NOTE: Issues range from 1996–2006. Contact information in earlier issues could be outdated. For current information, please contact the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, 907-474-1902.
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Southeast Regional Report by Andy Hope:The Sitka School Board approved the MOA to participate in the ARSI project at their regular meeting on March 4. I traveled to Sitka for meetings on March 25 and 26, prior to the Tlingit Clan Conference. I encouraged the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the Sitka Native Education Program, Dog Point Fish Camp, Sheldon Jackson College and the Sitka UAS campus to participate in the ARSI project with the Sitka School District. Each of these entities were represented at the Tlingit Clan Conference. The Southeast ARSI office will be providing assistance to Sealaska Heritage Foundation in the presentation of a multicultural education course, "Learning About Southeast Alaska Cultures Through Native Voices" during the 1996 Summer University of Alaska Southeast. The academy is scheduled for June 3-7, 1996 and will coincide with the biannual Sealaska Celebration dance festival. Will the Time Ever Come? A Tlingit Source Book will be published by this fall by Raven's Bones Press, with distribution by the University of Washington Press. The book will contain materials from the Tlingit Clan Conference and will also provide material for the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. | |
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Southeast Regional Report by Andy Hope:Oscar Kawagley and I met with representatives of the Chatham and Sitka School Districts the week of May 6. We also met with community leaders in Sitka and Angoon. The Southeast Elders' Council will meet in Juneau on June 7. Council members are: Arnold Booth (Metlakatla), Chair; Charles Natkong (Hydaburg); Gil Truit (Sitka); Lydia George (Angoon); Joe Hotch (Klukwan) and Isabella Brady (Sitka). The elders' council will also serve as guest lecturers for a summer Teacher Academy multicultural course taking place in Juneau from June 3-7. The Southeast Native Educators group will organize in Juneau on June 5. This group will be modeled on similar Native teacher groups in Dillingham, Bethel and Fairbanks. | |
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Southeast Regional Report by Andy Hope:The State Department of Education and the Alaska Science Consortium (ASC) sponsored a three-day workshop in late June to update the Tlingit Chapter for the ASC "Native Uses of the Seas and Rivers" handbook. The goal of the workshop was to draft a science unit based on Tlingit knowledge, addressing science standards (state and national) and using appropriate teaching and assessment strategies. Teachers from Sitka, Angoon and Kake participated. The revised chapter will be presented during a Native Science Curriculum workshop scheduled for October 2-3, 1996 in Sitka. Other workshop presentations will include a draft of Tlingit Math and Calendar Curriculum Guides. The workshop will be open to all teachers. Teachers from the Southeast MOA schools (Chatham and Sitka) are especially urged to attend. | |
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Southeast Regional Report by Andy Hope:I started work in late December 1995. In mid-January of this year, I met with the Southeast consortium partners for the first time: Sidney Stephens of the Alaska Science Consortium, Peggy Cowan (science specialist) and Nancy Spear (math specialist) of the Department of Education, and Richard Dauenhauer of Sealaska Heritage Foundation. We discussed possible strategies for addressing the initiative for the first year-Culturally-Aligned Curriculum Adaptations. PHOTO BY LOLLY CARPLUK The Sitka and Chatham teams will participate in a Native science and math curriculum guide workshop in November. This workshop will assess curriculum resources currently available in their respective districts and draft guides for a Tlingit math book, calendar and map. I was able to secure office space at the University of Alaska Southeast Juneau campus, thanks to Marshall Lind. The first major event of the year was the Native Curriculum Workshop that took place in conjunction with the Third Conference of Tlingit Tribes and Clans, March 28-30 in Ketchikan and Saxman. All consortium partners were present for this workshop. The participants in the Ketchikan workshop laid the groundwork for the Southeast Alaska Native Educators Association. The Southeast Regional Elders Council also organized in Ketchikan. Elders council members include: Arnold Booth of Metlakatla (chair), Isabella Brady of Sitka, Joe Hotch of Klukwan, Charles Natkong of Hydaburg, Lydia George of Angoon and Gil Truitt of Sitka. In April, the Sitka and Chatham School Districts signed MOAs to participate in the project. Oscar Kawagley and I traveled to Sitka and Angoon in the spring to meet with district and community representatives. The Southeast Native Educators held another organizational meeting in early June. The Southeast Elders Council also met in early June. All of the elders council members (also Jackie Kookesh and Pauline Duncan of the Southeast Native Educators) served as presenters at the Summer Teacher Academies Multicultural Education course in Juneau. The Alaska Science Consortium and the Alaska Department of Education co-sponsored a Native Science Curriculum workshop in late June in Juneau. A group of four teachers worked with Sidney Stephens and Peggy Cowan to draft a science unit based on Tlingit knowledge, addressing science standards and using appropriate teaching and assessment strategies. Another Native Science curriculum workshop took place in Sitka in early October. The workshop was hosted by the Alaska Science Consortium and the Department of Education. Teachers from ten districts from throughout Southeast Alaska participated, with emphasis on teachers from Chatham and Sitka School Districts. Chatham and Sitka teachers designated working teams and team leaders to work with the Alaska RSI project. The Southeast Alaska Native Educators Association also formally organized at this time and elected officers: Isabella Brady of Sitka and Jackie Kookesh of Angoon were elected co-chairs; other officers include Evi Fennimore of Wrangell, Ruth Demmert of Kake, Mary Jean Duncan of Angoon, Phyllis Carlson of Juneau and Rocky Eddy of Juneau. The Sitka and Chatham teams are committed to coordinate their Alaska RSI efforts in the future. The Sitka and Chatham teams will participate in a Native science and math curriculum guide workshop in November. This workshop will assess curriculum resources currently available in their respective districts and draft guides for a Tlingit math book, calendar and map. The workshop will be facilitated by Jackie Kookesh with support from Alaska RSI and Richard and Nora Dauenhauer of Sealaska Heritage Foundation. A data collection/archive workshop will also take place in November. Participants will include the Sitka and Chatham district teams, Sitka Tribe of Alaska staff, Sheldon Jackson Library staff and Egan Library (UAS) staff. The workshop will be facilitated by Jana Garcia, a Haida archivist. | |
