Ms. Taqulik Hepa was born and raised in Barrow,
Alaska. She grew up living a subsistence based lifestyle and has
great respect for her traditional and cultural way of life. Participating
in subsistence hunting activities with her family has taught her
many valuable lessons in subsistence survival skills.
Currently, Ms. Hepa serves as the Deputy Director for the Department
of Wildlife Management for the North Slope Borough. In this capacity,
she is in contact with many local people and outside agencies
dealing with subsistence related issues. She serves as one of
two Project Coordinators who designed and implemented the NSB
Subsistence Harvest Documentation Project.
She is a member to the following boards and commissions;
the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S.; Gates of the Arctic
National Park and Preserve Subsistence Resource Commission; and
Barrow Arctic Science Consortium. Taqulik cares deeply for the
protection of her environment and subsistence resources and wishes
to expand her opportunities to participate in the advancement
of research programs in the Arctic.