Dr. Haliehana Stepetin

Dr. Haliehana Stepetin (Unangax̂, Qigiiĝun Tribe) was born and raised in the village of Akutan, Alaska, in Unangam Tanangin [Aleutian Islands]. She weaves together her transdisciplinary experience, deeply shaped by the Unangax̂ subsistence cosmology in which she was raised, as an educator, artist, and scholar.

Dr. Stepetin is also a Navy Veteran. She enlisted on her 17th birthday as a Fire Controlman and was honorably discharged in 2012 as an FC2 (E-5, ESWS). Dr. Stepetin is an Assistant Professor of Arctic Security Studies at the Ted Stevens Center. Her research considers Unangax̂ and Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ roles in sustainable food sovereignty and environmental practices amidst a changing climate. Her research has been funded by the Pat Tillman Foundation, the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has been published in Gender and Education and SAGE Publishing, with a forthcoming chapter in an anthology with Duke University Press.