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Sprouting New Ideas and Activities by Nastasia Wahlberg:According to David Charlie, who helped develop the curriculum, the elders and the students came together and brainstormed topic areas for the units to be offered over a four-year sequential cycle. What is interesting about this process is that the elders, along with classroom teachers, assessed the student's knowledge of the acquired skills that were achieved. Traditional means of visual assessment by elders could be held, while teachers fulfilled their assessment requirements using state standards. A similar effort has been underway in the Bristol Bay area. The Ciulistet Yup'ik math and science research project, now in its fourth year, gathers Yup'ik teachers together with the elders in remote villages. The elders use Yup'ik protocols whereby each individual shares their knowledge based on past elder's teachings and from their experiences. The collective knowledge is rendered until everyone has come to one mind. Weather predictions, moon and sun cycles, land and water passage routes, oral stories from mythical to historical, parka and storyknife symbols, and Yup'ik math, ecological and biological factors are all discussed. The Yup'ik teachers then apply this knowledge by developing curriculum ideas that are presented to the elders for their critique using the same approach. | |
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Standards for Culturally-Responsive Schools Adopted by Native Educators:One hundred fifty Alaska Native educators convened in Anchorage February 1-3 and formally adopted a set of "Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools." They are intended to serve as a complement to the state content standards, focusing on how schools can help students acquire what they need "to know and be able to do," while ensuring they become responsible, capable and whole human beings in the process. To provide guidance in this endeavor, standards have been adopted for students, educators, curriculum, schools and communities. Culturally responsive educators recognize the full educational potential of each student and provide the challenges necessary for them to achieve that potential . . . A culturally supportive community assists teachers in learning and utilizing local cultural traditions and practices . . . A culturally responsive school provides multiple avenues for students to access the learning that is offered, as well as multiple forms of assessment for students to demonstrate what they have learned . . . Culturally knowledgeable students are well grounded in the cultural heritage and traditions of their community . . . A culturally responsive curriculum recognizes cultural knowledge as part of a living and constantly adapting system that is grounded in the past, but continues to grow through the present and into the future . . . The cultural standards are predicated on the belief that a firm grounding in the heritage language and culture indigenous to a particular place is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of culturally-healthy students and communities associated with that place. Attention to the local language, culture and place are essential ingredients for identifying the appropriate qualities and practices associated with culturally responsive educators, curricula and schools. Though the emphasis is on rural schools serving Native communities, many of the standards are applicable to all students and communities because they focus curricular attention on in-depth study of the surrounding physical and cultural environment in which the school is situated. Such an emphasis acknowledges the unique contribution that indigenous people can make to such study as long-term inhabitants who have accumulated extensive specialized knowledge related to that environment. By shifting the focus in the curriculum from teaching/learning about cultural heritage as another subject, to teaching/learning in the local culture as a foundation for all education, it is intended that all forms of knowledge, ways of knowing and world views be recognized as equally valid, adaptable and complementary to one another in mutually beneficial ways. A draft version of the cultural standards for teachers, students, curriculum and schools has appeared in previous issues of Sharing Our Pathways. The following is the final set focusing on cultural standards for communities. A complete set of the newly-adopted cultural standards, as well as curriculum resources and technical support to implement the kind of learning experiences encouraged in culturally responsive schools, may be found through the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web site located at http://www.uaf.edu/ankn, or call (907) 474-5897. Cultural Standards for Communities A. A culturally supportive community incorporates the practice of local cultural traditions in its everyday affairs. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. provides respected Elders with a place of honor in community functions; 2. models culturally appropriate behavior in the day-to-day life of the community; 3. utilizes traditional child-rearing and parenting practices that reinforce a sense of identity and belonging; 4. organizes and encourages participation of members from all ages in regular community-wide, family-oriented events; 5. incorporates and reinforces traditional cultural values and beliefs in all formal and informal community functions. B. A culturally supportive community nurtures the use of the local heritage language. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. recognizes the role that language plays in conveying the deeper aspects of cultural knowledge and traditions; 2. sponsors local heritage language immersion opportunities for young children when they are at the critical age for language learning; 3. encourages the use of the local heritage language whenever possible in the everyday affairs of the community including meetings, cultural events, print materials and broadcast media; 4. assists in the preparation of curriculum resource material in the local heritage language for use in the school; 5. provides simultaneous translation services for public meetings where persons unfamiliar with the local heritage language are participants. C. A culturally supportive community takes an active role in the education of all its members. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. encourages broad-based participation of parents in all aspects of their children's education, both in and out of school; 2. insures active participation by community members in reviewing all local, regional and state initiatives that have bearing on the education of their children; 3. encourages and supports members of the local community who wish to pursue further education to assume teaching and administrative roles in the school; 4. engages in subsistence activities, sponsors cultural camps and hosts community events that provide an opportunity for children to actively participate in and learn appropriate cultural values and behavior; 5. provides opportunities for all community members to acquire and practice the appropriate knowledge and skills associated with local cultural traditions. D. A culturally supportive community nurtures family responsibility, sense of belonging and cultural identity. