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** New this week ** Annual Meeting: 48th Annual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association, March 1-5, 2021 (virtual). The Alaska Anthropological Association will be holding its 48th Annual Meeting. The theme of this year's conference is Fostering a Culture of Equity through the Removal of Boundaries. The virtual format of the conference affords the opportunity to offer both research-driven presentations as well as social events that encourage conversations and connections. The boundary-less conference format also offers a significant opportunity to better serve underrepresented communities as well as colleagues from all over the world.
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Media
Bowdoin's New Center for Arctic Studies to be Named for John and Lile Gibbons. A new center dedicated to the broad multidisciplinary study of the Arctic at Bowdoin College will be named the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies in recognition of Bowdoin trustee emeritus John A. Gibbons Jr. '64 and his wife, Lile R. Gibbons, of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, who have made a significant gift in support of the project. Bowdoin
 Nunavut Government Gets New Traditional Knowledge Advisors. Nunavut's Inuit knowledge advisory body has some new faces. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Katimajiit is made up of elders from across the territory selected for their understanding of Inuit traditional knowledge and Inuit social values. Nunavut's culture and heritage minister, Margaret Nakashuk, made the announcement in her minister's statement to the legislature on Tuesday afternoon. Nunatsiaq News
Implications of Inadequate Water and Sanitation Infrastructure for Community Spread of COVID-19 in Remote Alaskan Communities. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, emerged in the human population in December 2019 and spread worldwide within a few short months. Much of the public health focus for preventing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 has been on individual and collective behaviors, such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and hygiene. It is important to recognize that these behaviors and health outcomes occur within broader social and environmental contexts, and factors within local communities such as regional policy, historical context, cultural beliefs, and natural- and built environmental characteristics affect underlying population health and the spread of disease. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has renewed attention to the importance of secure water and sanitation services in protecting human health; many remote Alaskan communities are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease transmission because of inadequate water and sanitation services. In addition, there are a number of socio-economic, physical, and infrastructure factors in rural Alaska (e.g., remoteness, household overcrowding, climate change impacts, limited medical facilities, and high prevalence of chronic diseases) that contribute to the potential for more severe COVID-19 disease outcomes in these predominantly Alaska Native communities. ScienceDirect
 Canada's Military Launches Scaled-Down Annual Arctic Exercise. About 160 Canadian soldiers are taking part in a scaled down version of the annual Arctic exercise Operation NANOOK-NUNALIVUT 2021 in the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.), according to RCI. The exercise kicked off over the weekend in the territorial capital of Yellowknife, which houses the headquarters of Joint Task Force North, one of six regional joint task forces of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that covers military operations from the sub-Arctic regions of Canada all the way to the High Arctic. High North News
Mining Magnets: Arctic Islands Finds Green Power Can be a Curse. In the tenth century, Erik the Red, a Viking from Iceland, was so impressed with the vegetation on another Arctic island he had found he called it "the green land." Today, it's Greenland's rocks that are attracting outsiders - superpowers riding a green revolution. The world's biggest island has huge resources of metals known as 'rare earths,' used to create compact, super-strong magnets which help power equipment such as wind turbines, electric vehicles, combat aircraft and weapons systems. Reuters
In Memoriam. For the recently deceased Jen Pizza, who helped advance Arctic research, NOAA has established a virtual honor wall ( here) to share thoughts, memories, and/or condolences with her family. In lieu of flowers, Jen's family and friends suggest you donate to her favorite charities and causes that include Greenpeace, Pit Bull Rescue, Climate Change Action, Arctic Environmental Concerns, and Alaskan Indigenous Peoples Coalitions.
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Future Events
Simon Stephenson's retirement party. 3:00 to 4:00 EST on March 12, 2021 (virtual). Come celebrate our colleague and friend Simon Stephenson as he retires from federal service. As Section Head for Arctic Sciences at , Simon led international and inter-agency engagement in  support of the broad research goals of the Arctic Sciences Section. He provided the vision and has been the engine behind Collaborations for the past decade. We welcome an opportunity to honor these and his many other contributions to Arctic research. Old friends near and far are invited to share stories, raise a toast, and join in the celebration of Simon who has positively impacted so many.
