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#AkAA virtual 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The 48th Annual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association, #AkAA virtual 2021, wrapped up last week with a record turnout of 399 registered participants. The conference featured 13 sessions with over 80 presenters from 8 countries including the United States, Canada, Norway, Wales, France, England, Scotland, and Japan. Presentations covered a broad range of topics from the fields of ethnobotany, rescue archaeology, museums and artistic practices, community-based participatory research, and other timely issues facing our communities. We were honored to host two renowned keynote speakers, Dr. E.J.R. David (University of Alaska Anchorage) and Dr. Heather Igloliorte (Concordia Univrsity), who addressed critical issues of equity, self-representation, and indigenous sovereignty.

The theme of this year’s conference, Fostering a Culture of Equity through the Removal of Boundaries, spoke to emerging opportunities within the virtual world to diminish barriers, including physical distance and financial limitations, and to increase access to learning and educational resources. It was excellent to see that the online conference encouraged and supported such a high level of student participation, diverse voices, and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Thank you to our invaluable sponsors, conference committee, volunteers, session organizers, presenters, and participants who contributed your experience and voices to create an online annual meeting that was both memorable and meaningful.

The #AkAA virtual 2021 conference program and resources shared during the conference are available on the AkAA website at: www.alaskaanthropology.org/annual-meeting/

Best wishes for the coming spring!

Alaska Anthropological Association