🌱 The Year of Belief Begins — A Challenge for Researchers Committed to Equity in the Arctic

#TheYearofBelief | #TYBBegin

Starting something new—especially something that matters—is rarely neat. But the land teaches us that timing isn’t always about being ready. Sometimes, it’s about being in season.

That’s the spirit behind The Year of Belief (TYB), our new, free, year-long challenge built around a single, powerful idea:

“I CAN do effective and equitable Arctic research.”

Each week, we invite you to take one small, meaningful step toward that belief—rooted in Arctic land-based subsistence rhythms and academic reflection.
This challenge is here to guide you, remind you, and especially support you through a year rooted in community accountability and care.

This is our way of giving back and doing our part to support researchers, community members, and partners who are committed to effective community engagement in equitable Arctic research.

✨ Where This Challenge Began

The inspiration for The Year of Belief has deep roots.

Years ago, while working on Iñupiaq language revitalization in the NANA region of Alaska, Corina realized something profound:
Before we could reclaim our language, we had to believe that we could.

It wasn’t only about learning new vocabulary or perfect grammar.

It was an intentional act of reaching into ourselves—challenging the false beliefs planted by generations of colonization, displacement, and shame.

It was about reclaiming the right to try, even imperfectly.

That realization inspired TYB: the understanding that belief must come first—not as a feeling of certainty, but as a courageous act of beginning.

This March, at Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) in Boulder, Colorado, we gathered with Indigenous researchers, community leaders, and allies in spaces that were intentionally created for Indigenous presence and leadership.

It was a powerful experience.
Amidst the new and existing barriers we face, we could feel it:
We could allow ourselves to believe again.

We could believe that a different kind of Arctic research is possible—rooted in relationship, accountability, and deep mutual respect.

We could believe that despite all the structural obstacles, we could move toward a more equitable, meaningful, and innovative Arctic research future—together.

The Year of Belief is built from that moment of hope—and from generations of resilience before it.

📚 What is TYB?

TYB follows the flow of an Inuit subsistence calendar, using the land’s rhythms to guide our year together. From the first return of the nauyaq (seagulls) and egging season in May, to the berry harvests of summer, to the slowing and preserving work of fall, and the memory work of winter—the Arctic offers us a seasonal map for action and reflection.

Each week, TYB braids together:

• 🌿 Lessons from the Land
  Stories and teachings drawn from the subsistence knowledge of Corina’s family in Kotzebue, Alaska—knowledge built through relationship, survival, and care.
• 🏛️ Lessons from the Institutions
  Reflections rooted in Cana’s work as a technical and scientific communication scholar and founding director of the Center for Sustainable Engagement in the Arctic (CSEA) at Virginia Tech—work that navigates research infrastructures and advocates for community-centered pathways.

This pairing is not metaphorical.
It is a deliberate, co-productive model—treating both land-based wisdom and academic ideas as equally vital for building an Arctic research practice that is ethical, effective, and equitable.

Each blog post offers a small, doable challenge—not toward mastery, but toward movement.

This year-long challenge is guided by our four-part TYB framework:

1. Know Who You Are

To show up for Arctic communities with integrity, we must first know ourselves.
This is your foundation. When you understand who you are—and how that shapes your approach to research—you are better prepared to act with intention and humility.

2. Do the Next Right Thing, Even Imperfectly

Perfection is not a prerequisite for ethical research.
This principle invites action, even when you’re unsure, even when the steps feel small.
It’s about listening, adjusting, and moving forward with care and accountability.

3. Invest in a Community of Support

No one does this work alone.
You need people who challenge you, cheer you on, and hold you accountable.
Whether it’s a mentor, peer, or research partner—community keeps belief alive when doubt creeps in.

4. Reinforce Hope with Grit

Hope gives us vision. Grit gives us momentum.
Effective, equitable Arctic research is long-haul work—it requires both.
We believe in the possibilities. And we work toward them, even when it’s hard.

📬 What’s New?

We’re also changing how we share our work.

Our Equitable Arctic Research (EAR) newsletter is now a weekly blog hosted on our website.

Here’s what you’ll find:

• 📬 A short, reflective email every Thursday linking to a 4-6 minute blog post
• 🌿 Weekly entries that braid Lessons from the Land and Lessons from the Institutions, plus a small, doable challenge
• 💬 Invitations to free online group mentoring sessions during months with five Thursdays:
  • May 29, 2025
  • July 31, 2025
  • October 30, 2025
  • January 29, 2026
  • April 30, 2026
  • Sessions will take place at 1pm EDT/9am Alaska for 60 minutes. You will receive a registration link and link to submit questions in our weekly emails those months…stay tuned!
  • These sessions are similar to what we offer each month in our ECE course!
• 📸 Photos, personal stories, and reflections celebrating our love of the Arctic

And—we’re archiving our ‘original’ EAR newsletter content too!
If you’re new to our community, or if you’re one of our original EAR subscribers, you can access or revisit our messages about Building Relationships of Trust, Cultural Humility, Addressing Power Imbalances on our website. (Note: These are brief syntheses of the Equitable Arctic Research onboarding series we created.)

🧭 Why This Challenge Matters

The landscape of Arctic research is changing.

Researchers are being called—urgently, publicly—to engage differently:
To build relationships that honor Indigenous sovereignty.
To practice accountability, not extraction.
To move beyond performative “community engagement” toward something deeper and more durable.

But transformation does not happen just by publishing a new paper or checking a box on a grant application.

It begins with belief.
With imperfect action.
With one small offering at a time.

Whether you are:

• Starting your first Arctic research project,
• Reevaluating your current approach,
• Supporting others in navigating institutional barriers, or
• Building bridges between community knowledge and scientific inquiry,

TYB offers a place to start—and to return to.

📬 Invite a friend to join the TYB challenge:
If someone you know would benefit from TYB, please share our work with them!

👣 Your Next Step: Just Begin

This week’s action: Pick one small step.

• 🌱 Reflect: Simply write down our belief “I can do equitable and effective Arctic research” on a post it, in a notebook, on your hand—anywhere—and quietly reflect on ways you want to grow this year.

• 🛶 Move: Choose one tiny action you can take toward equitable Arctic research—no matter how small—and do it!

• 📚 Connect: Share this challenge with a colleague, student, or friend who might need encouragement too.

You don’t have to be ready. You don’t have to be perfect.
You just have to begin.

And if you drift away for a while? That’s okay.
Come back when you can. Re-enter as often as you need.
We’ll still be here—cheering you on.

Participation in this challenge doesn’t have to be perfect—come as you are when and how you can.

#TheYearofBelief | #TYBBegin