, foraging, inter-community and market access. These two shapefiles delineate the modern extent of informal roads surrounding Indigenous Evenki villages of Tokma and Vershina Khandy in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. These informal road networks were mapped based on interviews and mobile ethnographies that informed a student-run crowdsourced mapping event, or “mapathon,” to digitize the roads from high-resolution 2010s Worldview satellite imagery. 

Abstract Cryosphere has a global role as a biogeophysical phenomenon. It affects the livelihoods of people inhabiting permafrost areas and is affected by human activity within and outside of the cryosphere’s geographical span. “Frozen Commons (FC) are cryosphere resources and landscapes, defined by snow, ice, permafrost, that are experienced, used, protected and managed by groups of people together. This paper highlights collaboration between herders and scientists aimed at improving the understanding of frozen commons in northern Mongolia, a region of rapid cryosphere transformation. The impact of climate change on Indigenous and pastoralist communities in Mongolia is profound, leading to the damage or loss of frozen commons critical for local livelihoods. Therefore, Indigenous and local knowledge becomes crucial in assessing and predicting the climate-driven dynamics of frozen commons. In 2022, 2023, 2024 a team of permafrost scientists, geographers, and economists conducted interviews in reindeer and cattle herder camps in Khövsgöl Aimag (Province) located in the northern part of Mongolia. Local livelihoods depend not only on cattle, which allows us to examine a variety of animal-environment interactions and impacts on pastoralism. The analysis of interviews indicates that frozen commons is a vital resource for the Khövsgöl communities and hold significant importance in their daily lives. Permafrost plays a key role for herders as it provides water resources for pastures and local rivers, which is critical during dry summers. Ice and snow also have many uses, such as a source of water, winter transport, and the basis of cultural events. As winters become shorter and ice conditions become less predictable, the sustainability and availability of these resources for local people are under threat. In light of these challenges, it is imperative to formulate climate adaptation and mitigation strategies through collaborative efforts that actively involve and respect the perspectives of Indigenous and local people.