This fall quarter, three UW graduate students were awarded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for the Inuit language: Ellen Ahlness, a doctoral candidate in political science; Elena Bell, a doctoral candidate in International Studies, and Elizabeth Wessells, a doctoral candidate in Anthropology. Ellen’s research looks at Indigenous–state relations and Arctic environmental politics and

Timothy Pasch, former Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellow in Inuktitut (2005-09), has become a key contributor to the National Science Foundation’s Arctic Data Center. The Arctic Data Center provides hands-on training for Arctic researchers who would like to learn more about open data. Timothy attended an Arctic Data Center training in fall of

Elena Bell, doctoral student in International Studies and FLAS Fellow in Inuktitut just passed her written and oral examinations! Elena’s thesis is presently titled, “Through the Lens of Indigenous Filmmakers: Film as Cross-Border Communication. Her research will examine film as a tool of self-representation via case studies of Indigenous filmmaking in Nunavut, Canada and Sakha,

Ellen Ahlness, FLAS Fellow in Inuktitut and doctoral student in political science was just published in 2019 Arctic Yearbook.  Ellen’s paper, “Incompatible Futures: Frontier Nostalgia and Southern Discourses of the Arctic,” argues that social attitudes towards the Arctic are often shaped by nostalgia that can influence even how policy is shaped; and that this nostalgia

Inuktitut Magazine, the magazine for the national Inuit organization in Canada, highlights the Jackson School’s Canadian Studies Center as “the only institution below the 49th parallel that offers Inuktitut training, allowing southern researchers to learn language skills that can help them better understand and communicate with Inuit Nunangat communities.” The article titled “Inuktitut Sijaatumi” (Translation: Inuktitut

In early October, Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellows in Inuktitut and doctoral students Elizabeth Wessells, Archaeology, and Ellen Ahlness, Political Science, presented at the 21st Inuit Studies Conference in Montréal. “Just as fall quarter began, I jetted from campus to attend the Inuit Studies Conference in Montréal. As a FLAS Fellow in Inuktitut,

I work as the Program Director with the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies in Homer, Alaska. In addition to our primary focus on coastal ecology and stewardship education through field trips, internships, after school programs, and camps for youth, I am involved in leading a number of educator professional development workshops and courses around the

Ellen Ahlness, political science, FLAS Fellow, Inuktitut, 2018–19 I am working toward my PhD in political science. My research looks at the role of nonstate actors in global politics. Specifically, I analyze the role of Arctic Indigenous organizations and their influence on international organizations, primarily the Arctic Council. Therefore, it is very important to me

Nadine Fabbi, Managing Director of the Jackson School Canadian Studies Center, is quoted in “U.S. university teaches students Inuktitut through funding prompted by Sputnik launch” on how the Inuktitut language, which is spoken in Canada, came about as a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship opportunity for students at the University of Washington. In discussing

Learning Inuktitut through the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from the Canadian Studies Center has given me a window into Inuit language, culture, and history. And I’ve had the incredible opportunity to study with Mick Mallon, Canadian linguist and Alexina Kublu, former Language Commissioner for Nunavut, Canada. Mick and Kublu taught us how