The End of The Road

Episode 6


The Ahtna & The Valley: Exploring The Story, with Margot Higgins



December 17, 2021

Photo of Margot Higgins courtesy of Margot

 

Dr. Margot Higgins, Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse shares thoughts and ideas from her research and writings challenging our conventional story about the presence or absence of the Ahtna-Athabascan people in the Kennicott River Valley. She explains why radical empathy may be the way forward to relating with this story in a new way.

 

Photo courtesy of Margot Higgins

In this Episode

  • Margot Higgins: Talks about her time with the Ahtna people and the impact the McCarthy-Kennicott community has had on local Indigenous communities. She shares her views of the world, her connection to place, and explains why the current narrative of the Kennicott River Valley may not be accurate.

  • Jon Erdman: Interviewer, Producer, and Wrangell Mountains Center Executive Director

  • Michelle McAfee: Co-host, script editor, audio editor/engineer

  • David Jacobs-Strain: Audio Mastering

 
 
 
 

Photos courtesy of Margot Higgins

Links, References and Resources

Margot’s article, referenced in this episode: “Prospecting for Buried Narratives in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.” Critical Norths: Space, Nature, Theory. Sarah Jaquette Ray and Kevin Maier, eds. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press, 2017.

A historic settlement turns 50, but questions linger over whether it was fair (First in a series: While the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created monetary wealth for Alaska Native shareholders, it also came at a huge cost.)

Investigating Best Practice: Doctoral Fieldwork Experiences With and Without Indigenous Communities in Settler-colonial Societies


Assessing the sustainability and equity of Alaska salmon fisheries through a well-being framework

  • Academic paper discussing salmon management in Alaska. “Salmon are intrinsic to health and well-being in Alaska. They sit at the center of myriad social, cultural, and spiritual practices, norms, and values that are essential to living and being well in many communities in Alaska; but these dimensions are often invisible and unaccounted for in management contexts…”

Special thanks to the Alaska State Council on the Arts for their generous grant, making Season Two of this podcast possible!