Dalee Sambo Dorough, a former faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage has been awarded the 2022 International Arctic Science Committee Medal. The IASC is a nongovernmental, international scientific organization committed to facilitating collaborative interdisciplinary research in the Arctic and the Circumpolar North. Dr. Dorough was honored for her outstanding achievements in advocating the rights of Indigenous peoples, service to Arctic communities, and her influence as a legal scholar.
Dr. Dorough said the award from IASC serves as a type of “bellringer,” signaling to the international community, whether it’s through scientific research or public policy, that Indigenous voices are a critical component when it comes to conversations centered around Arctic issues. “I will work to underscore Inuit and other Arctic Indigenous peoples need to play a direct and meaningful role in the work of research that takes place in the Arctic,” she said.
In 2008, Dr. Dorough joined the department of political science faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage as an assistant professor of political science, specializing in international relations. In 2018, Dr. Dorough was elected as the international chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. When she completes her four-year term this year, she hopes to return to the university.
Dr. Dorough holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She earned a Ph.D. in law from the University of British Columbia.