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 Contact information in earlier issues could be outdated.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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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 |
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Aleut Region by Leona Kitchens:The Pribilof Island School District is planning to hold an American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) summer camp on St. George Island. They are excited about the plans to send students from St. Paul to live with host families for two weeks. The focus for the camp will be to immerse students in the tanning of sealskins and the kinds of science fair activities they might be able to use for this year's science fair. The plans are to engage students, Elders, teachers, and scientists in the camp. We're looking for lots of future scientists from this enthusiastic group of young people! The Unalaska Public Schools will be holding their first ever summer camp this summer. The plans are to hold a week-long camp for their students in August on the island of Unalaska. The focus for the camp is to add a place names map to the Kodiak/Aleutians Cultural Atlas CD-ROM. Students will focus on documenting and mapping the traditional uses for the area. The school is working to coordinate with the Pribilof Island Association Elders' and teachers' camp as well as the Qawalangin Tribal Council's culture camp, so the activities should be rich and rewarding for everyone who attends. | |
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Alutiiq Update by Teri Schneider:During the first Alaska Native Educators Conference held at Anchorage in February, the Alutiiq people were represented by seven Native educators, four Elders, and various district, tribal and corporate administration. All members successfully worked with other representatives from the Unangan subregion, contributing to and supporting the Cultural Standards document. This served as an awesome document to connect our region with others throughout the state who are developing the same kinds of culturally and environmentally aligned materials, policies and programs. Our unit-building workshop successfully produced the beginnings of three teaching units grounded in the Alutiiq culture, past and present. Three topics were undertaken with guidance from Kit Peixotto and Elders: * Edible Plants of Kodiak Island, * Driftwood, and * Astronomy. This opportunity allowed for a team from the Chugach school district to visit Kodiak and collaborate with another community, sharing a common culture and environment. Completion of these units is scheduled for this fall after the gathering of Alutiiq Elders in September. This summer's camp will take place, once again, at the "Dig Afognak" archaeological site at Katenai Beach on Afognak Island. The Afognak Native Corporation will contract with the Kodiak School District to provide the facilities needed to have an AISES camp, gathering Elders, teachers, and students, to focus on traditional knowledge and Western science. Students will work on projects that can then be completed for Kodiak Island's 1st Annual Rural Science Fair to be held next fall. Overall our school district, Native corporations, Tribal Councils and members of our Native communities, including Elders, educators and parents, have been very responsive to the support given by the AKRSI and the efforts being made statewide to ensure that our children's experiences in school connect with their lives beyond the walls of the buildings. This program, and all of the individuals behind it working collaboratively, are giving us the ability to see and believe in the possibilities of education for our children and their future! | |
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Athabascan Region by Amy Van Hatten:Isn't it a thrill watching a little person's five senses become aware of the outdoor environment? I remember so many thrilling moments when I use to observe my children as toddlers walking around in the woods behind our Fairbanks' home. The questions they asked were not only cute and whimsical but also thought-provoking. Such as the time my daughter was looking up at the sky and saw a long white jet stream formed in a perfectly straight line. She asked, "Mom, how did that rope get up there?" When I used to take rural students out camping, the activities were open-ended and non-threatening to children who didn't know how to make a campfire, draw water, gather wood, cut fish, put up a tent, respect boundaries, plus other variations of certain activities. Often enough the students were responsive once they learned to focus on higher-level thinking skills along with their natural creativeness. Most cultures are familiar with the hard work involved with managing a fish camp. They also have a pretty good idea on which subsistence activities to teach children about traditional uses that nature has provided. The students learn fast on what a typical day is like. These kinds of questions with follow-up activities could usually end up as unique hands-on activities designed to help children question the world around them and to extend what they have learned to their daily life beyond their experience in camp. What is solar heat? Air? Wind? Water? Ask the children around your camp why people like the sun mostly in the summer? Ask them why a smokehouse has open rafters with tarpaulin flaps pulled aside? Why aren't flies around the smokehouse? Why are some swift water currents good and some not so good? HEY! Is this like science? Purpose of camp, location, partners or sponsors, fundraising, target audience, traditional teachers, health and safety instructors, and any other cooperative partners are the main "heart" of the camp experience and success. Coordination efforts are being made to hold science or traditional-based summer camps throughout Alaska between the months of May and July. Many of the annual camps have integrated the two different ways of life. Be a happy camper! May 5-9 Spirit of the Bechoraf Lake Science Camp in King Salmon* Contact: Angie Terrell-Wagner, Fish & Wildlife Service Coordinator, (907) 246-3339 or 246-4250. June 22-29 Ellamek Taringnaurvik The Western Alaska Natural Science Camp in Bethel* Contact: Lorrie Beck, Yukon Delta NWR Coordinator, (907) 543-3151. July Denaa Kkoykaa Hedokdeleen Denh means "Where Our Grandchildren Learn" in Tanana. First week is girls only. Second week is boys only. Third week is for the whole family. Focus is on fishcutting and language. Contact: Donna Folger, Tanana IRA, (907) 366-7160. 6-20 AISES camp at Gaalee'ya Spirit Camp Contact: Claudette Bradley-Kawagley, Interior-Aleutians Campus, (907) 474-5376. 29-24 Nulato Spirit Camp Contact: Sharon Demoski, Tribal Family Youth Service Coordinator, (907) 898-2329 Late July Galena Spiritual Cultural Camp Contact: Louden Village Council, (907) 656-1711. Ruby Spirit Camp Contact: Judy Kangas, TFYS Coordinator, (907) 468-4400 Mansfield Traditional Survival Camp Contact: Debbie Thomas, TFYS Coordinator, (907) 883-5024 August 1-10 The Round Mountain Science Camp in McGrath* Contact: Beverly Skinner, Innoko NWR Coordinator, (907) 524-3251 *Denotes sponsored and coordinated by a National Wildlife Refuge | |