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. fosters cross-generational sharing of parenting and child-rearing practices; 2. creates a supportive environment for youth to participate in local affairs and acquire the skills to be contributing members of the community; 3. adopts the adage, "It takes the whole village to raise a child." E. A culturally supportive community assists teachers in learning and utilizing local cultural traditions and practices. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. sponsors a cultural orientation camp and community mentoring program for new teachers to learn about and adjust to the cultural expectations and practices of the community; 2. encourages teachers to make use of facilities and expertise in the community to demonstrate that education is a community-wide process involving everyone as teachers; 3. sponsors regular community/school potlucks to celebrate the work of students and teachers and to promote on-going interaction and communication between teachers and parents; 4. attempts to articulate the cultural knowledge, values and beliefs that it wishes teachers to incorporate into the school curriculum; 5. establishes a program to insure the availability of Elders' expertise in all aspects of the educational program in the school. F. A culturally supportive community contributes to all aspects of curriculum design and implementation in the local school. A community that meets this cultural standard: 1. takes an active part in the development of the mission, goals and content of the local educational program; 2. promotes the active involvement of students with Elders in the documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge through a variety of print and multimedia formats; 3. facilitates teacher involvement in community activities and encourages the use of the local environment as a curricular resource; 4. promotes parental involvement in all aspects of their child's educational experience. | |
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Statewide Upcoming Events:* The Alaska Native Education Council will be meeting in Anchorage on October 5-7, 1997 at the Westcoast International Inn. * AFN Elders' and Youth Conference begins on October 20-22, 1997 in Anchorage. * AFN Conference begins half day October 22 and continues all day October 23-25, 1997 in Anchorage. * AFN Reception and Banquet is on October 25, 1997. * Annual AFN Arts & Crafts Fair is from October 23 through 25th, 1997. * Festival of Native Arts Logo/Poster Contest entries due October 15, 1997. Send entries to Festival of Native Arts, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 756300, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6300 or call (907) 474-7181 for information, rules and guidelines. * QUYANA ALASKA-Native Dance group performance is on October 22 at the Egan Center in Anchorage. * Commissioner Holloway announced that a search has begun for the 1998 Alaska Teacher of the Year. Nominees must be from an Alaska public school; school districts submitting nominations locally with the help of a selection team made up of parent, administration, teacher, student and business or community leader. Nominations can be made to the local selection team by any Alaska citizen. These should be sent into the Department of Education no later than October 24, 1997. There are many excellent teachers in our midst; let's let others know who they are and spotlight them. * The following are tentative weeks for the fall regional meetings. Check with your regional coordinator to confirm: September 29, Southeast Region; October 13, Yupik Region; October 27, Athabascan Region; November 17, Iñupiaq Region; December 1, Aleut/Alutiiq Region | |
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Students Attend AISES Camp 97 by Claudette Bradley-Kawagley:Students attended the World Indian Eskimo Olympics, Chena Hot Springs Resort as well as hiking trails and touring the Ft. Knox Gold Mine. Playing basketball in the Student Recreation Center was a popular activity during free time. Cruising the Web in the library computer room was another popular recreation choice of some students. Minnie Salmon of Chalkyitsik teaches beadwork to AISES students (counterclockwise) Clifford Cleaver of Galena, Patuk Glenn of Barrow and Alvina Petruski of Beaver. ooooooooo Classroom instruction included Tessellation Mathematics with Claudette Bradley-Kawagley, Native Ways of Sciencing with Oscar Kawagley, Village Science Application with Alan Dick and the Science Projects class with Larry Duffy. Elective classes included: Aurora Science with George Olanna, Athabascan Skin House with Rita O'Brien, Gwich'in Games with Caroline Tritt-Frank and Poetry and Drawing with Travis Cole. "This morning in class (Village Science Application) we learned how to tie knots. We learned how to tie boats and tie skins together to make a skin boat. . . . This morning in Math we made Tessellations. And in another class (Native Ways of Sciencing) we had to get a rock from the ground; look at it one and a half minutes . . . in a circle close our eyes . . . feel the rocks . . . if we don't think its our (rock) pass it on, if we think its ours keep (it) . . . We opened our eyes and check we have our rocks." -Kevin Luther of Noatak Rita and Fred Alexander were the elders-in-residence and provided cultural and spiritual leadership for the students during their eight-day stay at the UAF campus. They provided the opening prayers during orientation, the spiritual leadership during the male and female talking circles and also an Athabascan singing and drumming session with Travis Cole at the Natural Sciences Building. Travis Cole of Allakaket was the artist-in-residence whose talents include poetry, drawing, drumming, singing and dancing the Athabascan way. Travis read his poetry during orientation and taught poetry and drawing in his elective course. His leadership in teaching in Athabascan songs and dancing was invaluable. "I can't wait to dance again . . . Every time I close my eyes I can hear Travis' voice in my mind singing that song, loud and powerful. I'm really interested in singing and dancing." -Rose Alexia of Nickolai. At Howard Luke's Camp students continued academic classes in the great outdoors. The mathematics class became the science projects class. Students had cultural sessions with the elders, played volleyball and had chores like cutting wood, washing dishes and hauling the water. "I really like this place. It was a good place for us to learn new things." -Mary Jones of Noatak "This camp is really good. Mostly liked the beading, carving, and song and dances." -Mary Burns of Noatak "I liked this camp and talking (to) Howard (Luke) and Jonathan (David of Minto). They are funny . . . I want to do more culture classes." -Clifford Cleaver of Galena. "What's good at Howard Luke camp? The food, outdoor activities, dancing in Elders Hall, the rope class, sauna, talking with elders, potlatch, berry picking and drawing contest." -Charlene Kallman of Anchorage Students had opportunity to work on science projects, which they will continue in their villages. Each student will enter