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 Contact information in earlier issues could be outdated.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.
| All Categories |
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 4 |
|---|
Native Leaders/Master Teachers by Bernice B. Tetpon:We are pleased to have these dynamic Native educators with the Teacher Leadership Development Project. The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative in collaboration with the Department of Education & Early Development made it possible to provide full-time salaries for these additions to the staff. The group met August 27-29 in Juneau to develop action plans for their respective regions with the major focus on implementing the Alaska Standards for Culturally-Responsive Schools and related cultural guidelines. We are happy to have the following lead/master teachers working with us: Alutiiq/Unangan region: Olga Pesterikoff and Teri Schneider (tschneider@kodiak.k12.ak.us) Athabascan region: Linda Green (linda@mail.ankn.uaf.edu) Iñupiaq region: B.Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimple (yalvanna@netscape.net) Yup'ik region: Esther Ilutsik (fneai@uaf.edu) Southeast region: Angela Lunda (lundag@gci.net) We will be providing more information on what each region is doing through the Teacher Leadership Development Project in future editions of Sharing Our Pathways. | |
|
Revisiting Action-Oriented, Multi-Reality Research by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley:For the last several centuries, native/tribal people have been inundated with the products of a materialistic and techno-mechanistic society. We have marveled at the power of the rational mind and ingenuity at producing many and varied gadgets that are getting more complex and thus more difficult to understand and operate. The Euro-Americans have used the scientific method, objectivity and reductionism to produce these wonders. They have made gadgets galore and produced boundless knowledge of the physical universe. But we should pay heed to the words of Gregory Peck in the movie, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, when he said, "Just because the airplane goes faster than the horse does not mean that we are better off now than we were then." We now suffer from overpopulation, erosion of natural resources, violence and a loss of faith and trust in our clergymen, politicians and other institutional leaders. The Euro-American scientists are coming to the North in droves to do research in places that they know little or nothing about, and often fumble around in the dark, almost blindly. Yet the indigenous people who have lived on this land for millennia are left out of the research projects in many instances. These original people who know the history and how to keep their place sustainable are ignored and seen as being primitive, having only anecdotal and place-specific knowledge. Native people are led to believe that they will find the problem and fix it with some form of new technology. However, there are seldom technological solutions to biological, mental or spiritual problems. Western science seeks to identify symptoms of problems and then develop treatments, whether it involves physical, intellectual, emotional or spiritual phenomena. This is well and good to a limited extent, but it has a obvious weakness. These generalized inclinations have thrust insights drawn from the physical world into a world of abstractions1. The phenomena studied becomes absorbed by the generalized approach to solving problems. This outmoded notion of reductionism and objectivity gets in the way of compassion and cooperation and denies emotional and spiritual connection between the human, other creatures, plants and elements of Mother Earth. However, indigenous people can only be understood as part of their environment, part of their place. Early in our heritage as we experienced change, our Elders recognized that this technical world produced much to purportedly make life easier, but they also warned that there is a danger in this trend. Too much of the resources are being used and wasted and the refining and manufacturing processes involved require excessive use of energy. In extracting minerals and timber, much land is laid to waste and it takes a long time for it to recover. These processes do not take into consideration the needs of the seventh generation. Will our descendants be able to enjoy the resources in a similar state of abundance and savor the beauty of Mother Earth as our ancestors did? 1. Berry, Wendell. (2000) Life is a Miracle: An essay against modern superstition. Washington, D. C.: Counterpoint Psychologist Carl Jung has written of the "collective consciousness" and other scientists have used a holographic metaphor to convey the complexity of our relationship to our past and to each other. I can readily appreciate this as it lends itself to explaining our ancestral memory and ways of knowing. During gestation in the mother's womb, a chord is struck which resonates in the universal holographic mind. Early in life, certain notes in this chord vibrate stronger than others, such as for suckling, crying when hungry