ABSTRACT
An anthropological study directed by Russian and American scientists has been initiated under the Shared Beringian Heritage Program. Scientists at the University of Alaska and Russian Academy of Sciences are documenting early twentieth century linguistic, social, ethnic, and cultural networks between Native people of the northern Seward Peninsula and the northern Chukotka Peninsula. The Beringian Heritage Program also supports the Russian-American International Pan-Arctic Biota initiative in conducting botanical research in the northern Seward Peninsula, including the development of a botanical database in a standardized format. As an important outreach activity, the Beringian Heritage Program supported “Crossroads Alaska,” a traveling exhibit of artifacts from museums in the Smithsonian Institution, Alaska, and Siberia. The landscape history component of the Shared Beringian Heritage Program focuses on the dynamic geomorphic environment of Beringia. The Shared Beringian Heritage Program has been successful in maintaining close cooperation and integration of research efforts across academic, bureaucratic, political, and cultural boundaries.