their projects in one of the two science fairs scheduled for November 20-22, 1997. Students in the Interior will enter projects in Fairbanks and students in the Arctic Region will enter projects in Ambler. "I learned about other peoples science projects as well as how I could improve my science project . . . My project was about temperature of ice cellars and how it would change if the temperature would change outside." -Patuk Glenn of Barrow. A potlatch with giveaway and Athabascan dancing brought closure to the three weeks of Fairbanks AISES Science Camp 97. Students proudly wore their newly beaded headbands and danced rhythmically to the drum of Travis Cole. The enthusiasm and good feelings were transferred in packing and cleaning up the camp in preparation to go home. "I really don't want to leave but I really want to see my parents . . . Since I got to Howard Luke's Camp it seems like I known all my friends for so long . . . it is really hard to leave all my friends behind and go home and see my family because I am really homesick." -Cynthia Melovidov of St. Paul Thanks to AISES and AKRSI for funding this camp and the many in-kind supporters. The students and the camp staff are truly grateful for your support and funds for the Fairbanks AISES Science Camp 97. A BIG thank you to the organizations and individuals who helped make this year's AISES camp a success: F NANA Regional Corporation F Cominco F Noatak Search and Rescue F Noatak Lions Club F Frontier Air Service F Bering Air F Kawarak F Warbelow's Air Adventures F Wright Air F Larry's Air Service F Arctic Slope Regional Corporation F Native Village of Barrow F Louden Village Council F Top of the Kuskokwim school F Aleut Corporation F Tanagdusix Corporation F The Central Bering Sea Fisherman's Association F Beaver Village Council F McDonald's Restaurants F Ft. Knox Gold Mine F National Bank of Alaska F Alyeska Pipeline Corp. | |
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Students Sail Into Learning by Cheryl Pratt:Our trek brought us to Clifford Weyiouanna, a respected village Elder and resident of Shishmaref, Alaska who had agreed to meet us there. Beside him, resting upside down, was his large boat frame upheld three feet high from the ground on two driftwood stands. The wooden structure, about 16 feet in length and nearly 6 feet wide across the center is held together with nails and metal rings. The wood is notched in places to keep the joints tight. Hanging in small black strips from beneath the nails we found remnants of the skin that had been used to cover the frame, long ago cut away. The children ran their hands across the dark strips of wood and easily slipped under the nearly seventy year old upside-down skeleton. They peered through the openings and explored the underside touching nearly every part. Independently and in small groups, some children role played through their experiences of boating, hunting and fishing. Some quietly explored the surrounding area, comfortably exploring a small creek which ran beside the boat and last year's tall grass standing among the green spring shoots. After a short period of exploration the kids began to ask Cliff some questions about the boat. They wondered how it could ever float and what happened to the seats. Clifford did not answer their questions at first and smiled at the humor he found within them. He enjoyed watching them play while carefully giving attention to their safety. Clifford began by answering some of their questions and then using the questions to lead into further information and discussion. The children were interested and very responsive adding in comments of surprise and appreciation. Clifford described the covers that were used to wrap the frame. He spoke of the times he ventured out in the boat with his family as a five-year-old boy and showed the students the part of the boat that he used to sleep in near the bow. He talked about the number of people involved in the outings and the length of time they would stay out. He remembered the hunting, the work, the roles each person assumed. Cliff talked of oars, motors, metal, wood and skins as he told the children how his boat differs from boats of today. He described the importance and benefits of flexibility in a wood and skin frame. He stressed the amount of work and effort it took to construct such a boat and the costs of today's boats along with their pros and cons. Cliff told of how he has become the owner, having the boat passed down to him from his father and expressed his desire to someday restore the boat and take it out once again into the sea. He told the children that the boat belongs in the water and that someday he would like to see it again riding the waves, heading out for a hunting trip. The way in which he spoke made one feel as if the old boat would journey again someday. The boat had long pieces of wood laid through the ribs from one side to the other. Cliff showed them how these rods are used for drying racks in the summer and fall by placing a tarp over the frame to keep out the rain and the birds. The students had a few more questions for Cliff. They wondered if he wore his lifejacket and what he hunted for? They wanted to know when he was going to take the boat out again and if they could go with him? They wanted to know how to make a boat and asked me if they could try. The children told us about some of their boating experiences. They talked about their boats and their speed. Some of the children knew the brand and number of their motors. They spoke about fishing and camping and picking berries up the river. They talked about their fathers and uncles and grandfathers going hunting. After a time of more playing and exploring Cliff asked us if we would like a ride back to the school. We accepted and loaded in his long wooden sled pulled by his snow machine. He drove out onto the still frozen Chukchi Sea and we bounced along back toward town. We all thanked Cliff and told him good-bye. Back at school the children worked with different types of media to make boats out of wood, pipe cleaners, metal, foil, cloth, paper and clay. We tried some of the boats in the water table to see if they would float and used marbles to see how much they could hold. The day had proved to be very interesting and fun. Several days later, the children still discussed their new-found insights during conversation and continued to improve their model boats, enabling them to float better and to hold more weight. We enjoyed working with Cliff and appreciated the opportunity to incorporate more of the Native culture into each day as Clifford served as a vessel of knowledge on that special day. Left to right: Pearl Goodhope, Faye Okpowruk, Helen Marie Eningwuk and Gilford Iyatunguk looking toward the past. | |
