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 Contact information in earlier issues could be outdated.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 7, ISSUE 1 |
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Project Centered Education by John Carlson:David Orr, who writes of our society's relationship to our natural world, summarizes that "Schooling has to do with the ability to master basic functions that can be measured by tests. Learning has to do with matters of judgment, and with living responsibly and artfully, which cannot be measured so easily." This brings us to the process of designing curricular opportunities that provide for a deeper learning than is directed by the current national and state trend towards written exit exams. I wonder at the semantics of the word exit; exiting from what, to where and with what knowledge? We should not accept without question the notion of standards. To whose standard of life and values do we teach? Can one array of standards and related test items meet the needs of both the rural citizen and urbanite? One must ponder these questions. Although the traditional academic areas assessed on these exams have invaluable usefulness, particularly in the economic world, they in no way represent all that is necessary to living a fulfilling life. The traditional evaluation of educational aptitude produces, as Orr sarcastically observes, " . . . the highly schooled and heavily degreed fool, and a person lacking intellectual pedigree." Learning has to do with matters of wisdom and with living responsibly and purposefully with not only the personal welfare in mind, but the good of the commons as well. Unfortunately to our political leadership, these skills-skills essential for the survival of our human society-are not easily measured. Nonetheless, our politicians continue to hammer on our children for exit exam scores as if higher test scores alone will set the world right. In the meantime, curricular opportunities become more and more narrowed and further alienated from their own community's needs and values. Some of the best learning opportunities are the most organic ones. Experiential learning is one way to provide additional educational opportunities for children. From the start, differences between experiential learning and the typical approach to classroom/school learning become apparent. A significant difference, and one that might cause discomfort to those locked into the traditional American classroom structure of learning, is the inevitable release of strict control of lesson planning, progression and outcome while following the philosophy of experiential learning. You can plan for a learning situation, but you cannot, if believing in experiential learning, plan for exactly what will be learned. This immediately points out a philosophical paradigm shift from conventional educational thought in that the school and teacher not make the assumption to be the possessors of an all and powerful bank of knowledge. Not only do they not assume to have all the secrets to the world, but they do not necessarily possess the ability to determine in totality what children should be learning. The typical approach to classroom teaching and learning often makes assumptions that detailed criteria and methods can be designed, adopted and often standardized to be used in varying educational settings with a wide range of students, often representing varying socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Ivan Illich, author and observer of social and educational systems, hoped for an educational change towards communal activities in libraries, work places, families and other community settings. Even though change is uncomfortable, we should look ahead to growth and not let the growing pains prevent us from trying new ideas. "The fear that new institutions will be imperfect, in their turn, does not justify our servile acceptance of present," says Illich. Experiential learning pertains particularly well to educational situations in a cross-cultural context. Oscar Kawagley, a professor at the University School of Education, reviews the role of traditional learning in a Yupiaq Eskimo context and it illustrates clearly the long history of learning in an experiential way. As he states, "Alaska Native worldviews are orientated toward synthesis of information gathered from interaction with the natural and spiritual worlds . . . " Notice that the word "interaction" is used here rather than words such as "schooling" or "taught." Kawagley (1997) says that the mystical knowledge of Yup'ik cannot be developed solely by observation, but will materialize as a result of "participation of the mind, body, and soul." A Yup'ik worldview is developed in part by interacting and participating in your cultural and natural world. It would be difficult to mention all the directly related educational activities at Anne Wien Elementary School that have taken place in relation to Noyes Slough and the children's local watershed. The bulk of these activities are really project centered endeavors, and have been generated from those in direct contact with the projects, the classroom teachers and children. There is no canned curriculum generated by an educational consultant Outside. There are, however, both delightfully spontaneous and carefully planned educational activities. The Noyes Slough generates the activities as much as the children and teachers generate them. Many of these activities would not have been possible without parent and community volunteers and additional funding to temporarily reduce classroom size during these specific projects. Some of the accomplishments include: 1. Trail Construction: students designed, constructed and maintain a three-quarter-mile Noyes Slough Nature Trail in Lions Park next to Anne Wien Elementary School. 2. A third grade class is currently working on an interpretive trail guide for the Noyes Slough Nature Trail. 3. Trail Kiosk: a sixth-grade class has designed and is currently building a trailhead display for the Noyes Slough Nature Trail. 4. Riparian protection and restoration: a sixth grade classroom is conducting a restoration effort involving damaged areas of seasonal wetlands. Other classrooms have wired trees along Noyes Slough to protect them from beaver. 5. A Noyes Slough website was created by a sixth-grade class. This website won a gold medal in the environmental category of the International Cyberfair contest. 6. Children have worked alongside various agency professionals to conduct water, invertebrate, and sediment testing to determine whether Noyes Slough meets federal and state water quality standards. 7. Three Noyes Slough symposiums have taken place involving over a hundred different presenters working with children in both classroom and field settings. The focus of the symposiums have been to increase understanding of our watershed. 8. All children of our school contributed to a permanent hallway mural depicting the journey of Noyes Slough and its flora and fauna. Its title: "Noyes Slough is Our Backyard". 9. Teachers are incorporating watershed study and Noyes Slough into school district curriculum in writing, reading, math, science, social studies, art, physical fitness and all other areas of school life. 10.A group of community volunteers have built an observation deck in Lions Park overlooking the Noyes Slough. They have dedicated it as the "Outdoor Classroom"! Traditional schooling makes the assumption that by instructing students in various disciplines that society, or rather those in power positions, have determined "important" and by learning enormous banks of knowledge students will retain much of this information in meaningful ways when the time comes to apply them. Experiential learning suggests instructing to more relevant learning, thus assuring deeper knowledge and understanding, thereby reducing the risky proposition of inconsistent and inaccurate transfer of learning. Should project-based experiential learning replace traditionally organized schooling in which children are seated in desks working quietly with teacher-directed lessons? Absolutely not. Some of our school curriculum is effectively taught in this way and the children can enjoy lessons organized in this way. Nonetheless, learning through direct activity in community and ecological projects can add much to the existing curriculum. References Orr, David W. (1992). Ecological Literacy, Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press. Illich, Ivan. (1970). Deschooling Society. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Students compare the importance of vegetative buffers along Noyes Slough. The natural world holds unlimited discoveries. | |