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Caribou-Tuttu -Rangifer Tarandus by Elmer Jackson:Every fall and spring, the tutu travel in the thousands; their fall migration leads to their winter feeding grounds and as spring approaches the females lead the migration north, where they soon give birth. The bulls are the last to arrive; this is the time when their antlers, covered with velvet, begin to grow. The female caribou also grows a set of antlers. The bulls drop their antlers in winter. The female uses her antlers for protection, and to ward off predators. Later in spring, they also drop theirs and before long they begin to grow new velvety antlers. With the arrival of spring they nourish their developing antlers with fresh herbs, willow leaves, and grass. Other food includes sedges, lichens, mosses, and other green plants. The habitat of the tuttu changes like the seasons. Their habitat is in the Arctic tundra and Alpine tundra, near or above the timberline. In winter, they feed in the tundra and taiga forests. They feed on tundra mosses and lichen. They use their large concave hooves to paw through the snow to get to their food. Fantastic Facts Alaska is home to nearly a million caribou in thirty-two herds. Caribou travel greater distances each year than any other land mammal, up to three thousand miles. The Western Arctic caribou herd count is estimated at 340,000. Their migration takes them crossing the Kobuk, Noatak, and Squirrel Rivers; channels, and the Baird and Schwatka Mountains. For many generations they have followed their ancient trails. The caribou are excellent swimmers. Their large concave hooves and hollow hair fibers allow the animal to swim across rivers and streams. The Western Arctic herd crosses every fall at their traditional crossing at a place called Onion Portage. This place is special; it is a place where the Iñupiaq lived thousands of years ago. The implements found there are made from the bones of the tuttu. The caribou have provided the Iñupiat with food and clothing from time immemorial. That is why the Iñupiaq value of sharing and respect for the animal must be taught to the young. Respect for the land and its inhabitants is crucial; the land and water will not be polluted. There are environmental indicators that will show if there are problems in terms of the caribou and people's health. Fact: Acid rain kills lichens and moss, the main winter food for the caribou and reindeer. Many of NANA's reindeer have mingled with the Western Arctic herd. The predators of the caribou are wolves, wolverines, bears, and man. Is it important to keep ours and the caribou's environment pollution-free? Something to think about. What will happen to the caribou if their food source dies? | |
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Dr. Walter Soboleff: Keynote Address to the Alaska Native Educators' Conference, February, 1998:The first wave of change in Alaska came via sailing ships from Russia, England, France, Spain, America, and others over 200 years ago. To these adventurers Alaska must have been a magic picture of overwhelming beauty; the next surprise was to see people in Southeast Alaska coming in canoes to see what this was all about. The ship people had their opinion of the canoe occupants, simple, to be feared, and not their equal; the canoe crew also must have had various ideas of these newcomers who dared to enter the shores of their home. Little did the hosts know the ships' crew represented a civilization with volumes of printed pages, scholars, buildings of learning, cathedrals, teachers, art, governments, and other organizations. Alaska had its style of life amidst the beauty of nature which was their source for every aspect of health and well-being. The early hosts of Alaska, especially in the so-called Panhandle, Southeast Alaska could not offer the arrivals a printed page itemizing who they are: clans and subdivisions, historical development, clan emblems, language, personal names, geography, ceremonies, dances, songs, art, games, medicines, cosmology, healer, prophet, counselor, spiritually monotheistic, and with a philosophy. The hosts of Southeast Alaska shores were tolerant and welcomed ships as long as their resources were not plundered. Children were loved and not allowed to run free and had to have an education in customary and traditional manners. This responsibility came from the clan parents-the first teachers-supported by grandparents and kinfolk. The clan residence, HITT, was the primary school, a home of four or more families; other learning places were the river, berry picking grounds, hunting areas, mountains, bays, ocean, camp sites, rivers, trails, and the community. In other words, the world was their book of knowledge. Each day was a time of learning without sitting at a desk with book, pencil, paper, and a teacher standing before the class taking roll. Daily activities that included lessons using the Native language, observation and careful listening was like a happy experience all day long. Tlingit Native education was a pleasant experience for the family and clan. As indicated in the chart, unstructured classes continued informally in the four seasons of the year. Basic contents of information included, however not limited to: physical training (especially for boys), for all to be economically efficient or sufficient, self-determined, respecting self and others, spiritually responsive, and be a continuous learner. When the United States government and church opened their schools it was not meant to relieve parents as teachers. Many years ago American educators came up with an idea that the school system should be like three partners at work: parents, pupil, and teacher. This is the winning team. It was important for parents to be role models as well as devoted to the family. It is pleasing to know how well the clan thought of their greatest resource: their children. The matriarchal society was the school of learning-all joining willingly as volunteer teachers. Learning was by observing, hearing, and hands-on method. Often grandparents would say, "Come here grandchild, here is a lesson you must remember." An uncle would say, "Nephew, let me show you, this is the way it is done. Now do it right." "Listen, listen, remember what I said," or "Here is the knife, clean that fish like the way you were shown." "Good, good, keep improving." "Listen, listen, remember when you honor yourself, you honor the clan." "Here is a new Tlingit word." "Be a worker, we have no place for lazy people." In speaking with several Tlingit clan members the general education chart should be included yet not limited to the following: legends, history, clan stories and its origin, land ownership, food gathering areas, art, beading, totemic designs, moccasin-making, tanning skins, ceremonies, songs, dances, drumming, facial marks for dances or ceremonies, protocol, clan houses, totem carving, family values, and language. March, April, May Legends, history, clan, family values, preparing hunting and fishing gear, seal hunting, herring spawn, olichan drying and rendering oil (the same for seal), gathering two species of seaweed and cockles, language, boat safety, boat operation, boat upkeep, use of navigational aids, weather observation, rules of the road, Coast Guard boat registration, knowledge of navigational regulations and local geography, family teaching other useful lessons such as subsistence time, repairing or building smokehouse including drying rack and smoke escape, and learning how to set up camp which was usually the summer home. June, July, August Gathering chiton and proper cooking, family values, salmon fishing, canning, berrying, ferment salmon heads, salmon roe required expert preparation to avoid botulism (often fatal food poisoning), language, gathering seagull eggs, wild celery, two species of salmon, thimbleberry sprouts, soapberries, strawberries, salmonberries, blueberries, red huckleberries, thimbleberries, elderberries, highbush cranberries, swampberries, currants, Jacob berries, mountain blueberries, language, and other. September, October, November Legends, history, clan family values, deer, mountain goat, and moose hunting, salmon and meat drying, ferment salmon heads, salmon roe ferment, Coho roe (cheese), making kaxhweich (salmon eggs with crabapple), post funeral ceremonies (peer leader well prepared for traditional oration, taught well by clan leaders), and hunting and fishing gear repaired and stored for the winter. This schedule of subjects may be considered as a starting point for local consideration and revised. The planning should determine subjects required for graduation and fulfilled granting a special certificate noting this achievement. As a constant reminder, an authorized listing of the subjects should be known by the student and teachers at all times and progress noted including a passing mark and date. In