Data for "What are the various roles and perceptions of squirrels in Alaska Native cultures? A proof-of-concept using Machine Learning with insights from interviews with Alaska Native communities"

Moriz Steiner
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:13:52 PDT

Alaska Native communities have lived in Alaska for over 15,000 years, developing sustainable subsistence activities and a close relationship with the surrounding landscape, flora, and fauna. In this study, I explored the role(s) squirrels play in this relationship across different Alaska Native communities in interior and western Alaska. I carried out six interviews with Alaska Native ‘users’ and trappers/ hunters to assess their perception of squirrel fur values, hunting interests, spiritual links, and as food. To describe and analyze the interviews and underlying signals therein, I use a novel Machine Learning framework with two algorithms (CART (Classification and Regression Trees), and TreeNet gradient boosting) to present differences between the role of squirrels in users and trappers/hunters, as well as across different communities. Thereby, I also aim to detect the strongest signals in the data that are otherwise likely missed when following conventional interview analysis methods (manifest and latent content analyses). With this interdisciplinary approach, I provide a proof-of-concept of this synergized approach for progress in combining natural science data mining and social sciences by including several guiding rules of thumb to facilitate interviews among Alaskan Native communities. These guidelines provide insights into the lessons learned from this interdisciplinary approach and include suggested future approaches for a more complete data gathering process, while remaining achievable within academic and higher education student timelines.