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Southeast Region by Andy Hope:Proposed SEANEA Framework for 12/1/01 to 9/30/02 Scheduled Meetings: December 15, 2001 Teacher Leadership Development Project funding MOA, AFN/Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes for TLDP funding for the Southeast Region. January 12-13, 2002 SEANEA Organizational Meeting/Professional Development Seminar, to be held in Juneau, Alaska. January 12: Organizational Tasks: 1. Elect officers. 2. Appoint an interim coordinator to serve until a lead teacher is selected (target date for selection, 7-1-02). 3. Plan for a professional development institute (Summer, 2002). 4. Select delegates to attend the Native Educators Conference scheduled for February 3-5, 2002, Anchorage. 5. Discuss the I Am Salmon Children's Festival, tentatively scheduled for spring 2002 in Leavenworth, Washington. 6. Set possible quarterly meeting teleconference schedule. Immediately following the organizational meeting, staff from the Imaginarium Science Center will make a presentation on the following project: The Imaginarium is thrilled to announce that our Health and Science Outreach Initiative has received two prestigious grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Both grants will expand the Imaginarium's ability to bring meaningful, hands-on science and health experiences to villages and communities throughout Alaska. It is important to the Imaginarium, and indeed the very core of the project's vision, to ensure that these outreach programs are guided by and based on the needs and interests of the communities that they will serve. To this end, we plan to coordinate a town hall type meeting in each of the five geocultural regions of Alaska. We are working with the regional coordinators of the Alaska Native Knowledge Network to identify appropriate locations in each region. January 13: Professional Development Seminar. 1. Introduction to the I Am Salmon curriculum project 2. Introduction to the Tribal GIS Consortium. Ongoing Activities/Discussions: 1. Relationship to existing educational institutions/organizations: * Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative * Alaska Dept. of Education and Early Development Native Education Advisory Council * Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education * Southeast Alaska Tribal College * University of Alaska Southeast: Preparing Indigenous Teachers for Alaska's Schools * Other Native educator associations 2. Developing community based partnerships, e.g. the Tribal GIS Consortium 3. Alaska Department of Education and Early Development contributions to TLDP We are asking prospective SEANEA members to send us the following information, which will greatly improve our database: Name Address Telephone work Telephone home Email work Email home School Position Past positions held Other: grandparent, Elder, aunt, uncle, community worker, or mentor Please send this information to: Andy Hope, fnah@uaf.edu | |
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Translating Standards to Practice Now Available on the Web by Cyndy Curran:A user-friendly resource for all science teachers in Alaska is now available in another format. The electronic version of Translating Standards to Practice: A Teacher's Guide to Use and Assessment of the Alaska Science Standards is accessible on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web page at http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/translating. Developed collaboratively by the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, the Department of Education & Early Development with funding from the National Science Foundation, Translating Standards to Practice is a tool for improving science instruction for all Alaska students. Alaska educators, along with members of the business, Native and scientific communities wrote Translating Standards to Practice to enhance, complement and integrate the Alaska Science Content Standards and the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools. The purposes of Translating Standards to Practice are (1) to help teachers as they further develop their science instruction and (2) to serve as a guide for districts as they make choices about which standards, as well as which aspects of the standards to focus upon for different benchmark levels. Written to reflect the diversity and richness of Alaska, Translating Standards to Practice can guide teachers as they create performance assessments for their classrooms. A bridge between the wisdom of the cultural traditions of the Elders and Western science, Translating Standards to Practice will help teachers enliven their science teaching and help increase student achievement for all Alaska students. As with the hard-copy format, the science content standards are divided into the following benchmark levels: Level 1, ages 5-8; Level 2, ages 8-10; Level 3, ages 11-14 and Level 4, ages 15-18 . The web page format allows teachers to click on a science standard within a benchmark level and view the content standard, the performance standard for the benchmark level, sample assessments for that performance standard and, in many cases, an expanded sample assessment idea with an accompanying scoring guide. So that teachers have access to the documents on which the performance standards are based, the references from the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy are also included. Within each benchmark level teachers will find sample units to help them to see how and where performance assessment fits within a unit. Teachers can use these sample units as guides when they develop their own units of instruction. | |
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Village Math: Romance by Alan Dick:While it is hardly "Sleepless in Seattle", Village Math (first draft) is my latest attempt. When students give us shoddy excuses for not completing an assignment, we often assign detention. If students had the same authority over teachers, most of us would spend a good portion of our lives in detention for the lousy excuses we offer in response to the honest question, "Why do I need to learn this math?" Village Math is not a math text. It doesn't pretend to cover all math standards or concepts. However, it does identify dozens of real life math applications faced by folks living in the bush. Young people will identify with the situations and with a little coaxing by teachers, they will see the importance. Village Math might not be a full-blown romance yet, but it openly flirts with students and teachers everywhere. Certainly some will respond. A first draft version of Village Math is on the ANKN website at www.ankn.uaf.edu/villagemath. Send me ideas of locally-relevant math ideas from your area and I will try to use them in the next draft. We must win student's hearts as well as stimulate their minds. | |
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Yup'ik Region: KuC Language Center Revitalized by John Angaiak:The husband and wife faculty team, Sophie and Oscar Alexie, led the November 16 meeting at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center in Bethel, Alaska. With smiles, they faced some fifteen eager supporters from various local educational agencies and some listening in from as far away as the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Language Center and Scammon Bay, Alaska. The group discussed goals first before developing mission and vision statements in order to get a clear idea of KuC's intentions. Revitalization is focusing on preservation of the Yup'ik/Cup'ik languages as the centerpiece of group discussion with KuC taking the lead. Preservation could lead to a degree program, archive key dialects, work with Elders by having regional Elder conferences, identify language barriers and promote Native arts and crafts as an economic development option. To make these issues a reality, supporting agencies will remain united behind KuC and meet at least once a month. | |
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VOLUME 7, ISSUE 2 |
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2002 Alaska Native Literature Award Winners by Andy Hope:The awards program and poster were designed and produced by Paula Elmes. The award plaques were designed and produced by Ben Snowball. The HAIL working committee members are Andy Hope, Bernadette Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle, Virginia Ned, Lolly Carpluk, Moses Dirks, Laurie Evans, Esther Ilutsik, Dorothy Larson, Marie Olson, Olga Pestrikoff, Teri Schneider, Sophie Shield, Martha Stackhouse and Sean Topkok. 2002 Alaska Native Literature Award Winners Frances Degnan for Under the Arctic Sun: The Life and Times of Frank and Ada Degnan, 1998, Cottonwood Bark. Moses Dirks for Aleut Tales and Narratives, co-edited by Knut Bergsland, Alaska Native Language Center, 1990. Erma Lawrence for her lifetime work as Haida oral tradition bearer, storyteller, educator and translator. Michael Lekanoff for his work transcribing and arranging Russian Orthodox choral pieces in Aleut and Slavonic. Elsie Mather for Cauyarnariuq (It is time for drumming), Lower Kuskokwim School District, 1985. Kisautaq Leona Okakok for her transcription Puiguitkaat (Things We Cannot Forget), Library of Congress, 1996. Mary Peterson for contributions to Birth and Rebirth on an Alaskan Island: The Life of an Alutiiq Healer, author Joanne B. Mulcahy, University of Georgia Press, 2000. Emma Sam for Yú.á (They Say), booklet, CD and cassette tape, Teslin Tlingit Council and Aboriginal Language Services, Yukon, 2000 Posthumous Awards: Howard Rock for Lifetime Achievement in Alaska Native Literature. Mary Tall Mountain (Koyukon Athabascan) for Lifetime Achievement in Alaska Native Literature. Peter Kalifornsky for Lifetime Achievement in Alaska Native Literature. Some of the award recipients of the 2002 Alaska Native Literature Award from top to bottom: Frances Degnan, Moses Dirks, Erma Lawrence, Elsie Mather, Kisautaq Leona Okakok and Mary Peterson (pictured with family). | |