general, there is a proper method of handling and preparing foods plus the art of cooking which are all an important part of Native life and learned from the teachers. There is also the important lessons of personal hygiene taught in the men's department and the women's department. Anything that would harm the physical body was not permitted. The maternal uncle was strict and stern in teaching his future leaders. In turn, the nephew would enhance his uncle's position of leadership. Matriarchal strength and wisdom was a source of quality vital to students' success. Native education included the basics for successful participation in a complex society undergirded with a philosophy of balance-this flows well in art forms, orations, and various ceremonies. The Chilkat blanket is an example of balance. Imagine a center line and note how a half matches the other half; also an oration responded to by an oration from the opposite tribe and/or clan. Native education as shared in a traditional manner gave necessary strength to their society. Finally, family values was an aid for strength of character. "E. Goahyuxhghwon": Have courage and no defeat. In promoting Native education, traditional knowledge helped our ancestors live through the ice age, wind, rain, cold, famine, cold sleeping places, not much clothing, bare feet, and a lot of willpower. Through Native education, may we get some of these powerful lessons taught at home and in the school classrooms. We are all Native teachers by example and should volunteer our time to educate our youth in the subjects as outlined in the chart. Native subjects or courses required for grade and high school promotion should be considered by Native educators, parents, and Elders, together with the school board. Including Native subjects is an excellent way to involve the family, relatives, and community. Imagine a mother, father, uncle, grandparent, and other traditional leaders together in an educational venture. Several of the Native subjects are seasonal and should not detract from the regular school year attendance; to do a special course, project, allowance should be made and not abused. The instructor should have the liberty of how to grade. The Native teachers, customary and traditional, will add quality to the program and should be honored accordingly. Yes, yes, this combination with the present school system is a long overdue "winning team." | |
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Integrating Native Ideas through Axax (Dance):Tumin Tanam Awaa is a term in the language of the Aleutian/Pribilof Islanders that translates as "Our Country's Work." This term was used in place of the modern idea of authorship and "owning" what one expresses. It was used most readily in traditional storytelling to remind listeners that the story following this term was a product of the country. This is a wonderful example of indigenous perspective. Dance, a favorite pastime of the Aleuts, is another method of traditional storytelling of a country through its people. Stories of days gone by are passed down through generations by dance. Many times a dance would tell a story better than a song or a narration. Some dances were only for men, some for women, and some for everyone. Passing on a story by dancing was enjoyable and memorable. The expressions of the dance made it easier for stories to stay with the people. The following is a delightful example. Tumin Tanam Awaa One evening some Aleut friends sat chatting before a driftwood fire. The long, Bering Sea twilight faded and though the day had been tiring and all the salmon were not cleaned and hung to dry, the group lingered, fighting off sleep and hoping for a story and a song. The men began teasing young Alex who had fallen out of his iqyax (Aleut kayak) trying to remove a log from a salmon net. Alex always smoked a pipe and had a habit of twitching one eye. As the friends elaborated the incident, accompanied by bursts of laughter, Alex sat gazing into the embers with a broad smile on his face. Suddenly, as if inspired by the need for entertainment, one of the men grabbed Alex's short-stemmed pipe and stood before the group, puffing it and twitching his eyes. "Here's Alex!", he exclaimed and began to dance. The men before the fire laughed in delight. Hearing them, the women and children tumbled out of the ulax (semi-subterranean dwelling) which must have been filled to bursting. They all joined the circle, clapping their hands to the rhythm of the dance steps and shouting the familiar chant: Ayang, ayax! Ayang, Ayax! Back and forth went the dancer, his boots beating the earth. In untaught, but brilliant movement, he told his story with broad comical actions. First, he bent over, pretending to pull a seine. Next, he portrayed the discovering of the log that was in the way. He runs from side to side to show Alex's uncertainty as to what to do. Then he seems to climb into an iqyax and shove off. He paddles furiously, every motion in rhythm with the chant coming from the audience, never forgetting to twitch his eyes and puff on his pipe. The entire happening was portrayed well-the struggle with the log, the grunts, the slow toppling fall into a net full of slippery, fighting salmon, and finally the disgusted wade to shore. Actually the dancer was wringing wet from perspiration which topped off the dance and left the audience falling over with fits of laughter. | |
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New Location for ANKN Website!:http://www.ankn.uaf.edu The move will provide greater flexibility on our pages and, hopefully, speed up your access to the site. Don't worry, we will leave a marker on our former page that will lead you to the new site. Please don't forget to create a new bookmark! | |
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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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Tundra Mouse: A Storyknife Tale:Orchard Books, 1997, 32 pp, $15.95 Reviewed by Esther Ilutsik Tundra Mouse: A Storyknife Tale by Megan McDonald and illustrated by S.D. Schindler is a delightful story. It begins with two Yup'ik girls walking along with the older girl reminding the younger to watch out for mouse holes. The younger girl asks the older girl, "Tell me." So the older girl takes out her storyknife, which in this case is a butterknife, and finds a nice muddy spot along the river and begins. Then as the story progresses you begin to wonder about the author's background. How much does she really know about the Yup'ik culture and about mouse food gathering, because the mouse has only gathered cotton-grass roots and if you ever had experience in finding a mouse cache you would find many different kinds of roots stored in these caches. And then it proceeds with " . . . a big furry boot came crashing through the mouse hole . . . " In reality when you go out gathering mouse food in order to find them, you have to stomp on the ground and then when or if the ground feels soft or feels hollow then you need an uluaq (a woman's knife) to slice carefully into the ground. In this way respect is shown to the cache. After carefully removing edible roots the rest are returned with a food item that the gatherer has brought. Then the nest is covered very carefully. Although the author alludes to this practice later on in the story. The story proceeds with the grandmother zipping along on a snowmachine. In Alaska, mouse food is gathered in the late fall when the gatherer knows that there is still time for the mouse to gather more roots to replenish or in the spring when the mouse is cleaning out the cache. I have never known anyone to gather mouse food in the dead of winter, especially near the holidays. Upon reaching home the grandmother immediately begins to chop the edible roots for her Christmas akutaq (in the story it is spelled phonetically). Again, the roots are cleaned by hand removing the non-edible roots, washed with water, boiled then cooled before being chopped up to include into the akutaq. I have never known anyone to make akutaq using flour as the