Seafha Tuttle
Area of Expertise:
Traditional ecological knowledge, human dimensions, wildlife conservation and management.Advisor(s):
John L. Koprowski, Ben Colombi, Melanie Culver, Ronald TrosperCurriculum Vitae:
Aiy-yu-kwee’! Nak new Seafha. Nak Pul-lik-lo, Karuk, esee Hispanic. Er-ner esee Ah-pah mey-wu-my-chok. Tucson ok.
Hola! Soy Seafha. Soy Yurok, Karuk, y Hispana. Soy de Er-ner y Ah-pah - pueblitos en la reservacion del tribu Yurok. Vivo en Tucson.
Hello! My name is Seafha. I am Yurok, Karuk, and Hispanic. My Native American ancestry is from the Yurok villages of Er-ner (Blue Creek) and Ah-pah. My Hispanic ancestry is from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I currently live in Tucson.
Okay, maybe three introductions aren’t necessary. However, as I am learning Spanish and Yurok as second and third languages, it is important to me to practice them when opportunities arise. I saw this as an opportunity.
Thank you for visiting my student profile! I have included work-related information, beginning with my first job after completing my BS.
After graduating from Missouri Southern State University, I participated in a summer internship with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in King Salmon, Alaska. I assisted with a fisheries project using sonar and gillnetting to investigate species abundance and density of resident fish in the Ugashik lakes.
I came to the University of Arizona as a Master's student in 2006 and began research involving the response of the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel
(Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) to post-fire conditions. This subspecies is endemic to and only found on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona and
represents the southernmost population of red squirrels in North America. After two years of happily chasing squirrels and two additional years of data analysis,
thesis writing, and pondering the directions life takes us (all with lots of help from friends, family, and colleagues in various capacities), I received my MS in 2009.
In January 2010, I entered the PhD program in Natural Resources Studies with a minor in
American Indian Studies. My research focuses on using both Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
and Western science in wildlife conservation and management on Yurok ancestral lands. Presently, Yurok ancestral lands are divided into several jurisdictions, such as the Yurok reservation, Redwood National and State Parks, Six Rivers National Forest, and timberlands of local timber companies. I am working
with all of these entities to develop and accomplish this
research. My study consists of two phases. Phase 1 involves ethno-biology of Yurok people with regard to wildlife; I will accomplish this through interviews. Phase 2 involves a wildlife survey. Species of interest include meso-carnivores, such as the Humboldt marten (Martes americana humboldtensis).
There is no word for “wildlife” in the Yurok language. The closest term we have that relates to my research is “hoore’mos”, meaning “four-leggeds”/”mammals”. Yurok language speakers have kindly helped to create the phrase for the image below. All of the species shown are species of interest for the Yurok community and local agencies.