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AKRSI Welcomes Judy Jaworski:Judy Jaworski joined the Anchorage AKRSI staff at the Alaska Federation of Natives this year. Judy holds the position of administration assistant. She is responsible for managing office functions for statewide AKRSI/ARC programs. Judy is of Iñupiat and Yup'ik decent from Elim. She is married with six children and two grandchildren. | |
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Alaska RSI Regional Contacts:Southeast Region: Andy Hope 8128 Pinewood Drive Juneau, AK 99801 907-790-4406 E-mail: fnah@uaf.edu Yup'ik Region: John Angaiak AVCP PO Box 219 Bethel, AK 99559 E-mail: john_angaiak@avcp.org 907-543 7423 907-543-2776 fax Iñupiaq Region: Branson Tungiyan PO Box 1796 Nome, AK 99762 907-443-4386 E-mail: branson@kawarak.org Alutiiq/Unangax Region: Teri Schneider Kodiak Island Borough School District 722 Mill Bay Road Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-9276 E-mail: tschneider@kodiak.k12.ak.us Athabascan Region: Gerald Sam Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc. Interior Athabascan Tribal College 122 First Ave, Suite 600 Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-452-8251 x3285 E-mail: gerald.sam@tananachiefs.org | |
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Alutiiq Elder Lights the Way:The rock oil lamp has been used in the northern cultures from Greenland to Kodiak Island as a means of providing light and heat. Some lamps are elaborate with animal and human figures carved from the solid rock. Others are simply utilitarian and made useful for packing in traveling gear and used on cold nights while hunting. Typically seal oil or other mammal fat was burned with a twisted wick of cotton grass or moss. Today, many use cooking oil and cotton wicks. Rock lamps continue to be used in homes and during ceremonies and gatherings throughout the Alutiiq region as a way to honor our ancestors while celebrating the continuity of our culture. Frequently, the youngest and oldest persons are asked to light the lamp as a way to live the tradition of passing on our ways from one generation to the next. | |
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Alutiiq Region: The Academy of Elders/Science Camp 2002:Students, teachers and other community members in our region have an opportunity to engage in learning activities that are culturally and environmentally relevant with Elders and other culture bearers in a remote camp setting. This is a fantastic, academically challenging and culturally enriching experience for students, teachers, community members and Elders. The Kodiak Island Borough School District, the Kodiak Island Housing Authority, Kodiak Tribal Council and the Native Village of Afognak are pleased to announce that, once again, this opportunity is available this summer during two, week-long camps at the "Dig Afognak" site on Qattenai, Afognak Island. When? Camp #1: July 15-July 21 Camp #2: July 24-July 30 Where? "Dig Afognak" site on Qattenai, Afognak Island Who? This opportunity is open to all Elders, educators, community members and students, grades 2-12 (young students may only be considered if they are successful applicants and are accompanied by a participating adult family member.) Applicants should have an interest in Alutiiq Native culture, language and ways of knowing as well as science, math or technology. Priority is given to those currently residing in the region, but all are invited to apply. Student applicants must be committed to completing a culturally- or environmentally-relevant project for the rural science fair this fall. All are invited! Apply early, as space is limited. Application deadline is May 31! Cost? Those who apply are asked to pay a minimal $30 registration fee. If you have any questions or want more information call Teri Schneider at 486-9276 (work) or email: tschneider@kodiak.k12.ak.us. | |
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ANKN Curriculum Corner by Ray Barnhardt:Gwich'in Native Elders: Not Just Knowledge, But a Way of Looking at the World A monograph by Shawn Wilson describing the role of Elders in shaping educational practices in a region, including drawing the distinction between an "Elder" and an elderly person. Tlingit Moon and Tides Curriculum Guide A set of standards-based curriculum units developed by Dolly Garza, drawing on both Tlingit and Western knowledge of the moon and tides. "Native Ways of Knowing" A section included in the Alaska Curriculum Frameworks document providing guidelines to school districts on the integration of indigenous knowledge in curriculum development (also published on CD-ROM by EED). A Point Hope Partnership With the Iñupiat Elders of Tikigaq An article by Steve Grubis and Connie Oomittuk that describes how the Tikigaq School in Point Hope established an Elders-in-Residence program and incorporated Elders into all educational activities. Handbook for Developing Culturally-Responsive Science Curriculum A concise teachers guide developed by Sidney Stephens which includes a section by Roby Littlefield on how to work with Elders (http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/handbook.pdf). Education Indigenous to Place: Western Science Meets Native Reality An article addressing some of the underlying themes associated with integrating Native ways of knowing into the education system. Working With Aboriginal Elders A "handbook for institution-based health care professionals based on the teachings of Aboriginal Elders and cultural teachers." Prepared by Jonathan H. Ellerby and available from the Native Studies Press, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada (204-474-9899, e-mail: jill_oakes@umanitoba.ca). Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge A set of guidelines that address issues of concern in the documentation, representation and utilization of traditional cultural knowledge as they relate to the role of various participants, including Elders, authors, curriculum developers, classroom teachers, publishers and researchers. Old Minto Camp A 40-minute video of the cross-cultural orientation program weeklong camp experience for teachers associated with the "Native ways of knowing" initiative. Nutemllaput: Our Very Own A 40-minute video depicting ways in which Yup'ik language and culture are being incorporated in the schools in the Yup'ik region of the AKRSI. To Show What We Know A 40-minute video documenting the activities associated with ANSES science camps and Native science fairs. Passing On A 30-minute video documenting the role and contributions of Alaska Native Elders to the in- and out-of-school education of Alaska Native children. | |
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Athabascan Language:Undergraduate and Graduate Fellowships:$10,000 Date of Awards: September 2002 ($ 5,000) & January 2003 ($ 5,000) Deadline: Friday, March 29, 2002 The Alaska Native Language Center announces four competitive awards for students interested in focusing on Alaska Athabascan language study and teaching. Award recipients must be in good academic standing and accepted into the Denaqenage' Career Ladder Program* and admitted to a relevant UAF bachelor's degree program (for example, Linguistics, Education, Alaska Native Studies) or the UAF Master of Education program. Preference will be given to qualified candidates studying one of the following languages: Tanacross, Upper Tanana or Dena'ina. However, consideration will be given to all applicants studying or intending to study an Alaska Athabascan language. For more information and an application packet, please contact Patrick Marlow at 1-877-810-2534 or ffpem@uaf.edu. *The Denaqenage' Career Ladder Program is a DOE Title VII grant funded partnership between UAF's Alaska Native Language Center, the Interior Athabascan Tribal College and the Alaska Gateway, Lake and Peninsula, Iditarod Area, Yukon-Koyukuk and Yukon Flats School Districts and Galena City Schools. | |