story implies. Christmas morning arrives and the Christmas tree is bare; Grandmother blames the cingssiik (here it shows the word in dual form). As a Yup'ik people, the cingssiiget (this is in the plural form) have different regional purposes. The way that the cingssiiget are used in this context is not reflective of the Yup'ik people. The illustrations are beautiful. But as you look at the illustrations you begin to wonder where this illustrator is from and how much do they really know about the Yup'ik people. Let's begin with the first illustration where the mouse is shown in the nest. The little that I know about Tundra mice, I know they have different chambers. They have a chamber to store the mouse food that is gathered, a sleeping area, and even an area where mouse droppings are prevalent. The next illustration shows a part of kameksaks (mukluks) on the tundra with part of a bag showing. The kameksaks stand out because they look very Iñupiaq and not the style worn by the Yup'ik Eskimos. The illustration following this shows the grandmother on a snowmachine and her kameksaks are not the right style or from the right Eskimo group. The illustration that shows the Grandmother cutting up the cotton grass roots, show her wearing a fur vest and scarf and using a butcher knife. In reality, the Grandmother would wear a qaspeq (a women's lightweight summer parka that Yup'ik women wear nowadays), a beaded hairnet, and use a proper woman's knife, an uluaq. Now take a look at the illustration that shows the granddaughters with the grandmother. It shows them Christmas morning. Again, the grandmother is shown incorrectly still using her kameksaks with a scarf. Even if the author consulted with Yup'ik people it is important that they go back to them before the story is published to make sure that the cultural information is correct. Don't overlook the illustrations too. These are beautiful cultural stories but if they have misinformation, it will not do justice to the cultural group they are trying to portray. | |
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Village Science: The Door Hinge Creaks by Alan Dick:A few months later, I was splitting wood for him again. This time it was severely cold. I did fine for a while, but came upon one block of driftwood that caused the axe to bounce into the air as if I had hit a trampoline. I tried the snow trick, but it didn't help. In the midst of my seventh or eighth swing at the bouncing block, the door hinge creaked again. The old man took the axe, turned his back to me, then laid the block open with one swing. "Medicine," was all he said. I knew he was no medicine man. He walked into the house using his cane. Months later he told me that he had spit on the blade of the axe. Towards spring, I was again splitting his wood, but the thawed ground was very soft, acting as a shock absorber. I was laboring very hard. The door hinge creaked again. The old man came out, rolled from the pile a large block of wood and stood it on end. I thought, "I'd like to see him split that one!" Instead, he put a second block on top of the first one. One swing of the axe split the topmost block. He walked back into the house, cane in hand. "I knew that," I thought. "The law of inertia. The bottom block provided the inertia to hold the top block in place so the full force of my axe was used in penetrating the wood rather than compressing the soft ground." I looked forward to and simultaneously dreaded the creak of the door hinge. Sleetmute 1967. The tuition for that science class was paid in humility. | |
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Where There's Smoke There's Science by Steve Werle:3 Alan Dick, AKRSI Village Science Coordinator, spent several days prior to the science fair working with Noatak students to build an "imaginarium" displaying several hands-on science projects that included a reflection box that uses lights to superimpose the images of two students as well as the "great oil race" that compares the viscosity of various oils. The stampede of children when the display opened and the lines in front of each activity attested to their popularity. After the Noatak science fair, the imaginarium activities were boxed up for shipment to other schools around the state. In addition to local village support, volunteer judges included two National Park Service biologists who made the 60-mile overland trip from Kotzebue by snowmachine as well as three Cominco Alaska employees who flew down from the Red Dog Mine, located 25 miles northwest of Noatak. Both organizations also donated prize awards for the winning students. Noatak students, Timothy Norton and Alice Adams demonstrated how to make fire with a bow and drill. If anyone in the room was disappointed that their efforts produced only smoke instead of fire, you couldn't tell it from the clapping and cheering. "Success in science is not always achieving your expected results," said Alan Dick. "Every student here is a success." Students had been working on their science projects all year, but a week-long crescendo of activity preceded this year's local science fair that culminated with an award ceremony February 19, 1998. Fifteen of the top-ranking Noatak students traveled to Kotzebue for the district science fair on March 5 and 6 where students from schools throughout the region displayed their exhibits in Kotzebue's Army National Guard facility. Webber Werle attributes the increased interest in science, in large part, to support from the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative and the University of Alaska Fairbanks for promoting science education among rural students. For example, two scientists-in-residence, Larry Duffy and Kathy Berry Bertram, made several visits to Noatak the past year leading educational activities about the Aurora Borealis and oil spills. Developing a networking relationship between the university and village students is important in improving rural science education, according to Webber Werle, pointing out that several Noatak students attended a science camp held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks last summer. "A high quality science education can enable our students to walk successfully in their two worlds of tradition and cash economy," said Webber Werle. Basketball will probably always be the king in the Arctic, but if interest in science continues to blossom, we may be seeing starter jackets displaying pictures of Einstein alongside those of Michael Jordan. Noatak students Timothy Norton and Alice Adams attempt to make fire without matches. Science fair judge, Paul Dusenbury from Cominco, Alaska, interviews Martha Woods and Jadda Sherman about their project called "Foxes". | |
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Yup'ik Region by Barbara Liu:I've established the following local contacts with K-12 school districts: Laurine Domke, Lower Yukon School District; Janelle Cowan, Southwest Regional School District; Charles Kashatok, Lower Kuskokwim School District; and Sophie Kasayulie, Yupiit School District. Classroom staff who participated in incorporating local initiatives include: John Pingayak, Kashunamiut School District; Natalia Leuhman, St. Mary's School District; and Okalena Morgan, Kuspuk School District. They have given reports on their experiences in utilizing learning circles in their classrooms. In the past year Yupiit, St. Mary's, Lower Yukon, and Lower Kuskokwim school districts contributed to curriculum building with lessons on plants, weather, and animals involving local resources. One long-term effort has been involving science, math, and language arts teachers and integrating traditional practices. Traditional C/Yupik teaching involves the community, environment, and integration by subject and developmental stage. Oral stories are important sources of cultural knowledge, but require that community storytellers be recognized and invited to participate in the school. Two professors at the Kuskokwim Campus, Cecilia Martz and Lucy Sparck, have made tremendous effort in bringing Y/Cup'ik storytellers into Alaska Native