“Indigenous knowledge is science,” said Charitie Ropati, who has brought Alaska Native values to her research on how climate change affects Alaska's ecology. “ The way we care for each other is science.”
There are plenty of things Charitie Ropati likes about New York City — $2.75 subway fare, easily accessible Puerto Rican food, and the community she’s found in other young, Native activists. But despite everything the city has to offer, she’s itching to get back home to Anchorage.
Today, Ropati’s university research focuses on how the ecology of Alaska is impacted by climate change. One of her projects looks at the increasing abundance of fireweed, a hardy, summer wildflower known to grow back quickly after a disturbance in the soil, such as wildfire. Ropati, who is Yup’ik and Samoan, is intent on building a career as a scientist and climate advocate improving life for Alaskans, and importantly, centering Indigenous knowledge in her work. She’s one of this year’s Arctic Youth Ambassadors and an Arctic Resilient Communities Youth Fellow.
Ropati grew up in Anchorage, but has roots in Kongiganak, a village of 500 people located at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River. As a kid, she spent summers in the village, learning to clean, cut and dry salmon from her grandmother.
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