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Athabascan Region: Tribute to the Minto Elders:This is the second part of a tribute to recognize the Minto Elders for their valuable contributions to the Cross-cultural Camp in Old Minto each year and for sharing their culture with all of us. Descriptions are from interviews with Elders, compilation of descriptions written by Minto students for the Denakkanaaga Elder-Youth Conference 2001, the Minto Cultural Atlas and from other sources. Photos are from the Cultural Heritage and Education Institute archives, unless otherwise marked. Minnie Titus Minnie Titus was born May 28, 1910 and she grew up in Old Minto. Minnie's father was Chief Charlie, the leader who founded Old Minto in the early 1900s. Her mother's name was Laura and she remarried after the Chief's death. Minnie is the lone survivor of Chief Charlie. Minnie married George Titus in 1928 and they had eight children. Minnie did a lot of things and she worked hard when she was young, including sewing, making birch-bark baskets, setting muskrat traps and hunting. Minnie attends the Old Minto camp almost every year. She is good at giving advice and talking to the young people of Minto. Neal Charlie Neal Charlie was born to Moses and Bessie Charlie on October 10, 1919 in a camp by Washington Crossing. He grew up in Old Minto and he went to St. Mark's Mission in Nenana. He ran away back to Minto after three years and helped the family with hunting rabbits and "chicken." Neal worked summers on the Riverboat Nenana and he married Geraldine on August 27, 1947. Neal remembers that in Old Minto, they were all hard working people, " . . . we had to work hard, to get what we thought we needed. We didn't expect checks or money. We went on trapline and sell the fur. People used to stop for gathering, fun for a little while, not all the time." Neal's hobby was driving dogs and they used to hitch up and go for rides in the evening like a car. You learn responsibility from driving dogs since you have to feed them, hitch the dogs and care for them. He also used to make sleds. Neal recalls that, "In the old days, you had to learn stories by listening, by accepting it. The old people would tell you stories and tell it to you again." And "You should remember those things . . . there are too many books and computers that think for you." Neal says he always keeps encouraging young people to do something to keep busy, like chop wood. He hopes that he can say the right thing to help people who could use it 50 years from now and that is why the Elders talk. He concluded by saying, "Feel free to ask what you want, we're willing to talk." * Photo by Rob Amberg, Rural School & Community Trust * Photo by Rob Amberg, Rural School & Community Trust Geraldine Charlie Geraldine Charlie was born to Teddy Charlie and Annie Alexander on September 25, 1929 in a camp out in the Minto Flats. She remembers many things about growing up in Old Minto, especially when she was sad when the teachers told her she couldn't go to school anymore. There was just one room in the school and with new students coming every year, she was forced to leave after fifth grade. Geraldine was raised by her grandmother and spent a lot of time watching fish nets, fish traps and snaring rabbits. She married Neal Charlie in August 1947 and had six girls and four boys. It was really hard to live only on subsistence and Neal got a job working on sections of the Alaska Railroad. They lived in Dunbar, Healy and Dome. Their kids were old enough to go to school, but the only way they could have was to go out to boarding school. Geraldine likes to work on birch-bark baskets, pick berries and pick roots for baskets. Her advice for young people is to get a hold of themselves and not go too much on Western side. She says, "We were born as Natives to be Natives . . . keep your culture as much as you can because it is our identity. We are Native Indians. I believe we were put on earth for reasons, God has his own way. God gave us our Native culture and I believe we need to hang on to it, mostly our Native language and the way we live, like eating our Native food." Jonathan David Jonathan David was born September 1, 1910. He arrived in Old Minto from Nenana when he was eight years old after his mother married Louie Silas. He remembers learning how to survive off the land from his stepfather and uncle. He spent a lot of time trapping and working as a carpenter. He married Rosie David and he worked for many years as a janitor at the BIA school in Old Minto. He says he never learned how to read but he worked hard and they sent him to Sitka to learn how to repair the generators for the school. He also worked in Nenana on the dock for about five years. One memorable year at the Old Minto Camp, he built a canoe frame with the help of camp participants that became an important part of the Old Minto Camp video. He says "Indian life is good and you have to use your brain." When asked about the future for youth he says, "you go to school, you learn, you do better, if not you'll be nothing . . . don't think of liquor, liquor is a hard life." Jonathan says that "Indian life, it goes a long ways . . . listen to people talk and it will come back to you when you need it." Note: Watch for the next issue with more on the Minto Elders. | |
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Beth Leonard Coordinates Athabascan Language Programs: | |
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Native Languages in Alaska by Ruthie Sampson:Good Morning respected Elders, honored guests, educators and parents! Uummatitchauraqtuami nuna iøiqsraqtiqman nakuqsiøiqtuÿa. My heart was really beating fast earlier but I feel calmer after the earthquake. I worked in Anchorage in 1978 with Tupou Pulu and attended the BMEEC over the years for a total of 10 to 15 times. I was thinking that if you attend often enough, sooner or later they will ask you to be the keynote speaker-I think this was Mike's way of making sure I get here early. Actually, last night I set my alarm clock to 6:30 AM. I didn't want to be late. During the night, I woke up at 4:30 AM and went back to sleep. I woke up again and it was still 4:30 AM! I went back to sleep again and this time when I woke up it was 2:30 AM and then I realized I had been dreaming that I was waking up at 4:30 AM! It is an honor for me to be here today. I thank the BMEEC planning committee, Bernice Tetpon and also Mike Travis, for convincing me that I had something to say to you today. I am here representing the Iñupiaq language, meaning the people who live in Northwest Alaska and the North Slope. I am from Selawik, Alaska and I work in Kotzebue for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District. I am also here on behalf of our Elder, Minnie Qapviatchialuk Aliitchak Gray of Ambler, Alaska. She is not here due to a mild stroke she experienced this winter. Elder Minnie Gray of Ambler Minnie is representative of the first Iñupiaq language teachers who began to teach in the schools in 1972 when the bilingual programs were first implemented in Alaska schools. She was part of a wonderful group of enthusiastic, fun Iñupiaq language and culture teachers who took great pride and delight in learning to read and write in their native language. They actually sacrificed several summers while others were gathering food to attend workshops in Barrow, Nome and Kotzebue. They were fortunate to have people such as Martha Aiken, Edna McLean, Larry Kaplan, Hannah Loon and Tupou Pulu to teach them Iñupiaq literacy, grammar and to help them develop materials for classroom use. In those days, sufficient funds allowed all the staff to attend the BMEEC and what fun they had. They have recounted story after story about their cross-cultural experiences when they traveled to Anchorage. Some were afraid to answer the phone in their rooms. When they went to the restaurant, they would often order chicken-fried steak thinking it was chicken. When they went to the stores, one lady said she often grinned at the store dummies thinking it was someone standing. One time, a whole bunch of them were crossing the street and walking when the sign said walk. When it said "don't walk" guess what they did? They ran across the street! Even though they experienced all this, they were always so willing to try things out and paid close attention to learn as much as they could in the workshops they attended. Several years ago, we nominated Minnie Gray to be the bilingual educator of the year. This was her philosophy of education. She said it in Iñupiaq and we translated it into English (listen very carefully because in this, you can hear everything that needs to be included in a curriculum to teach about a language and culture): "Iñupiaq should be taught at an early age. I have seen that the younger students are, the more they learn. It is fun to teach these young children. As an Iñupiaq language instructor, I realized that children need motivation to learn. I motivated my students by offering them variety. They cannot learn by only writing, so