studies courses. Most recently, Wassilie Berlin and Louise Tall were guest lecturers on regional war stories that weave math, science, language arts, and social studies around one topic. Mark John of the Calista Elders Council has approached me this year to help coordinate an Elders and Youth Conference at the start of next school year. The Elders and youth will be the key players in the two-day conference at Kasigluk, Alaska. Hopefully, this will lead into starting local and regional camps and academies. The Athabascan and Iñupiaq regions have been sharing Elders' reports of this summer activity. Prior to public schools and the onset of land claims, spring and summer camping was a whole community activity that involved the whole community. As meetings subside for the summer and with the recent statewide consortium meeting I helped coordinate in St. Mary's behind us now, I am focusing on transcribing audiotapes of oral stories. Various agencies and individuals have made progress in developing C/Yup'ik resources that help equip our children with talents and gifts. Let's work harder at raising our children in a good direction. There are two Yup'ik stories told by my respected uncles, the late Phillip Charlie and Nicholai Berlin, who grew up with my father in Qinaq community near Tuntutuliak. The first story is by Mr. Charlie (these stories are not to be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author): There were these two men traveling along with their own dogsled. Their families were riding in the sled and both were going in the same direction. One of the men had his wife and children bundled in the sled and they were traveling slower than the other man who just had his wife in the sled. They had a lighter load and were going faster. Passing the other man and his family, he motions to him, "Unload some of your load," and drove right past. Later in life, the two men are old and they meet again by sled. One is riding in the sled with his son driving the sled and the man who had motioned was still pushing along his sled. At this time, the old man in the sled driven by his son passed the other old man riding by himself. A more factual event told recently is oral tradition of nature and man. Many of you may have forgotten the comet or "smoking star" that occurred two winters ago. One of my dad's brothers recalled a story passed on to him by our great-grandmother, that the comet occurs tallimanek yingqigtaqan-every five generations. My great-grandmother had heard her grandmother's account of the food shortage that occurred five generations ago. With the signs out there and the fifth generation of Yuut/Cuut leaving us and almost gone, this shortage will occur as they have always told it. In times of shortage, let's ask what we can do for our community. I'd like to acknowledge my parents, the late Nickefer Opai Nick born in Qinaq and Elena Nick born in Kayalivik, my late uncle Phillip Charlie, uncle Nicholai Berlin, and my brother Robert living in Nunapitchuk, for contributing to my article. Tua-ingunrituq. | |
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Yup'ik Region Hosts 1998 Alaska Native/Rural Education Consortium:St. Mary's, Alaska hosted the 1998 Statewide Alaska Native/Rural Education Consortium meeting. The village sits nestled on the banks of the Andreafski River. John Pingayak leads the consortium in a short dance break at the meeting in St. Mary's. Approximately 60 Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) participants from around the state gathered in St. Mary's April 4-7 for the 1998 statewide Alaska Native/Rural Education (AN/RE) Consortium meeting. Everyone was very appreciative of the hospitality of the people of St. Mary's and the work that Barbara Liu and others from the C/Yup'ik region put into hosting the annual meeting. The reports from the school districts and Native organizations in the region outlined many of the exciting initiatives that are currently underway aimed at bringing local knowledge and ways of knowing into the schools. These included the EFG curriculum development work in the Yupiit School District, the cultural camps in the Lower Yukon School District, the Yup'ik Encyclopedia initiative in the Lower Kuskokwim School District, the Talking Circle applications in the Kashunamiut and Kuspuk School Districts, and the Yup'ik Math Project in the Southwest Region. In addition, reports were provided on the C/Yup'ik philosophy poster, the Tribal College initiative, the Yup'ik Journalism project, the "Nutemllaput: Our Very Own" video tape, and the upcoming Yup'ik Elders and Youth Convention to be held in September. The reports generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm on the part of participants and we will be following up with distribution of the resource materials that are beginning to come from these initiatives. On the statewide level, Peggy Cowan reported on the innovative work that is underway in the various regions on the development of math and science curriculum units that illustrate the integration of local cultural knowledge to help with the teaching of state content standards. Peggy also reported on the working group that is developing science performance standards to indicate ways in which students can demonstrate what they know at certain grade levels. These will eventually contribute to performance assessments that take into account the cultural context in which rural students learn science and math. Along with all the other presentations and events that took place at the meeting, participants were able to enjoy an evening of Yup'ik dancing at the community center in St. Mary's that included everyone from Elders to children providing many enjoyable performances. By the time we left St. Mary's, our hearts and minds were filled to capacity with new ideas and, as usual, good memories of the Elders' wit and wisdom that was shared with us. Keep up the good work, all of you. The week following the AN/RE Consortium meeting, our program officer, Jerry Gipp, and two other representatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF) visited the Iditarod Area School District in McGrath and the Kodiak Island Borough School District in Kodiak. At each site they were able to talk to district personnel, visit schools, and meet with teachers involved in the curriculum unit-building work that is underway. In addition, they were able to meet people in the local communities and get a first hand impression of the challenges that schools face in bringing a culturally meaningful education to students in rural communities in Alaska, especially in the face of the current budgetary threats. The NSF team left Alaska with a greater appreciation for the hard work that is being done in rural schools, as well as for the hospitality of the people with whom they were able to visit. Thank you Alan Dick and Teri Schneider for hosting the visits in your areas and to all of you who made the visitors feel at home in Alaska. Have a good summer! | |
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4 |