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Students' Fall and Winter Hunting and Gathering by Maurice McGinty:Students Fall & Spring Activities Every September for the past four years I've been bringing the high school boys from the Andrew K. Demoski School moose hunting. This past fall I brought the entire high school-boys and girls. It was a real nice trip and a learning experience on how to deal with thirty-six students going in three or four different directions. On our second day out a bull moose came out on the sand bar across from the camp; the older boys crossed over with the boat and shot it. They returned to camp and brought the rest of the younger boys over and showed them how to skin, butcher and hang the meat the way I've been showing them for the past three years. Later the girls went up on a small hill behind the camp and picked cranberries with Tammy, a teacher who helped me chaperone the girls. While the girls picked berries, the boys tried their luck fishing for sheefish; we did catch a couple. After we returned to Nulato the students held a potlatch for the community with the moose meat. They made fish ice cream with the sheefish and used the cranberries in the ice cream. I am extremely proud of these students and I can only hope their parents and guardians feel the same way. | |
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Subsistence and Contaminants by Tauni Rodgers, Jeff Dickson, Molly Patton and Larry Duffy:Senka Paul, a former University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) student who works as a grant writer for Tribal Services, obtained a small grant from the National Institute of Health through the University of Washington Ecogenetics Center to begin baseline measurements. Collection sites for freshwater fish were at fishing and ice-fishing sites in the Y-K rivers with subsistence users donating fish for the study. The collection of fish was managed by the Y-K Health Corporation Office of Environmental Health and Engineering (OEHE). Results of this preliminary study have given state and federal officials more information to design future studies. Of the sixty-six fish sampled, sixteen (mostly pike) were found above the 0.2 parts per million (ppm) level of concern set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But these results are below the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards of 1.0 ppm and lower than most mercury levels of fish found in the lower 48 states. It's believed a diet consisting of large fish (greater than 20 inches) eaten twice a week is not a cause for concern. The main concern of neuroscientists and toxicologists for the levels of mercury observed in a few of the fish in this study is on the development of a healthy human fetus. The most sensitive time is during the first three months of pregnancy (first trimester). Pregnant women should not worry about eating pike. At this time it is not recommended eating large pike seven days a week. It is not known how much mercury is passed on to humans. Physicians within the Y-K Health Corporation are working with the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia to address this issue. It should be noted that there is likely a positive effect from eating fish oils. Studies have shown fish oils block the uptake of mercury. There are many interactions between diet and mercury absorption, with fish protein, Vitamin E and Vitamin * possibly modifying the toxicity. About the Authors Tauni Rodgers is the lab supervisor for OEHE in Bethel, Alaska. Larry Duffy coordinates the Partners-in-Science program for the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative and is a member of UAF's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Molly Patton is an Environmental Health Specialist with Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks. Jeff Dickson is a Public Health Service (PHS) sanitarian working for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, OEHE in Bethel. | |
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Subsistence Curriculum Resources on CD!:For information on how to obtain the ANKN Subsistence CD Pre-released version, contact Sean Topkok, 474-5897 or email Sean.Topkok@uaf.edu. | |
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Sugtestun Immersion Workshop in Nanwalek by Olga Pestrikoff:The main message they brought to participants is that immersion is the only real model of teaching a language with the quickest, most effective results in teaching actual conversational language to the point of fluency. Very frequently language programs teach the target language through reading, writing and analysis using grammar lessons. Some people who are able to learn second languages in this manner usually tend to apply mental translation and analysis forever. They use their first language to think then translate their speaking to the new one. The way to speak fluently is by being surrounded and involved in listening and speaking the language, which gives the language power. The two components necessary in acquiring a language are motivation and opportunity. Motivation is driven by an interest and a need. Opportunity includes the actual learning of the language as well as consistent, meaningful and relevant use of the language as a method of communication. Striving to retain and regenerate an indigenous language necessitates creative attention in light of this global society in which we presently live. Various actual workshop experiences helped to give a clear picture of the most effective method of teaching and learning a second language by the method called Total Physical Response. Experiences included lecture, actual lessons, participant presentations, videos, discussion and small group planning of specific language activities by community members. An actual theme plan based on the subsistence calendar was one of the documents drafted by the close of the workshop. During the evenings we enjoyed ourselves too. Some people fished, picked salmonberries, went four-wheeling, enjoyed extensive walks on the beach, watched a mountain goat, beaded and danced. Overall, it was a very productive and enjoyable week. | |
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Summer '99 Camps:The following camps are those we had information on when preparing this newsletter. Please verify information with the contact listed. Summer 1999 Ilisagvik Camp Upper Kobuk: Ambler, Shungnak, Kobuk Contact: Ambler Traditional Council (907) 445-2196 Yupiit Camp Mini Fish Camp near Akiachak Contact: Sophie Kasayulie (907) 825-4427 SWRSD Camp Near Manokotak Contact: Dana Bartman (907) 289-1013 April 30-May 2 Squirrel Spring Camp (Teachers-Elders) Picnic Beach Contact: Esther Ilutsik (907) 842-3502 May-June Yup'ik Immersion Camp Akiachak, Akiak, Tuluksak Contact: Sophie Kasayulie (907) 825-4428 1st week of June Koyukon-Athabaskan Language & Culture Camp, Koyukuk Contact: Eliza Jones (907) 927-2205 June 12-19 Old Minto Cultural Heritage Camp Old Minto Contact: Robert Charlie (907) 451-0923 June 21-30 1999 Pike Spit Cultural Camp, Kotzebue Contact: Elmer Goodwin (907) 442-3341 July 4-30 Sivunniugvik (Spirit Camp Kobuk River) Contact: Aqqaluk Trust c/o NANA (907) 442-3301 July 5-17 Southeast Regional Science Camp 99 Sitka at Dog Point Incoming 7th, 8th, and 9th grade girls Contact: Andy Hope, fnah@uaf.edu (907) 465-8776 July 7-21 Fairbanks AISES Science Camp 99 Howard Luke Camp Incoming 7th, 8th, and 9th grades Contact: Dixie Dayo, fndmd1@uaf.edu (907) 474-5086 July 11-15 & July 15-20 KANA Spirit Camp (not an AKRSI camp) Sitkalidak Island near Old Harbor 10-18 year olds Contact: Val Pillans or Gwen Kwachka at KANA, (800) 478-5721 July 18-24 & July 25-31 Academy of Elders/AISES Science Camp Katenai, Afognak Island Incoming 2nd-12th graders Contact: Teri Schneider, tschneider@ kodiak.alaska.edu (907) 486-9031 July 25-30 Frosty Peak Camp, Cold Bay Contact: Allison Young (907) 276-2700 August Kashunamiut Elder Academy Chevak Contact: John Pingayak (907) 858-7712 August 2-14 Southeast Regional Science Camp 99 Sitka at Dog Point Incoming 7th, 8th, and 9th grades boys Contact: Andy Hope, fnah@uaf.edu (907) 465-8776 August 9-20 St. Paul Stewardship Science Camp St. Paul Island 7th-12th grades Contact: Mike Kurth, (907) 546-2222, ext 1 Karin Holser, (907) 546-3190 August 16-21 Camp Qungaayux, Unalaska Contact: Harriet Berikoff (907) 581-2920 September 20-26 Aleknagik Cultural Camp Camp Polaris Contact: Esther Ilutsik (907) 842-3502 | |
