What is black seaweed's future? Towards an ethnography of black seaweed in southeast alaska

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $349,962 under its Polar Programs (CFDA 47.078) to Sealaska Heritage Institute, Inc. for a two-year ethnographic research project examining black seaweed harvesting, processing, and cultural significance in Southeast Alaska. Spanning from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027, this project will document the salient values, practices, and intergenerational knowledge transmission related to black seaweed among coastal Southeast Alaska communities. The research will generate comprehensive ethnographic documentation addressing how, where, and why communities harvest, process, utilize, and distribute black seaweed, while investigating whether black seaweed functions as a cultural keystone species for the region.

The deliverables include ethnographic fieldwork products generated through community meetings, field observations, and semi-structured interviews with local traditional food experts and community members. Research outputs will employ a co-production of knowledge methodology utilizing community-based participatory research approaches and will be disseminated through the Sealaska Heritage Institute's lecture series. The project responds to emerging challenges threatening black seaweed's cultural and nutritional uses, including diatom aggregation (Licmophora spp.) that affects color, texture, and taste, as well as broader environmental changes impacting distribution and abundance. This NSF-funded research addresses documentation gaps in the spatial, cultural, ceremonial, nutritional, and artistic dimensions of black seaweed in Alaska Native communities.

Abstract

Black seaweed is one of the favorite foods of the people of southeast alaska. Each year, harvesters await the arrival of spring when black seaweed is gathered, dried, and then distributed widely throughout the region. Black seaweed is a highly valued food source and plays a critical role in the cultural and ceremonial life of communities in southeast alaska. However, little documentation exists on the spatial, cultural, intergenerational knowledge mobilization, ceremonial, nutritional, and artistic role of black seaweed. In 2021, the cultural and nutritional uses of black seaweed began to be at risk when harvesters began noticing the aggregation of diatom licmophora SPP. On the seaweed, which affected its color, texture, and taste. This project will document how, where, and why southeast alaska communities are harvesting, processing, utilizing, and distributing black seaweed and how this compares with historical practices. The goals of this two-year project are to document the salient values and practices of black seaweed harvest for the communities of southeast alaska from local perspectives and to answer the question: is black seaweed a cultural keystone species? The communities included in this project span southeast alaska. The project?s CO-PIS, project partners, and advisory committee collaborated to establish the research and design methods. The research team will conduct ethnographic fieldwork including community meetings, field observations, and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with local traditional food experts and community members to contribute to a better understanding of alaskan cultural practices of harvesting, processing, using, and distributing black seaweed. Our team will research black seaweed using a CO-production of knowledge approach. The research findings and outcomes will be disseminated through the sealaska heritage institute?s lecture series that is live-streamed to local communities and recorded on youtube; the box of knowledge book series, and peer-reviewed publications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.