I took them out for field trips and taught them about the things that grow. Same thing in the spring. When they got tired of writing, I took them outside and taught them the names of the many different birds that migrate north. This motivated them tremendously. I had projects for them such as skin sewing and other crafts, including making birch bark basket. I allowed them to play Iñupiaq games when they became restless. Sometimes, I even took them home and prepared an Iñupiaq dish for them to sample, such as cranberry pudding or some other dish. Other times, I taught them how to make Eskimo ice cream. I also boiled the head of mudshark, which has many bones and, as we ate it, I told them the individual names of the bones. This is an interesting project and the students think it is fun. For added variety, I told them Iñupiaq stories and legends. "Students should learn about life in school. They should learn practical skills such as skin sewing and cooking. Many students need these basic skills. They should know the names of our Native foods and know how to prepare them. It is practical to learn these skills because our environment is going to be the same in spite of the changes in our lifestyles. We will still need warm clothing and we will still need to gather food. Students should know about the weather because we cannot predict what the coming seasons' weather will be like. They should also know their regional geography. They should know their local subsistence areas, their trails and place names of creeks, rivers and other landmarks. They should be able to know where they are and be able to communicate exactly where they are as they travel out in the country for it is a matter of survival." So there you have it. Everything you need to write a Native language and culture curriculum. Minnie was one of this great group of Iñupiaq language and culture instructors who taught what they knew to the students and I give them all tribute today. Over the years, most of this core group retired and we have been struggling to replace them as fewer and fewer candidates who speak Iñupiaq fluently fill their positions. During the next three days, our BMEEC theme will be "Bilingual and Cross Cultural Education: Tools for Community Empowerment and Academic Success." That's a mouthful and has so much to say to us. We also have so much to say to each other because we come here with our collective knowledge and each and every one of you has something valuable to share with another person. As I thought of what to say to you today I had titled it "Living in a Modern World Without Losing Our Native Identity." I wanted to talk about how we as Natives need to continue to share our heritage and history to our students so that they can cope in this modern world and still have a good sense of who they are and feel that same comfort of being one with nature when they are out in the country. I believe, as Natives, that is one of our greatest treasures-something we should continue to nurture in our children and grandchildren. We must have a vision for our youth that they can share. What are we doing in this conference to expand this vision? What is Community Empowerment and Academic Success? Most of us would define academic success in terms of modern schooling, saying it is to be educated in school and home and go on to higher learning so that you can get a good job and have a successful and meaningful life. I'm sure you have your own definition. How can we make bilingual education and cross-cultural education tools for community empowerment and academic success? When we talk about bilingual education, we are talking about speaking two languages. As an Iñupiaq, I will talk about the Native language experience in Alaska. When the Guidelines for Strengthening Indigenous Languages were being developed, my concern was that someone needed to be responsible for providing a forum in which our people who had been punished for speaking Iñupiaq in school could come together and tell their story so that their experience could be validated and they could hear an apology from the school system and some avenue for forgiveness and healing would begin. The reason I brought this up is because it is a recurring story that I hear and in a way prevents grandparents and parents from participating effectively in the school system. When bilingual programs first began in the early 70s and as they continued in the 80s, some Elders expressed shock and surprise that the language was going to be taught in the school, because when they were young, they had been punished for speaking even one word in the school playground. As young children, they had a hard time seeing the difference between stealing, lying and speaking Iñupiaq because they got punished for doing any of those. Now years later, they were told it was okay and, today, there are people in their 70s who still feel hurt when they remember what happened and I think many people think no one wants to hear their story because it happened so long ago and we should forget it and go on with our lives. We must realize that this action taken against our parents and grandparents had ramifications that occurred over the 20th century and an attitude of shame and humiliation toward the teaching of the Native language was passed from parent to child unintentionally, unknowingly and innocently, like Harold Napolean described in his book Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being. He wrote that the symptoms experienced by the survivors of the influenza epidemic are the same symptoms of survivors of post-traumatic stress disorder and that the present disease of the soul and the psyche is passed from parent to child unintentionally, unknowingly and innocently. Let us take time to reflect and understand what happened to bring us to where we are today: William Hensley In his 1981 speech at the BMEEC, Iñupiaq William Hensley said the following: "The policy of repressing the Native language in the school system has had the effect of repressing the ancient spirit of the people that enabled us to survive over many thousands of years. The values that have been beaten into our people were in direct contrast to the very values that enabled us to survive. In the place of common effort, individuality has been made sacred. In the place of cooperation, competition is fostered. In the place of sharing, acquisitiveness in our lives is pummeled into our minds through the media. It is no wonder that there are so-called Native problems." Eben Hopson Eben Hopson, at a bilingual conference, said the following which appeared in Cross Cultural Studies in Education: "Eighty-seven years ago, when we were persuaded to send our children to Western educational institutions, we began to lose control over the education of our youth. Many of our people believed that formal educational systems would help us acquire the scientific knowledge of the Western world. However, it was more than technological knowledge that the educators wished to impart. The educational policy was to attempt to assimilate us into the American mainstream at the expense of our culture. The schools were committed to teaching us to forget our language and Iñupiaq heritage. There are many of you parents who, like me, were physically punished if we spoke one Iñupiaq word. Many of us can still recall the sting of the wooden ruler across the palms of our hands and the shame of being forced to stand in the corner of the room, face to the wall, for half an hour if we were caught uttering one word of our Native language. This outrageous treatment and the exiling of our youth to school in foreign environments were to remain the common practices of the educational system. For eighty-seven years, the BIA tried to destroy our culture through the education of our children. Those who would destroy our culture did not succeed. However, it was not without cost. Many of our people have suffered. We all know the social ills we endure today. Recently, I heard a member of the school personnel say that many of our Iñupiaq children have poor self-concepts. Is it any wonder, when the school systems fail to provide the Iñupiaq student with experiences which would build positive self-concepts when the Iñupiaq language and culture are almost totally excluded?" Changes in the 80s and 90s Since these speeches were given in the 70s and 80s, much has changed. William Hensley was instrumental in developing the Iñupiaq Ilitqusiat Spirit Movement in Northwest Alaska, where the values were listed and parents were encouraged to speak Iñupiaq to their children. Immersion programs have been developed in Barrow, Bethel, Arctic Village, Kotzebue and other places around Alaska. We have powerful web sites such as the Alaska Native Curriculum and Teacher Development Project created by Paul Ongtooguk and his staff and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, a byproduct of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, where