or hurting, smiling to show love and joy and so forth. As the child gets older these early notes become weaker as others become stronger, from which emerges an outgoing personality, a spiritual attitude, a love of music, a mathematical or scientific interest and so forth. These will continue to grow while others begin to shrink as we mature. There is a story of a hunter about to cross a newly frozen body of water. He remembers his Elders telling him that he should test the strength of the newly formed ice by dropping his ice pick. If it penetrates and does not stop, don't try crossing because the ice will be too weak. If the pick stops where the wooden handle and bone point intersect, the hunter can try to cross. To do so, he has to gather energy by looking at the sky, the sun, currents, wind, moon and stars from which he gains a feeling of lightness in his mind. He starts across the ice establishing a rhythmic gait, and he makes it to the other side. The energy chord produced from his observations has struck a resonant chord in the holographic mind bringing his body in rhythm with the surrounding environment. It behooves us, as Native researchers, to redesign research methodologies that go beyond those we have learned in the Euro-American universities. We must first try to find balance in our own lives before we attempt to establish a meaningful and dynamic relationship with those we are seeking to understand. In some instances we may have to rely on spiritual methods altogether. This will allow us to truly interpret data that we have gathered by asking questions, observing and directly participating in an experience. We, as Native people, thrive on first-hand experience as the primary source of knowledge. We have heard stories about tuberculosis being healed by drinking juice of the spruce needle, or the remission of cancer by drinking stinkweed juice. These treatments require belief and faith from one's own worldview, using the whole mind and body to try to explain and understand. If no rational explanation is found, then one has to accept this on belief and faith of something greater than you and I. In using this method of knowing it presents a new frontier of research methods using the whole self. The self is consciousness without knowing. It has been said that mysticism is a dialectic of feeling, while science is a dialectic of reason. We must work toward the integration of the intellectual with the mystical for the healing process to be complete. Albert Einstein noted that spirituality is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research and as such is a philosophical/psychological prerequisite for research. Most research methodologies in vogue today require that we only use a part of our self. However, the modern scientific method combined with Native ways has the potential to produce a new breed of scientists and engineers who are able to exercise all their capabilities with compassion and a sense of greater purpose as they strive to build a technology kinder to the human, the environment and the spirit that resides within all of us. These scientists will work for restoring balance, healing and living a life that feels just right. This is action-oriented, multi-reality research which will put Alaska Native people on a pathway to greater control of our past, present and future. | |
|
Southeast Region: My Turn by Ted Wright:While I really do appreciate the progress made toward better schools and smarter students, much work remains to be done, so I would also ask policymakers and people in positions of influence over our educational systems to take time to reconsider the process and product of schooling. If the kind of education we are providing is adequate, why does the urban-rural gap seem to be growing? And why do many of our political and financial leaders seem to misunderstand the plight of Alaska Natives in general and the importance of subsistence in particular? Even among Alaska Natives I wonder about an educational system that produces leaders who haven't learned to look several generations ahead to consider if their decisions are sound, but instead focuses their attention only on earnings and dividends. I wonder, for example, if any of the Native leaders who are advocates of unbridled development have asked their most knowledgeable Elders about the possible long-term impacts on their people's way of life. At what point did we forget that traditional education-knowledge about who we are and how we live in a particular place-is at least as important if not more important to our survival than a mainstream standards-based education? I know when I forgot-it was when I went away to earn a graduate degree and stopped hearing the voice of my grandmother and other Elders. It was when I decided that a credential bestowed by a prestigious institution was more important than the truth about the world in which I would live. It was when I decided that what I do is more important than where I live and who I am. It has been hard for many of this generation to redefine ourselves as Alaskans when we are so unaware of even the basic facts about who we are in relation to the place we live. In this respect, our