Resource: Alaska Native Pilots

Print Background Essay

In Alaska's harsh and rapidly changing environment, knowledge about weather is critical. As a matter of survival, Alaska Native peoples have developed a base of traditional knowledge about the weather to determine when it is safe to go hunting or spend time on the water. Through careful observations and direct interaction with the environment, Alaska Native peoples recognized patterns in nature and they passed this knowledge down through the generations through an oral tradition of stories and local lore.

Predicting weather is very difficult because the atmosphere involves the complex interaction of many diverse variables. However, observations about the strength and direction of the wind, the smell and feel of the air, and changes in temperature or cloud cover have repeatedly proven to be reliable indicators of future weather conditions. Animal behavior and atmospheric phenomena (such as sun dogs—a halo of light around the Sun produced by tiny ice crystals in cirrus clouds) can also be indicative of changes in weather.

Meteorologists seek to understand and predict the weather using Western science and technology; their observations are gathered with the help of tools such as Doppler radar, satellites, and weather balloons. These technologies allow meteorologists to gather detailed data about the atmosphere over large areas. Computer models consider variables such as air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, Earth rotation, and absorption or reflection of solar radiation to generate forecasts.

Traditional knowledge about the weather and the tools from Western science each have their strengths and can complement one another. Western scientific tools provide data that can describe weather on a global and regional scale and can provide both short- and long-range forecasts for large areas. Computer models may not be very specific at a local level, but Native knowledge excels at this scale. In Alaska, the general weather forecast can at times preclude flying altogether; however, Native knowledge and observations about local area weather patterns, topography, and environmental conditions provide valuable information to enhance forecasts and make flying possible.

The challenging terrain and harsh, rapidly changing weather contribute to a high rate of accidents in Alaska. In an effort to improve aviation safety in Alaska, the Federal Aviation Administration has implemented the Capstone program to improve situational awareness. The program has successfully decreased accident rates with the installation of new cockpit equipment that displays information about terrain, air traffic, and weather updates.

To learn more about traditional knowledge about the weather, check out An Unpredictable Environment and Hunters Navigate Warming Arctic.

To learn more about wind, check out The Jet Stream and Horizontal Temperature Gradients.

To learn more about weather, check out Kid Meteorologist, Global Weather Machine, and Compare and Contrast Warm and Cold Fronts.

To learn more about cultural methods of navigation, check out Ways of Navigation.

Print Questions for Discussion

• What does it mean to read the landscape and the weather compared to simply observing the landscape and the weather? What are some of the important observations—referred to as signmakers—that Alaska Native pilots use to read the landscape and the weather?
• Natural signmakers—or sensemakers—as well as aircraft instruments and technology are all useful tools that pilots in Alaska can use to fly their planes safely. Do you think one is more important than the other under certain conditions? In Alaska? In other places? In different circumstances?
• Dr. Oscar Kawagley, a Yup'ik, talks about the kinds of things Alaska Native peoples look for in reading the weather. How experienced and knowledgeable must a person be to observe and accurately read all these factors?
• Consider a typical summer day on Ninilchik Beach. What weather patterns might you expect? Use this information to plan a safer and better fishing trip.