 ALCOM's Arctic Senior Leader Summit, 2021, March 10-11, 2021 (virtual). In support of U.S. Northern Command's Arctic mission, please consider joining Lt General David Krumm, USAF, Commander Alaska Command, Alaska NORAD Region and 11th Air Force and a host of Defense and Security Leaders for Arctic Senior Leader Summit 2021 (ASLS 21) 10-11 March 2021. This event is oriented to addressing senior leader strategic views on the developing range of security and defense matters affecting the Arctic region. Due to the on-going complications of in-person meetings as a result of COVID 19, Arctic Senior Summit 2021 will be conducted via video conference. Day 1 of ASLS 2021 is focused on plenary presentations and follow-on strategic discussions. Day 2 ASLS 2021 is a planned tabletop exercise. Further details and registration to be provided soon via ASLS 21 planning team at the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. Please see: https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events for more details or email ADAC center leadership at https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Team.
Arctic Domain Awareness Center's (ADAC) Arctic Challenges, Innovations, and Commerce Expo (Arctic CICE) Conference, March 16-17, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center's (ADAC) Arctic Challenges, Innovations, and Commerce Expo (Arctic CICE) seeks to explore the networks, resources, and infrastructure needed to enable the commercial entrance of Arctic-related products and technologies into the Arctic domain. This expo will use an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to foster conversations around Arctic-centered business pressure points, state-of-the-Arctic-focused R&D, gap analysis of investment and innovation, and the future of business in the region. Participants will be exposed to the latest hardware, software, and people-ware emerging to advance domain awareness, risk mitigation, exploration, Arctic operations, and overall, Arctic security.
Arctic Science Summit Week, March 20-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the  Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Local Organizing Committee will host the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021. The Conference is organized by FCT, Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and by IASC and partners. Framed by the overarching theme for the Science Conference "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts," Lisbon invites International experts on the Arctic and Indigenous Peoples to discuss the "New Arctic" and also its impacts and interactions to and with the lower latitudes.
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| | Dr. Lilian Alessa (credit: IDGA) |
the USSOCOM J5 Donovan Strategy and Innovation Group, will host a Disruptive Speaker Series, led by Dr. Lilian "Doc" Alessa, entitled, "A Turmoil of Shadows: The Hidden Facets of Arctic Threats and the Role of USSOCOM in Ensuring Stability." The presentation will address the roles that the SOF Enterprise, as a force multiplier, could be responsible for in the emerging Arctic operational environment. While SOF maintains a standard of being able to operate in any conditions anywhere in the world, the Arctic is emerging as a more nuanced and complex theater. Advancing Collaboration in Canada-US Regional Security II, March 25-26, 2021 (virtual). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) and the North American and Arctic Defense and Security Network (NAADSN) will host this event as a follow up meeting on the Advancing Collaboration in Canada-U.S. Arctic Regional Security (ACCUSARS) conference in September 2020.The purpose of ACCUSARS II is to create a subset Strategic Foresight Assessment (SFA) for the North American Arctic, by specifically focusing on Alaska and Western Canada.
 One Health, One Future, April 6-11, 2021 (virtual). This is expected to be the largest circumpolar One Health conference held in the United States in 2021, with participation anticipated from across the Arctic region. The event is part of the United States contribution to One Arctic, One Health, an Arctic Council project now in its sixth year of operation. The project aims to develop a circumpolar network of One Health experts that can share knowledge, conduct exercises, and spur collaborative investigations of One Health phenomena.
2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. This symposium will bring together molecular microbial ecologists specializing in different organism groups to share our latest results and discuss methodological problems, as well as future prospects in the field, including practical international collaborations. The environmental focus will be on cryospheric environments including sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost, but excellent research in other polar environments is also invited. The methods to be discussed will focus on 'omics' techniques, ranging from single cells to metagenomes, but research using additional methods is encouraged as well.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Tokyo, Japan). The  Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. Considering the need for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and repair measures, the relevance of an international Arctic Science Ministerial has never been greater. It is necessary to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic. The First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016, and two years later, the Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
Department of Homeland Security S&T OUP Centers of Excellence Summit, May 18-21, 2021 (virtual). DHS S&T's Centers of Excellence (COE) Summit is set and focused on Homeland Security Challenges: Evolving Threats & Dynamic Solutions. This event is a special opportunity for COE researchers to connect and network with DHS components, federal, state, and local stakeholders, as well as industry partners to present current and emerging solutions to threats and challenges faced by DHS. Attendees can visit the Innovation Showcase, where COE and vendor partners showcase research breakthroughs, new products and tools to assist operational decision-makers and dynamic solutions to secure our Homeland.
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