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AISES Corner by Claudette Bradley-Kawagley:In the summer of 1997, 36 students entered a three-week program in Fairbanks, Alaska. The students spent eight days on the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) campus and 13 days at Howard Luke's Gaalee'ya Spirit Camp along the Tanana River. In the summer of 1998, 15 students entered a two-week program at Howard Luke Camp and 28 students entered a one-week program at Afognak Campsite in Kodiak, Alaska. Camp Objectives * Stimulate interest in mathematics, sciences and engineering fields among Alaska Native students. * Increase student's confidence and knowledge in mathematics and science. * Prepare students for cultural challenges away from their traditional environment. * Incorporate Native values with Western mathematics and science. * Encourage parents to support the academic pursuits of their children. * Spend 14 days in an Athabascan camp located on the Tanana River just outside of Fairbanks. * Learn from Native Elders hands-on projects relative to rural survival. * Learn from UAF professors and the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative staff. * Work in teams of two or three students on a science project researching the natural environment. Fairbanks AISES Camp 98 The staff at Howard Luke's Gaalee'ya Spirit Camp included six Elders, four resident advisors, one artist-in-resident, one UAF professor, one IBM computer consultant, two teachers, one graduate student and one AKRSI staff scientist, plus two cooks and one boat captain. There were seventh, eighth and ninth grade Alaska Native students from Allakaket, Beaver, Fort Yukon, Nenana, Nulato, Shageluk, Noatak, Barrow and Anchorage. Each day students had two sessions in the morning; a project class after lunch followed by two sessions in the afternoon. Each day, 45 minutes prior to dinner was allowed for family chores and 45 minutes after dinner was allowed for cleaning the dishes. Evenings were for more social gatherings, traditional Athabascan dancing, Elders' storytelling, talking circles, volleyball, jump rope and Indian/Eskimo games. During the four sessions the students worked in small groups of five or six students. They had a computing and mathematics class with Todd Kelsey, the IBM computer consultant; beadwork and yoyo making with Elizabeth Fleagle and Elizabeth Frantz; cleaning and tanning caribou skin and tanning seal skin and beaver skins with Margaret Tritt; storytelling with Fred Alexander; and wood carving with Jonathan David. The groups of students rotated among these classes at the start of each session. The computer lab had six Thinkpads (laptop computers) and one color inkjet printer donated by IBM. The camp purchased a solar panel powered battery generator to supply electrical power to the computers and printer. Todd Kelsey taught the students and staff how to use and care for the computers and printer. He also taught some mathematics topics like fractal triangles and fibonnacci sequence. Margret Tritt and Claudia Demientieff tanning a caribou hide. During the project class the teachers worked with students in small groups on their science projects. Students learned to turn their scientific questions into hypothesis. They wrote a procedure and selected the materials they needed with the guidance of the instructor. All students were asked to write questions about their projects for an interview with the Elders. Most of the students were able to do their experiments during the camp and a few will have to continue their research in their home village. Each student received a display board and used the computers to write their hypothesis, materials and procedure and to make labels and data sheets. Students used a spreadsheet to record their data. Some students used the paint software to make drawings of their experiment. Students had to write a summary of their Elders' interviews and include the summary as part of their background information on their display boards. All students completed their display board for the poster session held during the potlatch at the end of the camp. Many invited guests enjoyed seeing the hard work of the students. Titles of student projects are: River Eddies: Kristopher John, Fort Yukon Heat Waves: Charlene Kallman, Anchorage Why People Smoke: Mary Burns, Noatak Caribou Teeth: Elmer Howarth, Jr., Noatak Which Skin is Warmer: Jesse Darling, Nulato Wolves: Cindy John, Shageluk Clouds and Condensation: Sarah Monroe, Nenana Antibacterial Effect of Arctic Plants: Crystal Gross, Barrow True North vs. the Magnetic North: Adam Adams, Noatak Fish Wheel vs. Fish Net: Natalie George, Nenana High Kick: Claudia Demientieff, Allakaket Bird Activity: Jedda Sherman, Noatak What Do Camp Robbers Eat?: Mary Ann Juneby, Beaver Fish Wheel: Liz Yatlin, Beaver Reflections and Snowblindness: Patuk Glenn, Barrow Students attended field trips in Fairbanks and at the university. They had a tour of the Geophysical building, which included the volcano and earthquake laboratory. They attended the Annual World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO). They saw the movie "Mulan" in town and visited the shopping mall. Prior to attending WEIO, an athlete, Melissa Evans, visited our camp and demonstrated how to do the high kick, leg wrestles and arm pulls. Students enjoyed doing them under her guidance. Kodiak AISES Science Camp 98 The Kodiak Camp included nine classroom teachers of the Kodiak School District, three Elders and three teachers from the AKRSI teaching staff. The camp was located on the ocean front with lots of sea life. The teachers worked with students one-to-one on science projects, providing guidance and understanding of the scientific method. The students were in the fourth grade through ninth grade. There was more representation from the fourth and fifth grades. We transported the computer lab to the Kodiak Camp and the teachers were very instrumental in getting the students to use the computers. All students wrote a title, hypothesis, materials and procedure for their projects. Some were able to use the spreadsheet to record data. Students toured an abandoned village that had been ruined by a large tidal wave in 1964. Many of the Elders had relatives who had lived in that village. The campsite had an archeological dig near by. An anthropologist lived in the camp with the staff and conducted tours of their digs for all camp members. The digs included homes of Native people in the early 1800s. Both camps were successful and had valuable experiences for the students. We successfully merged Native culture with explorations in science. Many students expressed a desire to attend the 1999 AISES summer camps. | |
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AKRSI Leadership Institute Maps Out New Initiatives by Ray Barnhardt:While considerable attention has been given to community engagement and ownership in the implementation of the AKRSI and to support for teachers to develop curricula and teaching practices consistent with the needs of rural/Native students and communities, less attention has been given to the role of the principal and other administrators and policy-makers in this process. Rural school administrators, particularly principals, are often situated in remote settings where they are isolated from their colleagues and have little opportunity for professional interaction around the issues they experience on a day-to-day basis. This professional isolation and lack of a collegial support system contributes to a high turnover rate of administrative personnel in rural schools, and thus a lack of continuity in leadership that can inhibit the potential for sustained innovation and initiative. There is also a growing recognition of the need for more Native administrators with the skills to provide leadership in bridging the gap between rural schools and the Native communities they serve, and to provide the professional continuity that is needed to foster cumulative organizational learning that can bring stability and consistency to school reform efforts. Furthermore, the adoption of Alaska Standards for Cultural Responsive Schools by Alaska Native educators in February, 1998 provides new guideposts and a process by which schools can evaluate their educational programs in reference to meeting the cultural needs of the students they serve. Administrators are in key leadership roles with regard to implementation of the cultural standards as a foundation on which to build rural school curricula and teaching practices. Rural schools are grappling with the task of implementing standards-based curricula and performance assessments, meeting legislative mandates for high school graduation qualifying exams, responding to increased demand for community voice in school programs and accommodating increasing enrollments. At the same time they are also coping with significant budgetary constraints, all of which calls for the development of new support systems to assist administrators in making the structural changes that are necessary to respond to this rapidly changing leadership environment. Following are some of the initiatives that have been incorporated into the AKRSI agenda and will be factored into the strategic plan and budget for year four. 1. Develop cooperative links with superintendents, policy makers and legislators. 