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Summer Camps in the NANA Region by Rachel Craig:In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a concerted effort in Alaska to affect land claims from the federal government. At the same time, our leadership was trying to upgrade the quality of life by making available government public housing for its citizens as well as water and sewer, electricity, telephones and television. Soon they found out that these improvements required payments and so available jobs became important in the lives of our citizens. Somehow, in all this "busyness", a negative social malaise was developing in our society which the leadership was too busy to notice until it was upon us. For the first time in our history, we began to attend funerals quite regularly of young people who had committed suicide. Suicides had never been a part of our cultural history and we really didn't know how to react to them except with mixed emotions of horror, embarrassment and disbelief. Those of us who were fortunate enough to hear the elders tell stories understood that a long life was a gift from the Creator for living according to the advice of the elders. Somewhere along the way there were barriers preventing our children from hearing the stories told to us by our elders. Some of these reasons were educational policies by the federal government others were results of that policy-where the parents didn't know enough of the cultural stories to pass them on to the next generation, or the parents one-sided knowledge as a result of their education trying very hard to succeed in the Western cultural world that they read and heard about. Whatever the real reason, we were rudely and shockingly awakened to our responsibilities to bring some kind of balance to our lives. The subsequent community meetings that ensued saw the listing of our cultural values that our elders say we should never forget. The list included knowledge of language, sharing, respect for others, cooperation, respect for elders, love for children, hard work, knowledge of family tree, avoid conflict, respect for nature, spirituality, humor, family roles, hunter success, domestic skills, humility and responsibility to tribe. In other meetings, our elders said we should include thankfulness, honesty and treat everyone the same. These cultural values help us to get along with our neighbors anywhere in the world, not to mention being blessed to live a long life. After some group discussion, there were some tasks that we decided to take on to give a better cultural balance to our educational experience. First, we traveled to all of the villages to see if elders agree that the cultural values that we came up with were as their forefathers had taught them. The challenge of the village meeting was to see if the community would create an elders' council that the community could come to for consultation on any subject they wished to discuss with the elders. This elders' council advice would be the basis upon which decisions would be made affecting our community life. Other decisions that were made were that we would have five "Inupiaq Days" in all of the village schools on those months when no major community activity was planned. This meant that in September, October, January, February and April the village grandmothers and grandfathers would be the instructors of the day in the regular school classrooms on the traditional Inupiaq culture. We found that this exercise instilled pride in the students when their own grandmothers and grandfathers were instructing the class, that there was less vandalism in the village, less truancy in school and the grade point averages shot upward. In bigger schools like Kotzebue, three Inupiaq Days are planned to service the whole school in that month-grades K-2, 3-6 and 7-12. The Inupiaq Days are planned and geared to the education level of the students and both certified instructors and students learn what to them is "new material." Because of the school policies, most of the instruction is academic and this brings us to the role of the summer camps in our children's lives. Manillaq Association had a summer camp project that some of our youth attended. After the community meetings, the regional elders (made up of the presidents of the village elders' councils) advised us with the assistance of the NANA Corporation that the northern part of the Kobuk River Delta would be an excellent place for a camp since it was not encumbered with Native allotments, that the site was high enough to escape inundation from spring flooding and that berry picking, fishing and hunting were accessible. There was enough flat construction area to put in a central cooking/dining/meeting building, and to erect some log cabins for the camp staff and tents for camping children. This was in the days of the oil boom and the legislature of the State of Alaska was very receptive and helpful to us. The Alaska Humanities Forum funded our proposals until they felt that we were not adding anything new and that they could not keep funding the camp indefinitely. Since the public sources dried up, we have been holding fund raisers (sock hops, biathlons, etc.) and the NANA Corporation and the Northwest Arctic Borough have subsidized the operations. All of our staff of elder instructors are volunteers, receiving per diem and travel to and from the camp. The other volunteers are paid by their employers while they assist at the camp, and some are parents who just want to help in the worthwhile project. The only paid employees we have at the camp are the cooks. Orientation of the staff before the beginning of the camping session is very helpful to help set the stage for the overall objectives of the camp experience for the children. The camp director has a daily meeting with the staff every evening to plan for the next day. A camp nurse or tribal doctor is essential for any eventuality leading to the well-being of the children. The first day at camp the campers get a big dose of orientation for the week and expectations of the staff for their behavior and hoped for accomplishments. Working at camp with many children is a lot of work but there is a lot of satisfaction when the hoped-for objectives are met. In addition to Camp Sivunnlugvik (a place for planning), the Upper Kobuk people have also established a summer camp which they call Ilisagvik (a place for learning). They are planning a dedication ceremony of the new camp soon, at which time the