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CURRENT RESEARCH

All of my current research is part of my interdisciplinary doctoral project (which focuses on academic, community, and creative outputs), combining the disciplines of anthropology, law, environmental studies, and economics. The working title of my PhD is "Museumification & Monetization: Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in an era of rapid economic change."

MUSEUMIFICATION OR EMPOWERMENT? LEGAL, POLICY & COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES OF SAFEGUARDING INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins

Advisors: Dr. Kai Chan, Dr. Wade Davis,

Dr. Mark Turin, Dr. Nancy Turner

Funders: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; University of British Columbia Graduate Award

Related Link: Video of in-progress research including community outputs

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RECUPERATION OF ALPAQUERA TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE PERUVIAN HIGHLANDS

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins

Advisors: Dr. Wade Davis, Dr. Kai Chan,

Dr. Mark Turin, Dr. Nancy Turner

Research Assistants: Anshela Paravecino Kehuarucho, Beth Luque Huanca Delaplain

Collaborators: Illariy Ch'aska Women's Cooperative, Casita Huaran

Location: Cancha Cancha, Peru

Funders: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; Public Scholars Initiative; National Geographic Society; Canadian Federation of University Women; Research Fellowship at the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability (IRES)

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SYSTEMIC ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT & RURAL-URBAN EMIGRATION IN 21ST CENTURY CUSCO

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins

Advisors: Dr. Wade Davis, Dr. Kai Chan, 

Dr. Mark Turin, Dr. Nancy Turner

Research Assistant: Anshela Paravecino Kehuarucho

Location: Five communities in the Sacred Valley & Mapacho River Valley of Peru

Funding: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; UBC Graduate Award; National Geographic Society; Research Fellowship at the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability; Canadian Federation of University Women

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GENDER POLITICS OF THE QUECHUA TEXTILE REVITALIZATION MOVEMENT

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins 

Advisors: Dr. Wade Davis, Dr. Kai Chan,

Dr. Mark Turin, Dr. Nancy Turner

Research Assistant: Anshela Paravecino Kehuarucho

Location: Five communities in the Sacred Valley and Mapacho River Valley, Peru

Funders: National Geographic Society; Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; Public Scholars Initiative; Canadian Federation of University Women

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INDIGENOUS MAPPING WORKSHOP SERIES: RECLAIMING IDENTITY THROUGH MAPPING ONE'S CULTURE, LAND, AND ART

Principal Investigators: Ashli Akins & Steve Deroy

Collaborators: The Firelight Group, Mosqoy

Funders: National Geographic Society; Google; The Firelight Group; Canadian Federation of University Women

Related Link: Indigenous Mapping Workshop Peru (website & application form, in English, Spanish and Quechua)

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MUSEUMIFICATION & MONETIZATION OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE: BATTLES OF AUTHENTICITY & ADAPTATION IN AN ERA OF EFFICIENCY

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins

Advisor: Dr. Kai Chan

Funders: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; University of British Columbia Graduate Award; Research Fellowship at the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability (IRES)

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PAST RESEARCH

LINGUISTIC HUMAN RIGHTS: IMPLEMENTATION GAPS & CHRONIC LOSSES

Co-authors: Ashli Akins & Mark Turin

Timeline: 2015 - 2020

Chapter in book to be published in 2021. More details to be released soon.

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MARINE CULTURAL HEALTH INDEX

Role: I was responsible for designing a marine cultural health index (MCHI) to empower Indigenous coastal Māori communities of New Zealand to assess the health of their own harvest resources. A large multi-scale  collaborative project between community, government, and academia, this project was the first-ever open-water cultural health index (CHI) launched internationally. 

Timeline: 2011 - 2013

Funders: Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu; Tiaki Mahinga Kai Project; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; University of Otago's Center for Sustainability

Outputs: 

Ashli Akins, Alaric McCarthy, Nigel Scott, Katja Schweikert, Chris Hepburn, Henrik Moller (2013). Ngāi Tahu Marine Cultural Health Index User Manual (He Kōhinga Rangahau No. 16). University of Otago. 

Katja Schweikert, Alaric McCarthy, Ashli Akins, Nigel Scott, Henrik Moller, Chris Hepburn, Fransisca Landesberger (2012). A Marine Cultural Health Index for sustainable management of mahinga kai in Aotearoa - New Zealand. He Kohinga Rangahau No. 15. 88 pp. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Commissioned Report for External Body.

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BIOCULTURAL VALUES TO GUIDE RESTORATION ACTION

Role: As part of my research fellowship with Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (Government of New Zealand), I led the final stage of this project, including writing, administration and editing. 

Timeline: 2012 - 2015

Outputs: 

Phil B. Lyver, Ashli Akins, Hilary Phipps, Viktoria Kahui, David R. Towns, Henrik Moller (2015). Key biocultural values to guide restoration action and planning in New Zealand. [Online: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.12318/abstract]

Hilary Phipps, Ashli Akins, Henrik Moller, Phil Lyver, Viktoria Kahui, and David Towns (2011). Cross-cultural Values for Restoring Coastal Forest Ecosystems in New Zealand. Report to New Zealand Department of Conservation.

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THE UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE: NEW PILLARS AND PATHWAYS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIOCULTURAL, AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

Co-authors: Ashli Akins, Phil O’B. Lyver, Hugo F. Alrøe, and Henrik Moller

Role: Lead author. Part of my Research Fellowship with Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (Government of New Zealand) and Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai Community Fellowship with the University of Otago.

Timeline: 2013 - 2019

Funders: University of Otago's Centre for Sustainability; the New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard Project; the Kia Mau Te Tītī Mo Ake Tōnu Atu Project; the Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai Project; the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE); New Zealand’s Biological Heritage (NSC, C09X1501); the Strategic Science Investment Funding (SSIF) for Crown Research Institutes (MBIE’s Science and Innovation Group); Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research; the New Zealand Biological Heritage National Science Challenge; the OECD Co-operative Research Programme; and the Danish Ministry of Food’s MultiTrust Project.

Link to published article in Sustainabilityhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2357

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ENACTING RESILIENCE

Role: Research Assistant, Peter A. Allard Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia. 

Principal Investigators: Michelle LeBaron and Carrie MacLeod

Timeline: 2013 - 2016

Funder: Public Safety Canada

Related Output: 

Carrie MacLeod, Ashli Akins, and Michelle LeBaron (2016). Enacting Resilience Toolkit: Arts-based activities. Report commissioned for Public Safety Canada, published by Peter A. Allard School of Law. [Online at: https://www.icasc.ca/resources/enacting-resilience-toolkit-arts-based-activities]

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IN DEFENSE OF THE ARTIST: IS THE LOSS OF CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT ART A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION?

Principal Investigator: Ashli Akins

Master’s thesis submitted for Master of Studies in international human rights law, University of Oxford.

Advisors: Dr. Patrick Thornberry & Dr. Margaret Bedggood

Timeline: 2011 - 2012

Funders: Canadian Federation of University Women; Las Casas Human Rights Scholarship, University of Oxford

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