we receive information from Sean Topkok under the direction of Ray Barnhardt, Oscar Kawagley and Frank Hill. Although we have made some progress since then, the effects of the punishment inflicted on our parents or grandparents for speaking Iñupiaq lingers today. I was born in 1954 and when I went to school this did not happen to us. My mother lived in camp much of her childhood years so she didn't speak much English when I was young. My father, on the other hand, had attended school until he was in the eighth grade. He had heard stories of how people were punished for speaking Iñupiaq and knew the importance of speaking English. When I was very young, my mother's cousin and I were playing and speaking Iñupiaq with a high tone English accent saying something like this: Uvuÿa aquvillagutin. We thought we spoke English when we raised our voices and played "teacher." Well, my father pulled me over and said in Iñupiaq, "Daughter, you must try your best to learn to speak English." From that moment on, I did my best to speak English to him, but I spoke Iñupiatun to my mother and grandmother. Only recently have I started speaking in full Iñupiaq sentences to my father. I know he told me this because he wanted me to succeed in school. My father's generation did not have the luxury of welfare or government assistance, so their goal was for us to learn as much as we could so we could have good jobs that provided food and shelter for us. I dare say that at some point in the 60s, it seemed like the goal for many young women was to move to a city and work somewhere with a typewriter. Just come home once a year and see how everybody's doing. That happened with some people, but they found that they missed home, missed Iñupiaq food and all that goes on in a village. Last year, we had invited an Elder from Kiana by the name of Tommy Sheldon to speak to the school staff about the history of Kiana. He spoke about how the schools were segregated when he was a child. Only the children of white people or half breeds attended school until they set up a school for Native children. He spoke about how he was punished for speaking Iñupiaq at school. The most common form of punishment for people who tell their story was to stand in the corner or next to the black board with your nose matched to a dot on the board. This was punishment for being Iñupiaq and speaking your own language. A beautiful language that had been used to communicate and verbalize concepts from a world view that existed for many years and helped the Iñupiat to survive in the Arctic. Later he said that if they spoke Iñupiaq, then they were not allowed to attend the school party. If you didn't go to the school party, you didn't get to eat cookies and juice. That's when I thought, "We lost some of our language to cookies and juice." Today, the grandchildren do not speak the language because of this cookie and this juice. When I spoke to my father, he recounted that boys who were older than him would refrain from speaking Iñupiaq just to attend a school party where beans were served. So we lost some of our language for a bowl of beans. I also spoke to my friend Bertha Sheldon of Shungnak. She said that when they spoke Iñupiaq, they would stand in a corner. They would also have to hold books from an outstretched hand and would be barred from attending the school party at the end of the month if they didn't. If they couldn't go to the party, they would go to the window and watch the fun the students were having inside. She particularly remembers when apples were hung from the ceiling with string and the students raced to see who would finish eating an apple first without using their hands. It looked like so much fun and the apples looked so delicious. Mmm, they thought, this time I will not speak an Iñupiaq word. Later, they couldn't even look inside the window anymore because the curtains were drawn across the window. Then I spoke to a former Iñupiaq teacher named Amelia Aaluk Gray of Kobuk. She said that if they spoke Iñupiaq in the school grounds, someone would tell on them and they would receive a black mark by their name on a piece of paper. If they got so many marks, then they could not go to the school to play games on Fridays (an equivalent to game night.) She said the teachers only wanted them to learn English so that they could learn what was taught in school. She was not bitter about what happened because by this time, she had learned to forgive them and tried to understand what had happened. Okay, so we've heard those stories before. They happened many years ago. Right now is the time to move on. Well, after Tommy spoke, a woman younger than me remembered how she had to hold books with an outstretched hand. She remembers the shame and humiliation and says that today, as a parent, it makes it difficult for her to speak Iñupiaq to her children although she speaks Iñupiaq to her spouse, siblings and parents. Another woman shared with me that when she moved from the village to Kotzebue, where more people spoke English, whenever she started to speak Iñupiaq, her sister would whisper and scold her not to speak Iñupiaq. Especially since she spoke a slightly different dialect from the one spoken in Kotzebue. That is when I realized that this problem has to be dealt with. I am not a therapist and I have no quick solutions. Because a public apology was not made soon enough, the attitude about the language silently crept from generation to generation during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now there is a new young generation who wonder why their parents did not speak Iñupiaq to them. Forgiveness and Healing If we are to make parents and grandparents feel welcome in the school, we must invite them into the school and publicly apologize for what happened to them or their parents in the past. We must hear their story and validate it. We must not ignore it or it will continue to fester and more bitterness will grow until we have nothing left. We still have hope that more of the language can be shared and spoken in all its beauty for it is a language of the heart. The balance of this article will appear in the next issue of Sharing Our Pathways. | |
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New Guidelines for Culturally- Responsive School Boards:A new set of guidelines has been developed addressing the role of school boards in providing a culturally-responsive education for the students under their care. The guidelines are organized around various leadership roles related to the management of formal educational systems, including those of board members, administrators, communities, professional educators and statewide policymakers. Native educators from throughout the state contributed to the development of these guidelines through a series of workshops and meetings associated with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. The guidance offered is intended to encourage schools to strive to be reflections of their communities by incorporating and building upon the rich cultural traditions and knowledge of the people indigenous to the area. It is hoped that these guidelines will encourage school boards to more fully engage communities in the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development of Alaska's youth. Using these guidelines will expand the knowledge base and range of insights and expertise available to help communities nurture healthy, confident, responsible and well-rounded young adults through a more decentralized and culturally-responsive educational system. Along with these guidelines are a set of general recommendations aimed at stipulating the kind of initiatives that need to be taken to achieve the goal of more culturally-responsive schools. State and federal agencies, universities, professional associations, school districts and Native communities are encouraged to review their policies, programs and practices and adopt these guidelines and recommendations to strengthen their cultural responsiveness. In so doing, the educational development of students throughout Alaska will be enriched and the future well-being of the communities being served will be enhanced. Following is a summary of the eight areas of responsibility around which the Guidelines for Culturally-Responsive School Boards are organized. The details for each area will be published in booklet form and are currently available on the ANKN web site at www.ankn.uaf.edu. Guidelines for Culturally-Responsive School Boards School district board members are responsible for providing guidance and oversight to insure that district policies and practices nurture the cultural well-being of the students and reflect the long-term interests of the communities being served. Local school/community committees provide the foundation on which the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being of future generations rests. Culturally-responsive school district administrators