facility will be turned over to them. The Kotzebue Elders' Council is also sponsoring a seal hunting camp which will be set up at Riley Wreck (Kanjilik, its traditional place name.) I imagine this will be for the older young people including some young married people who never had a chance to learn to hunt seal because their parents were too busy working when they were raising their children. In addition to seal hunting, the camp site abounds with whitefish, berries and greens. We hope that they will use pulling dogs to fetch water and haul firewood in their boats. This is an excellent way to keep costs down and learn self-sufficiency. These sites were chosen by the elders because they felt that the young people could learn Inupiaq values by living in the traditional way. The elders give the youth an opportunity to learn how to become self-sufficient while practicing how to be a good neighbor: keeping busy working and listening to the elders, always getting ready for tomorrow, for next week, for next month, for next season, for next year. This is how we think the summer camps can be beneficial for the lives of our families. Rachel Craig P. O. Box 1110 Kotzebue, AK 99752 Best Wishes Rachel! Rachel Craig will be retiring in July and moving with her husband to the state of Washington. However, all is not lost, Rachel plans to stay involved in Native issues pertaining to Alaska. As Rachel says, "Airfares from Seattle to Anchorage are friendlier than from Kotzebue to Anchorage anyway." We'll miss you Rachel and best wishes on your retirement! | |
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Summer Institute for Educators:"Observing Locally, Connecting Globally" Summer Institute for Educators July 31-Aug 11, 2000 Observing Locally, Connecting Globally is a longterm NSF-funded science education project based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. We invite you to participate in our first institute to be held at UAF July 31 to August 11. Participants will receive training in GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment), current best practices in science education and the integration of local and traditional knowledge into environmental studies. The goal of this program is to support and enhance global change research generated by grades 5-12 doing local investigations in classrooms across Alaska. It will be supported by the integration of Native and locally-relevant knowledge and community and university scientists. Anyone working with grades 5-12 is welcome. We are encouraging teams of educators from rural Alaska and those working with a large number of Native students. Cost: $75 (subsidized by the National Science Foundation) Travel assistance and per diem available on an application basis Credit: 3 credits, NRM 595 or ED 595 Instructors: Dr. Elena Sparrow, Dr. Leslie Gordon, Sidney Stephens. Fill out the application and return by May 1, 2000 (It can be found at http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/olcg.) Please return application to: Elena Sparrow University of Alaska Fairbanks 303 O'Neill Building PO Box 757200 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7200 (907) 474-7699 FAX (907) 474-6461 email: ffebs@uaf.edu | |
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SUMMER INSTITUTE ON LEARNING STYLES:Dr. Sue Ellen Read Nationally Recgonized Educator, Northeastern Oklahoma University Director of Oklahoma Institute for Learnin Styles (OIL) May 24–June 4, 2004 4 credits available (500 level) for $110 per student Sponsored by Association of Interior Native Educators For more information, contact Sheila Vent, 459-2141, email vents@doyon.com. LEARNING STYLES SUMMER INSTITUTE ON | |
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Symbolic Immortality: The Tlingit Potlatch of the 19th Century:Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989, 420 pp., $32.50, Reviewed by Andy Hope "By overcoming the compartmentalization of socio-cultural reality, prominent in Northwest Coast ethnology, this study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the Tlingit mortuary complex and, through it, of the major aspects of the nineteenth century Tlingit culture." -Sergei Kan Sergei Kan was born in Russia in 1954. He emigrated to the US with his family in 1974, received his undergraduate degree from Boston University in 1976, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1982. Kan currently teaches anthropology in the Native American Studies Department at Dartmouth College. Kan first came to Alaska in 1979 to do field work for his doctoral dissertation, which initially addressed the theme of spiritual interaction between the Tlingit and the Russian Orthodox missionaries. He eventually changed his dissertation theme to address the Tlingit mortuary cycle. He has translated, interpreted and written about heretofore unavailable ethnographic and church records. His writings on the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church among the Tlingit are noteworthy and have appeared in various anthropological and ethnohistorical journals. In addition Kan has also translated and written an introduction and commentary to Indians of Alaska by Anatolii Kamenskii. His missionization writings are particularly important for purposes of balancing the historical record on the Tlingit response to Westernization at the turn of the century. As he says in Memory Eternal: Russian Orthodoxy and the Tlingit Mortuary Complex: After the Tlingit of Sitka and several other communities converted to Orthodoxy in the late 19th century, their mortuary rites became more standardized, since the Orthodox Church managed to impose some of its demands on the Natives. However, while the form of Tlingit death-related rituals changed significantly by the 1900s, the indigenous interpretations of their meaning was, in many respects, continuous with the pre-Christian values and beliefs. To use, Sahlins (1981) terminology, we could describe this as the reproduction rather than the transformation of Tlingit culture. Kan was adopted by the Kookhittaan (Box House) clan of the Eagle moiety of the Tlingit in 1980. His Tlingit name is Shaakundaast'oo. He has participated in a number of Kookhittaan sponsored potlatches in the last ten years. Kan's work transcends the ideological bias that diminishes much of the anthropological literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. In his Handbook of North American Indian, Robert Berkhofer notes: Description by deficiency all too readily led to characterization, and so most of the White studies of Indian cultures were (and are) also examinations of Indian character. Later White understandings of the Indian, like that of earlier explorers and settlers, expressed moral judgments upon lifeways as well as presented their description, or mixed ideology with ethnography, to use modern terms. In his writings on the Tlingit, Kan utilizes the Tlingit orthography developed in the early part of this century by Louis Shotridge, a Tlingit, and by the white anthropologist, Franz Boaz. It was refined in the late 1950s by Constance Naish and Gillian Story, missionaries affiliated with Wycliffe Bible Institute. Others who have contributed to the development of Tlingit orthography include Michael