Hope said treating elders and researchers as equally important sources of information is a relatively new and positive development.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
In the past, Hope said a Native culture that values politeness led elders to acquiesce to researchers’ requests as well as a lack of credit when Native insights aided research. However, Hope said crediting indigenous knowledge when it shapes a study is important.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Like the scientific method, both are based on repeated experiences.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It’s a hard science, it’s just a different intellectual tradition,” Hope said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/18598560_web1_Paul-M-Ishmael-H.jpg\")
<\/a>Paul Marks and Ishmael Hope speak during a banquet tribute to the late Nora Marks Dauenhauer, who is seen in the photo to Hope’s right. in this 2017 photo. (Courtesy Photo | Peter Metcalfe)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Lily Hope, acclaimed weaver, conference demonstrator and Ishmael’s wife, said she’s excited about combining the art of Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving — two traditional styles of weaving — with the science behind efforts to identify and analyze Chilkat Dye<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t She is part of a cohort of weavers working with Portland State University researchers exploring organic dyes and other facets of Chilkat weaving.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “It’s fun to marry them, the arts and science,” Lily Hope said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t She will also be part of a gathering of weavers working in the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum atrium throughout the conference.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Lily Hope said making art in a public space is an important element of the conference.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I think it reiterates that these are not dead art forms,” Hope said. “They are alive and being practiced by many of us.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Ishmael Hope said the true collaboration between academics and indigenous knowledge embodied by the Sharing Our Knowledge conference is a productive step forward.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t What’s in store <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Peter Metcalfe, a conference organizer who’s been involved since its inception in 1993, said over the past quarter-century he’s seen more and more Alaska Natives give presentations as researchers with master’s degrees or doctorates rather than sharing cultural insights or traditional knowledge.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I think it’s always been at least 50-50,” Metcalfe said. “But now it’s more like 60-40 in terms of Alaska Native vs. white or non-Native academics.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Metcalfe falls into the non-Native category. He has a longstanding appreciation for Alaska Native culture dating back to his childhood. Metcalfe said he saw his parents maintain loyal friendships with Alaska Native people when he was a boy and later, as a publisher, Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska were among his first clients.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t He worked with Andrew Hope III to write the book “A Dangerous Idea,” which explores the role the Alaska Native Brotherhood played in securing Native rights.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t While registration is recommended for the conference, organizers said anyone can register for it, and Metcalfe said he hopes the events find a multicultural audience. Registration can be done online at sharingourknowledge.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “Most people can live out their whole lives in this place and not know a damn thing about the people,” Metcalfe said. “It’s willful ignorance. It’s like being in Athens and not caring about the Golden Age of the Greeks. How can people live in a place like this and not be interested in it?”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the conference will all start the same way — morning presentations at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. Thursday’s opening is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. while Friday and Saturday are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t However, each day’s first talk covers drastically different ground and after the plenary speeches, each day features a variety of presentations, round tables, talks and events<\/a> at EP Hall, the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building and KTOO.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Both Metcalfe and Hope were pleased with the conference’s eclectic schedule, which includes an archival film screening of Alaska Native elders speaking, a Tlingit-language spelling bee, a gathering of weavers and a language-focused gathering hosted by Goldbelt Heritage Foundation. The foundation is a major financial supporter of the program.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Sunday’s events will be different and will feature a tour led by Bob Sam titled “The World of the Aak’w Kwáan.” It will feature an orientation element at University of Alaska Southeast and a ticket-required boat tour.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t