provide support for school board members and district staff in integrating cultural considerations in all aspects of the educational system. Culturally-responsive school boards must rely on the communities they serve to provide a healthy and supportive environment that reinforces the values and behaviors its members wish to instill in their future generations. Educators are responsible for providing a supportive learning environment that reinforces the cultural well-being of the students in their care in a manner consistent with school board policy. Schools must be fully engaged with the life of the communities they serve so as to provide consistency of expectations with those of a culturally-responsive school board. It is hoped that these guidelines will encourage school boards to more fully engage communities in the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development of Alaska's youth. State policymakers and educational agencies should provide a supportive policy, program and funding environment that promotes local standards and initiatives in the application of culturally-responsive educational practices. All citizens must assume greater responsibility for nurturing the diverse traditions by which each child grows to become a culturally-healthy human being and selecting school board members who are willing to exercise that responsibility. General Recommendations The following recommendations have been put forward to support the effective implementation of the Guidelines for Culturally-Responsive School Boards: The First Alaskans Institute should assist in the formation of an Alaska Native school board association with the capacity to provide training and assistance for school board members to assume greater responsibility in shaping the agenda and direction for their district and fostering more culturally-responsive educational systems to serve the needs of Alaska. The Alaska Association of School Boards should incorporate the above guidelines into its school board training program and provide a supportive environment for their implementation by its members. The Alaska Association of School Boards should continue to develop its assets-building program, "Helping Kids Succeed, Alaskan Style", including linking the program to the Guidelines for Nurturing Culturally-Healthy Youth. The Department of Education and Early Development should incorporate the Alaska Standards for Culturally-Responsive Schools and associated guidelines into its school accreditation review criteria. The Department of Education and Early Development should provide incentives for school districts to incorporate cultural orientation programs into the annual district inservice schedule, including the provision for new teachers to spend several days in a cultural immersion camp. Urban school boards should reflect the cultural makeup of the community they serve and encourage candidates representing major cultural groups to seek election to the board. Working groups appointed by the board and administration should also include a balanced representation of major cultural viewpoints. School districts should sponsor opportunities for students to participate regularly in cultural immersion camps with parents, Elders and teachers sharing subsistence activities during each season of the year. As regional tribal colleges are established, they should provide a support structure for the implementation of these guidelines in each of their respective cultural regions. School boards should seek to reestablish the traditional education role of uncles, aunts, Elders and other members of the families and communities and explore ways to incorporate those roles, along with those of the parents, into the educational process. . . . . The guidelines outlined here should be incorporated in university educational leadership courses and made an integral part of all professional preparation and cultural orientation programs. An annotated bibliography of resource materials that address issues associated with these guidelines will be maintained on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web site (www.ankn.uaf.edu). Further information on issues related to the implementation of these guidelines, as well as copies of the complete guidelines may be obtained from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 756730, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730, 907-474-5086, http://www.ankn.uaf.edu. | |
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Observing Locally, Connecting Globally: 2002 Summer Institute for Educators:Observing Locally, Connecting Globally (OLCG) is a NSF-funded science education project based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The goal of this program is to provide Alaskan teachers and students with opportunities to engage in global change research focused on the local environment and connected to larger issues of global change. Cost Partial to full grant support for travel and per diem to attend this institute is provided. Credit 4 credits, NRM 595 or ED 595 Instructors Dr. Elena Sparrow, Dr. Leslie Gordon and Sidney Stephens For more information or an application, please contact: Martha Kopplin Joy School 24 Margaret St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 456-5469 phone, 456-1477 fax mkopplin@northstar.k12.ak.us We invite you to participate in our third summer institute for teachers to be held in Fairbanks May 28-June 12, 2002. Participants will receive training and classroom support in the GLOBE curriculum (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment); current best practices in science education; the integration of local/traditional knowledge into environmental studies and collaboration with community and university scientists. Anyone working with students is welcome. Priority will be given to people whose participation will add to or create a team at their site. We are especially encouraging teams from rural Alaska consisting of formal and informal educators, local experts in science or Native knowledge, resource specialists or administrators. We are also interested in teams of urban educators working with a large number of Native students. | |
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The Imaginarium Meets With Rural Communities:Science Center Works With Village Leaders, Families and Educators to Develop New Health and Science Outreach Programs Kids love learning and they love science! Parents, educators and communities in Alaska recognize the importance of health and science education. They are asking for more opportunities for their students to experience science while also exploring connections between science and their everyday life and the environment. The Imaginarium heard this loud and clear while visiting communities and talking with people throughout Alaska. Fortunately, the Imaginarium, Alaska's own science discovery center, has a wonderful opportunity to address these needs and priorities. Recent grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will fund the development of new health and science programs and will increase our ability to offer meaningful, hands-on science and health experiences to villages and communities throughout Alaska. The Imaginarium will develop a variety of programs and resources, such as exciting and entertaining assembly shows designed to spark interest in a science topic and get the audience motivated to learn more. Classroom programs will focus on hands-on, discovery-based learning while community programming, in which families are encouraged to experience science together, will also be a priority. To extend the learning into the classroom, the Imaginarium will design kits, resources and training opportunities for educators, including teacher aides. It is important to the Imaginarium, and indeed the very core of the outreach program's vision, to ensure that these programs are guided by and based on the needs and interests of the communities they will serve. We will also strive to create programs that acknowledge and respect traditional knowledge, as well as consider the place, culture and past experience of the learner. To this end, we are visiting communities in each of the five geocultural regions of Alaska to address the needs and interests of educators, parents, Elders, healthcare providers, students and community members. The Imaginarium is guided in this effort by a Science Outreach Advisory Committee made up of cultural leaders, educators, scientists and healthcare providers and chaired by Lydia Scott of NANA Development Corporation. The co-directors and regional coordinators for the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative serve on this committee and have been instrumental in helping the Imaginarium identify communities to visit and individuals and organizations to contact. The Imaginarium wants to thank AKRSI, the Advisory Committee and all of the communities we have visited so far-Kodiak, Port