Krauss and Jeff Leer of the Alaska Native Language Center, and Richard and Nora Dauenhauer of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation. Orthographic usage may seem like a minor point, but most anthropologists writing on the Tlingit have chosen to improvise their own spelling systems which has produced a confusing body of work. Among those choosing improvisation are Philip Drucker, Viola Garfield, Erna Gunther, Edward Keithan, Kalvero Oberg, and Ronald Olson. Kan discusses a number of 'root concepts' or root customs of Tlingit culture in Symbolic Immortality. Some examples are: Shagoon: An individual's or a matrilineal group's ancestors, heritage, origin, and destiny. Crests: Named entities or objects, usually referring to animals, that were owned by matrilineal groups who were privileged to represent them on totem poles, house fronts, ceremonial headdresses and robes, and certain other objects of material culture. Many of the clan's distinctions and prerogatives, including names, songs, houses, and ceremonial calls, were felt to be associated with totemic crests. Mountain spirits: The location of the domain of the dead on the mountain side, behind and above that of the living was not an accident. The interior, where the rivers flowing down to the coast began their course, was believed to have been the original home of the Tlingit, prior to their migration down to the seashore. It was also the home to which Raven retired, having performed all of the acts of creation. Thus the deceased retraced the mythical journey of his ancestors, traveling back in space as well as time. In addition, as we have seen, the interior was the direction of the rising sun and rebirth. The origin of the custom of offering food, water, clothing, and other gifts to the dead: The custom of inviting the dead to the potlatch was believed to have been established by Raven himself during the time when he was shaping the world into its present form. The only recorded account of this event could be found in Veniaminov: "The Tlingit say that they hold the memorial feasts for their deceased relatives because when Yeil (Raven) was living among them he at one time invited the spirits of the dead to his house as guests. When they had assembled, he placed various dishes in front of them, but nobody touched them, though the host pressed the food upon his guests very assiduously. Finally one of the guests said to him. 'Host, your guests cannot eat this way. If you wish them to eat, then place everything in the fire and then see what happens.' At once the host did as he was told, and when the food began to burn, he saw clearly that the guests were eating and were very pleased. However, after they had departed, he found that everything-the dishes and food therein-had been left intact. Therefore, nowadays the Tlingit hold the memorial feasts for their departed relatives, in order to feed them. The difference is that they throw only a small portion into the fire and (their guests) eat the rest." The origin of the fire dishes: The close "opposites" (paternal/affinal kin of the deceased) were the primary candidates for this crucial ritual service. Hence they were fed first and received the choicest food. They were also presented with a special dish referred to as gan kas'is'i or x'aan kas'is'i, "fire dish." Each fire dish contained the favorite food of a certain deceased member of the host group and was given to his spouse or other close opposites, who used to share his meals while he was alive. Sergei Kan has done a fine job of synthesizing source materials in Symbolic Immortality. This book will undoubtedly become a standard reference on the Tlingit. | |
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Tatitlek Students Work with Smithsonian on Alutiiq CD-ROM:Arctic Studies Center, Alaska Region Office Through a project carried out last spring by the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center (Anchorage) and the Chugach School District, students at Tatitlek Community School explored their culture, learned new computer skills and produced an interactive computer program that features color photographs, Sugcestun language terms and information about a variety of objects made by the Alutiiq people. To create the HyperStudio program, high school students Kelly Kompkoff, Jo-Ann Vlasoff, Jason Totemoff and Marcia Totemoff first talked with elders in the community and studied extensive documentary materials prepared by Arctic Studies Center researcher Dee Hunt. With the guidance of teacher Dennis Moore and Chugach School District consultant Mel Henning, they then scanned in photographs, prepared texts, and programmed a computerized "exhibit" that lets viewers learn about masks, clothing and other beautiful and interesting museum pieces that were made in Prince William Sound, Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula more than a century ago. The 20 objects studied by the Tatitlek students now reside at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., but will be coming to Alaska in 1999 as part of a traveling exhibition called Looking Both Ways: History, Culture, and Identity of the Alutiiq People. The exhibition is being planned by the Arctic Studies Center in partnership with the Alutiiq Museum and Native organizations throughout the Alutiiq region. The Tatitlek project was fun, exciting and interesting for the four students, and gave them a chance to learn more about what goes into the production of multimedia for computers. In accordance with the Arctic Studies Center's educational and research mission, I am interested in working with the Rural Systemic Initiative and individual school districts to consider similar projects elsewhere in Alaska. In addition, a much larger educational CD-ROM, which will include more than 250 Alutiiq, Yup'ik and Dena'ina objects purchased by Smithsonian collector William Fisher between 1879-1894, is currently under development at the Arctic Studies Center in Anchorage and will be available within two years for nonprofit distribution to schools, cultural centers, museums and libraries. Chugach School District assistant superintendent Rich DeLorenzo, who has presented the Tatitlek project at statewide educational meetings, supported the program as a way to help village students connect not only with their cultural traditions, but with the fast-changing world of computer technology. In-kind support from Mark Standley at Apple Computer is gratefully acknowledged. | |
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TCC Mentor/Apprentice Learning Program by Beth Leonard:A total of seven apprentices will be hired: three for Deg Hit'an and Holikachuk; two for central/lower Koyukon, and two for Upper Kuskokwim. Apprentices must take an active role in guiding the course of their learning. Mentors will work intensively one-on-one with their apprentice to help them develop comprehension and speaking skills (fluency) in one of the referenced Athabascan languages. For more information about this program, contact: Beth Leonard, Mentor/Apprentice Program Coordinator Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc. (907) 452-8251, ext. 3286 bleonard@tananachiefs.org | |
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