2. Assist Rural Educator Preparation Partnership (REPP) in preparation of local teachers. 3. Reactivate Native Administrators for Rural Alaska Program. 4. Support involvement of retired Native professionals in regional Native educator organizations. 5. Consolidate/strengthen rural higher education resources in support of rural schools. 6. Support Consortium for Alaska Native higher education and tribal college development. 7. Assist in implementation of the Department of Education (DOE) Native Student Learning Action Plan. 8. Develop joint Math/Science Consortium Rural Institute for site teams. 9. Co-sponsor statewide math/science conference, fall 1999. 10.Develop link with Elementary and Secondary Principals Association. 11.Explore joint initiatives with Alaska Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 12.Sponsor AKRSI workshops, poster sessions, etc. at administrators and school board events. 13.Support involvement of AISES professional chapters. 14.Propose alternatives to DOE for meeting state multicultural education requirement. 15.Co-sponsor Alaska Rural School Leadership Retreat with DOE. 16.Develop cultural standards self-assessment tools and poster. 17.Provide technical assistance and training for implementation of cultural standards by schools. 18.Offer AKRSI workshops at rural school in-services. These are a some of the "leadership development" initiatives that we will be following up on as we enter year four of the AKRSI. We welcome further input or interest on the part of anyone with something to contribute to this effort, and we will be getting in touch with many of you as these initiatives evolve over the coming year. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact us through the ANKN web site, or call (907) 474-1902. A hearty thank you goes out to the following people for taking time out of their busy summer schedule to contribute to the development of the AKRSI leadership initiatives: Peggy Cowan, DOE/Science Consortium Marty Foster, Math Consortium/teacher, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Chris Simon, principal, Yukon-Koyukuk School District Larry LeDoux, principal, Kodiak Island Borough School District Elmer Jackson, AKRSI Iñupiaq regional coordinator, Kiana Amy Van Hatten, AKRSI Interior regional coordinator, Fairbanks Paula Dybdahl, secondary teacher, Juneau School District John Monahan, Educational Leadership faculty, UAA/UAF John Weise, superintendent, Yupiit School District, REPP Director Ernie Manzie, principal, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Frank Hill, AKRSI co-director Lolly Carpluk, ANKN Dixie Dayo, ANKN | |
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Alaska RSI Regional Contacts:Amy Van Hatten Athabascan Regional Coordinator 5230 Fairchild Avenue Fairbanks, Alaska 99709-4525 (907) 474-0275 email: fyav@uaf.edu Andy Hope Southeast Regional Coordinator University of Alaska Southeast School of Business/PR 11120 Glacier Highway Juneau, Alaska 99801 (907) 465-8776 email: fnah@uaf.edu Elmer Jackson Iñupiaq Regional Coordinator PO Box 134 Kiana, Alaska 99749 (907) 475-2257 email: fnej@uaf.edu Barbara Liu Yup'ik Regional Coordinator Box 2262 Bethel, Alaska 99559 (907) 543-3467 email: fnbl@uaf.edu Leona Kitchens Aleutians Regional Coordinator P.O. Box 921063 Dutch Harbor, Alaska 99692 (907) 581-5472 email: snowbank@arctic.net | |
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Aleut/Alutiiq Region by Leona Kitchens:Activities that took place included bentwood hat making, study of local plant lore, seal butchering, fish preparation and preservation, boat safety/Iqyax (kayak) demonstrations, archeological digging and basket-making. Unalaska students interviewed Elders to find out how the camp was traditionally used. The recorded interviews are to be incorporated on a CD-ROM that was made a few years ago. The CD-ROM includes interviews with Elders from this area as well as the Kodiak area. Unangan language teacher, Moses Dirks, and AKRSI regional coordinator, Leona Kitchens, offered a first-time course designed to teach teachers how to incorporate Unangan's cultural knowledge into their classroom curriculum. A major portion of the course was participation in activities and interviews with Elders at Camp Qungaayux. In the course, which ends December 22, students will attend six audio conferences, write a brief review of several readings and write an informative article about the camp or biography about Elders. Students will also be asked to construct a 10-day, culturally relevant curriculum based on the cultural standards (formulated by the Native educator associations across the state and recently adopted by the State Department of Education and also on the state content standards for education. The camp was very well attended and so many folks did so much to make the camp the success that it was. We wish to thank everyone who lent a helping hand, but foremost we wish to thank the Elders who took their precious time and energy to teach our youth with such depth, beauty and grace. | |
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Athabascan Region by Amy Van Hatten "Neggaat denlebedze" (Koyukon name):There are many questions to ponder about the environment we live in. Here are two: How has the water changed the land? Why did our ancestors move from camp to camp? One way to try to find answers to such questions would be to look it up in a book. However, in reference to the question as to why our ancestors moved their camp, sometimes the answers are not in any textbook. There may not be anyone nearby who knows the answers either. Now what happens with your question? Where will you go in finding answers or ideas to understand what changes have occurred? As a way to explore these questions, let me convey a boat experience I recently had, with thoughts as to where relevant curriculum development could take place. My first journey from Huslia on down the Koyukuk River was the result of an invitation extended to me by Steven and Catherine Attla. It was a journey through time as well as geography-back to the world as it used to be for two generations ahead of me. Both Steven and Catherine are devoted and knowledgeable Elders from the Koyukon region. I was ecstatic over the thought of seeing the Dulbi River and Nicholia Slough where my tribal identity originates. The morning of take-off the sky was overcast with dark clouds, but it never did rain. During the boat ride, I listened to the sounds of the water splashing along side of the boat, remembering safety instructions from short stories told by my Elder teachers. In listening to stories of days gone by I tried to imagine the kind of stamina our ancestors sustained during hard times as part of their survival skills in wild country. In addition to looking at distances and the flatness and windiness of the river, I wondered, how did our people successfully cross the waterways by walking on foot and using poling boats, dog teams and later by diesel-powered houseboats or 25 HP kickers (outboard motors). Prior to leaving Fairbanks I bought topographic maps (revised in 1984) of the river. I was amazed to see and hear how the river has changed since my grandfather's youthful days of living in cabins that are no longer visible because of bank erosion. I marked on the map the vicinities of old gravesites long gone over the bank, fish campsites, old and new trapping cabins, shee fish spawning areas and where two meandering parts of the river carved right through the lowland providing two shortcuts. The Koyukuk River was unusually high, but without the swift currents of the Yukon River. Because of high water our trip was shortened by three hours. Usually sandbars take the most time to go around during low water levels. I also took along a camera, but left behind the tape recorder and camcorder because I knew the outboard motor noise would drown