Shayla Alamax̂ Shaishnikoff

Shayla Alamax̂ Shaishnikoff is an Unangax̂ scientist from Unangam Tanangin, also known as the Aleutian Chain, the ancestral homeland to the Unangax̂ people for over 9,000 years. As the Resilience Project Manager for the Qawalangin Tribe in Unalaska, Alaska, Shayla is at the forefront of blending Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with modern environmental science to protect her community’s subsistence lifestyle amid the escalating threats of climate change and environmental degradation.

During the summer months, Shayla can be found on her skiff, fishing for halibut, setting her family’s subsistence salmon net, tending to her smokehouse, and picking berries in the tundra. Traditional foods have been a part of the Unangax̂ way of life for as long as they have inhabited Unangam Tanangin. Harvesting and sharing are essential practices for this community located more than 800 miles from the Alaska road system. Practices in sustainability, land stewardship, and reciprocity are central to traditional Unangax̂ values. However, relationships to the land and sea are shifting as the global climate continues to change. Coastal communities across the Arctic are feeling the impacts of rising sea levels, warmer water temperatures, and more frequent severe-weather events. In Unalaska, Shayla has worked to address these changes in her community.

In 2022, she received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Western Washington University and acted as the Resilience Program Manager for the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska up until recently. Over the last few years, she has been researching blue mussels, hoping to find a solution to the toxin that has made this traditional food dangerous to consume. “We used to harvest shellfish to eat right off the beach,” she said. “Now, we experience paralytic shellfish poisoning so frequently, especially in the summer months, that it can be deadly.”

The issue became tragically personal in 2020, when a local community member died after consuming contaminated shellfish. Today, many avoid blue mussels, symbolizing not just a health risk, but a cultural loss as, for the Unangax̂, traditional foods are deeply tied to identity, values, and the land.

Shayla Alamax̂ ShaishnikoffPalmer Morse and Matt Mikkelsen

Shayla collaborates with elders and cultural leaders through the Guustilix̂ Committee to conduct vulnerability assessments rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems. She emphasizes that while Western science often seeks baseline data, Indigenous communities already hold this knowledge: ““We don’t have baseline data in the Western sense, but our community holds this knowledge. That is our baseline, our data.” (www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic) By incorporating TEK—knowledge passed through generations and shaped by dynamic environmental changes—Shayla ensures her work is not only scientifically rigorous but culturally meaningful.

Her approach reflects an innovative and necessary model for resilience, where Indigenous voices and values are central. Shayla’s story is featured in the short film Usugilix Awakun: We Are Working Together directed by Palmer Morse and Matt Mikkelsen, which is a finalist for the Sylvia Earle Award at the MY HERO Film Festival.

Palmer Morse and Matt MikkelsenUsugilix Awakun

Usugilix Awakun: We Are Working Together. Synopsis: ‘In the waters off the remote island of Iluulux̂ or so-called Unalaska, Alaska, toxic algal blooms are increasingly infecting filter-feeding shellfish with unknown causation. After a community member died from eating blue mussels, a staple cultural food, Unangax̂ scientist Shayla began working with her tribe to research and understand the harmful blooms and what can hopefully be done about them. Illuminating the profound connection between the Unangax̂ people and their environment, Usugilix Awakun showcases the resilience and resourcefulness of a culture in the face of unprecedented challenges.’

Watch here: /usugilix-awakun