In 2007 he was named as a MacArthur Fellow for being a leader in the effort to rekindle Alutiiq language, customs and culture.
Looking back on the experience, he remarked, "I wondered why I had traveled to the other side of the world to learn about Alutiiq history and culture when I could be doing the same thing at home.
Haakanson continued his studies as a graduate student in anthropology at Harvard University in 1992, receiving his MA in 1996 and PhD in 2000.
The title of his doctoral dissertation was Ethnoarchaeology of the Yamal Nenets: utilizing emic and etic evidence in the interpretation of archaeological residues.
[4] Haakanson was the executive director of the Alutiiq Museum and adjunct professor at Kodiak College from 2000 to 2013.
In 2015 he led the Angyaaq project, to restore and practice skills for making native, traditional transport vessels.