out any interviews. Therefore, I mostly relied on my memory when I was told historical facts about our Native people's endeavors just to survive. We stopped at Dulbi Village to refuel and look around at old-timer Joe Notti's fallen log cabin walls. He used to have a store there around fifty years ago. There was a well-used moose trail right next to the log cabin, so we didn't hang around too long. We saw plenty of wildlife, beaver, moose, wolf, porcupine, eagle and hawk. I took pictures of tracks along the bank made by wolverine, fox, martin, porcupine (they looked like baby footprints) and moose. Seeing a hawk or eagle is considered a good sign for the day. I offered a bit of food out the boat window to the majestic bird's spirit. At the confluence of the Koyukuk and Yukon River is the Koyukuk Bluff community cemetery. As our gift of thankfulness to ancestral spirits watching over our journey, we offered bits of food and tobacco overboard as we passed the cemetery. Meneelghaadz' (Koyukuk: From the Central Koyukon Junior Dictionary) This one trip offered opportunities to get involved in all kinds of learning that could be the basis for curriculum projects in the school. Some possibilities include a place-names project, oral traditional stories, family genealogy, geography, soil conservation, animal science, wildlife biology, forestry, fisheries, ANCSA, subsistence economy, language immersion camps, traditional naming ceremonies, spirit of giving & preparations for different types of potlatches, Native spirituality, regional cultural atlas, cultural literacy, how to read weather, Native knowledge and survival skills in a harsh environment and understanding time management without a wrist watch. This is not an exhaustive listing. Let your own experience and imagination speak for itself. Good luck. Thank you, Steven and Catherine Attla, for a wonderful trip and a lifetime of experience that words can not describe. I am still in awe of my short time on the Koyukuk River. Because of this I have a changed mind and way of thinking. A new sense of belonging has overtaken my whole being just through this first-hand experience in seeing the river of life that sustained my ancestors for generations. My cultural respect was enhanced as I listened silently to the river sounds. Steven and Catherine Attla, Koyukon Elders | |
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Calendar of Upcoming Events:September 17-18 Calista Elders Council Meeting The Calista Elders Council Meeting will be held in Kasigluk, Alaska. Contact Mark John, (907) 279-5516. September 24-27 Healing from the Four Directions 4th Annual Healing Conference Held in Anchorage, Alaska at the Regal Alaska Hotel. Sponsored by Alaska Native Foundation and Providence Health System of Alaska. Contact Kathe Boucha-Roberts at (907) 261-5678 or visit the website http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/webannou.html. October 8-10 Alaska Native Education Council Annual Meeting The ANEC annual conference will be at the International Airport Inn in Anchorage, Alaska. Contact Charles Kashatok, (907) 896-5011. October 11-14 National Indian Education Association The NIEA Conference will be held in Nashville, Tennesee. Contact Jennifer Welch, (615) 383-2247. October 14-17 AFN Convention The Alaska Federation of Natives Convention will be held in Anchorage. Contact Alaska Federation of Natives at (907) 274-3611. October 25-28 49th Arctic Division Science Conference "International Cooperation in Arctic Research: Detecting Global Change and its Impacts in the Western Arctic." Hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Contact Syun-Ichi Akasofu, (907) 474-7282. Website: www.gi.alaska.edu. December 4-5, 1998 AISES International Science Fair Contact Claudette Bradley-Kawagley for information, (907) 474-5376. January 31-February 2 1999 Native Educator's Conference. Held in Anchoarge, NEC will provide the opportunity for people engaged in education that impacts Native people to come together and learn from each other's work and to explore ways to strengthen the links between education and the cultural well-being of indigenous people. Contact Lolly Carpluk for information, (907) 474-5086 or email ftlmc@uaf.edu. February 3-5, 1999 Bilingual Multicultural Education and Equity Conference. Held in Anchorage, contact Helen Mecrkens, (907) 465-8730. | |
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Cultural Standards are on Their Way by Ray Barnhardt:Standards have been drawn up in five areas, including those for students, educators, curriculum, schools and communities. These cultural standards provide guidelines or touchstones against which schools and communities can examine what they are doing to attend to the cultural well-being of the young people they are responsible for nurturing to adulthood. The standards serve as a complement to, not as a replacement for those adopted by the State of Alaska. While the state standards stipulate what students should know and be able to do, the cultural standards are oriented more toward providing guidance on how to get them there in such a way that they become responsible, capable and whole human beings in the process. The emphasis is on fostering a strong connection between what students experience in school and their lives out of school by providing opportunities for students to engage in in-depth experiential learning in real-world contexts. By shifting the focus in the curriculum from teaching/learning about cultural heritage as another subject to teaching/learning through the local culture as a foundation for all education, it is intended that all forms of knowledge, ways of knowing and world views should be recognized as equally valid, adaptable to the times and complementary to one another in mutually beneficial ways. The cultural standards are not intended to produce standardization, but rather to encourage schools to nurture and build upon the rich and varied cultural traditions that continue to be practiced in communities throughout Alaska. Some of the multiple uses to which these cultural standards may be put are as follows: 1. They may be used as a basis for reviewing school or district-level goals, policies and practices with regard to the curriculum and pedagogy being implemented in each community or cultural area. 2. They may be used by a local community to examine the kind of home/family environment and parenting support systems that are provided for the upbringing of its children. 3. They may be used to devise locally appropriate ways to review student and teacher performance as it relates to nurturing and practicing culturally-healthy behavior, including serving as potential graduation requirements for students. 4. They may be used to strengthen the commitment to revitalizing the local language and culture and fostering the involvement of Elders as an educational resource. 5. They may be used to help teachers identify teaching practices that are adaptable to the cultural context in which they are teaching. 6. They may be used to guide the preparation and orientation of teachers in ways that help them attend to the cultural well-being of their students. 7. They may serve as criteria against which to evaluate educational programs intended to address the cultural needs of students. 8. They may be used to guide the formation of state-level policies and regulations and the allocation of resources in support of equal educational opportunities for all children in Alaska. During the AKRSI regional meetings this fall we will be developing tools to assist educators in using the cultural standards to strengthen learning opportunities for students throughout Alaska, including their alignment with existing state standards and the identification of teaching and curricular practices that are consistent with their implementation. Curriculum resources, workshops and technical support to implement the kind of learning experiences encouraged by the standards may be found through the ANKN web site, www.ankn.uaf.edu, or call (907) 474-5897. | |
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