Lions, Juneau, Angoon, Togiak, Nome, Savoonga and Koyuk-as well as all of the wonderful people we have met along the way. We have gained so much knowledge through visiting rural communities, attending meetings such as the Native Educator's Conference and the Native Education Summit, exploring the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web site, reading the Sharing Our Pathways newsletter and other publications and listening to Elders and local experts. The Imaginarium team also realizes that there is more to learn and we welcome input or ideas at any point along this journey. This important input and feedback will guide the development of new Imaginarium outreach programs for the next four years. Each year the Imaginarium will develop a set of health science programs around a central theme. These will be piloted in ten communities throughout Alaska and then become a part of the Imaginarium's Science Caravan program the following year, making them available to all of Alaska. We will also introduce three new general science outreach programs each year to keep our offerings diverse and relevant. Your community does not have to wait to experience the fun and excitement of the Imaginarium's Science Caravan programs. Check out our current outreach programs, such as The Big Chill, Radical Reactions or Rockin' Reptiles on our web site www.imaginarium.org. For more information, contact Mia Jackson at 276-3179 or mia@imaginarium.org. We will also strive to create programs that acknowledge and respect traditional knowledge . . . | |
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UAF Summer 2002 Program in Cross-Cultural Studies for Alaskan Educators:Alaska Staff Development Network * Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative Center for Cross-Cultural Studies * UAF Summer Sessions o Northwest Campus UAF Summer 2002 Program in Cross-Cultural Studies for Alaskan Educators The Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, the Alaska Staff Development Network, the UAF Summer Sessions and the Northwest Campus invite educators from throughout Alaska to participate in a series of two- and three-credit courses focusing on the implementation of the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools. The courses may be taken individually or as a six-, nine- or twelve-credit sequence. The courses may be used to meet the state multicultural education requirement for licensure, and/or they may be applied to graduate degree programs at UAF. Rural Academy for Culturally Responsive Schools May 28-June 1, 2002 Northwest Campus, Nome, Alaska The five-day intensive Rural Academy, sponsored by the Alaska Staff Development Network, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative and the UAF Northwest Campus, will consist of the following educational opportunities: * Each enrollee will be able to participate in two out of seven two-day workshops that will be offered demonstrating how the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools are being implemented in communities throughout rural Alaska. * Two panel sessions will be offered in which participants will be able to hear first-hand from key educational practitioners and policymakers from throughout the state. * A day-long field trip will allow participants to meet and interact with Elders and other key people and visit sites in the Nome area. * Participants will share successful strategies and programs from throughout the state. * Participants will have the option to complete a follow-up project relevant to their own work situation. Instructor: Ray Barnhardt and workshop presenters Credit options: ED 695, Rural Academy for Culturally Responsive Schools (2 cr.) ED/CCS 613, Alaska Standards for Culturally Resp. Sch. (3cr.) Native Ways of Knowing July 15-August 2, 2002 The third course available in the cross-cultural studies series is a three-week seminar focusing on the educational implications of "Native ways of knowing." The course will examine teaching and learning practices reflected in indigenous knowledge systems, and how those practices may be incorporated into the schooling process. Examples drawn from the work of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network will be shared with participants. Instructor: Oscar Kawagley, Ph.D. Credit option: ED/ANS 461, Native Ways of Knowing (3 cr.) CCS 608, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (3 cr.) Cross-Cultural Orientation Program for Teachers June 3-21, 2002 The Center for Cross-Cultural Studies and UAF Summer Sessions will be offering the annual Cross-Cultural Orientation Program (XCOP) for teachers, beginning on June 3, 2002 and running through June 21, 2002, including a week (June 8-15) out at the Old Minto Cultural Camp on the Tanana River with Athabascan Elders from the village of Minto. The program is designed for teachers and others who wish to gain some background familiarity with the cultural environment and educational history that makes teaching in Alaska, particularly in rural communities, unique, challenging and rewarding. In addition to readings, films, guest speakers and seminars during the first and third weeks of the program, participants will spend a week in a traditional summer fish camp under the tutelage of Athabascan Elders who will share their insights and perspectives on the role of education in contemporary rural Native communities. Those who complete the program will be prepared to enter a new cultural and community environment and build on the educational foundation that is already in place in the hearts and minds of the people who live there. Instructor: Ray Barnhardt and Old Minto Elders Credit option: ED 610, Education and Cultural Processes (3 cr.) Information For further information about the Rural Academy, contact the UAF Northwest Campus at 907-443-2201, 907-443-5602 (fax) or the Alaska Staff Development Network at 2204 Douglas Highway, Suite 100, Douglas, Alaska 99824, 907-364-3801, 907-364-3805 (fax), e-mail asdn@ptialaska.net or go to the ASDN web site at http://www.asdn.org. For further information on the other courses offered in Fairbanks, please contact UAF Summer Sessions office at (907) 474-7021, or on the web at http://www.uaf.edu/summer. | |
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Yup'ik Region: Yup'ik Treasures of the Past by Esther Ilutsik:In 1997 a group of Elders and educators traveled to the Museum fur Volkerkunde in Berlin, Germany to view Yup'ik items that were collected over a hundred years ago. Many of these items had not been seen by the Elders since their childhood and brought back many memories that at times were emotional but provided much valuable insight into a cultural group that has long been stereotyped. The photos taken during this visit were discussed by Elder Annie Blue of Togiak, who helped to present a workshop at the 2002 Native Educators' Conference entitled "Yup'ik Treasurers of the Past". She was accompanied by Marie Meade, Yup'ik linguist; Ann Fienup-Riordan, anthropologist and myself. The objects discussed were collected in 1881 by a thirty-year old Norwegian named John Adrian Jacobsen (jack-of-all-trades). He collected over 6000 items from Alaska alone and about one-third of those items came from the Yup'ik region. Many of them were slate blades, nephrite, amulets and other "stone-age" tools (items that were associated with "primitive" people of the world who fascinated the Europeans.) But he also collected everyday items that were used by women, men and children as well as ceremonial objects. We made sure that all the items presented at the workshop were visually informative, but we also provided background information on how the items were used, the ritualistic aspects of the items and materials used to fashion them. This in-depth knowledge provided "fuel for the fire"; many inquires came from participants who were hungry for knowledge of their ancestral background but we had to move along with many lingering and unanswered questions. We had initially hoped to select 20-40 items from the slides to include in a traveling museum exhibit, but the task of making a selection from all the items taken from our Yup'ik region over a hundred years ago was immense. I first thought that it could be done in a couple of hours with Elders and educators going through hundreds of slides and making selections of items that they would like to see in a traveling exhibit. Instead we only went through about a dozen slides when the time allocated for our session was up. The plan now is to re-schedule a two-day session where the Elders can more carefully make the selections. As for the beautiful skin mittens, they were made in that fashion for a young women's right of passage into womanhood. Details are for the women's ears only! Elder Annie Blue of Togiak demonstrating how the hunters would drink water from the pouch. Taken at the Museum fur Volkerkunde in Berlin. | |
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