education has failed us and we didn't even know it. That is the bad news. The good news is that it is not too late to change the system for our children and grandchildren. I have a few suggestions. To start, let's elect legislators who will recognize the importance of investing in our schools and have the foresight to mandate that districts statewide offer classes in Alaska Studies. Let's allocate funds to pay Alaska teachers the best salaries in the country, and then train them to make their methods and curriculum materials place-based and culturally relevant. If such training is an option, like an endorsement in reading, then let's pay teachers who complete such training more than those who do not. And at the college level, support for programs and pedagogies infused with a local and regional worldview is a good first step. I believe it is possible to not only keep our kids in Alaska after high school, but also to provide them with an education that helps them make sense of the complex issues that we all face now and in the years to come. The future of Alaska is its children. I would humbly suggest that to ensure a bright future, we have got to substantially change our schools. Not only does this kind of change need to begin now, but it has to begin with each and everyone of us. | |
|
Who is this child named WIPCE? by Ac'arralek Lolly Sheppard Carpluk:WIPCE 2002 Alaska participants peek out the door of a teepee after dance practice. Top L to R: Olga Pestrikoff, Lolly Carpluk, Virginia Ned, Bernice Tetpon, Caroline Tritt-Frank. Bottom L to R: Florence Newman, Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle, Nita Rearden, Cecilia Martz, Julie Kangin. Photo by Lolly Carpluk Dr. Verna J. Kirkness equated WIPCE to being a child who was born in Xwmelch'sten, North Vancouver, Canada-a difficult and laborious birth, she recalls. From there WIPCE was nurtured and suckled at Turangawaewae Marae, Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 1990 on its third birthday and then on to Wollongong, Australia for its sixth birthday in 1993. WIPCE's ninth birthday was spent in arid Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1996 and in 1999 WIPCE was really happy to spend its twelfth birthday in Hilo, Hawai'i. This year's host for WIPCE's fifteenth birthday was the First Nations Adult and Higher Education Consortium (FNAHEC). The conference drew 2500 people to the beautiful site of Stoney Park on the Nakoda Nation Reserve near Morley, Alberta, Canada. I had no idea what to expect when I attended my first WIPCE in Albuquerque in 1996. I had no clue that I would share similar struggles in education with likeminded indigenous peoples who soon became friends from across the world. Little did I expect to network with indigenous people who had developed models of education and a way of thinking that were the beginnings of turning indigenous education around. Little did I expect to participate in celebrations of who we are as indigenous peoples with dancing, singing and, most important of all, the sense of humor that pulls us through all of life and its challenges. All this happened and more. The sharing of models and ideas flourished with the attendance of over 5000 people at the Fifth World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education hosted by the Hawaiians in Hilo, Hawaii in 1999. So, too, the networking and connections continued with the Sixth World Indigenous Conference on Education in Stoney Park. The WIPCE 2002 mission statement stated that we would celebrate "the sharing and promoting of indigenous-based initiatives by featuring holistic educational efforts to maintain and perpetuate our ways of knowing and to actualize the positive development of indigenous communities." The conference objectives supported the mission statement by providing a means for indigenous nations to honor their cultures and traditions by recognizing, respecting and taking pride in respective unique practices. The conference opening and closing ceremonies, the daily sunrise ceremony, the evening cultural exchanges and performances and the many workshops provided the means to achieve these valuable experiences. In addition, the conference provided a continuation of dialogue and action around educational issues that indigenous nations face, as well as a forum for international exchanges and the promotion of experiential teachings that actively involved all conference participants. Workshops and presentations were held in over 60 teepees sprawled out over a field at WIPCE 2002 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We honored and recognized the teachings of our Elders by incorporating their experiences in the various workshops and activities. The conference organizers sought to strengthen and continue the WIPCE legacy that indigenous peoples gain greater autonomy over their everyday lives and strive to overcome the effects of colonialism. Presenters were encouraged to share how they are implementing the provisions articulated in the Coolongata Statement on Indigenous Rights in Education that was adopted at the 1999 WIPCE in Hilo. FNAHEC was founded on the belief that the realization of cultural identity is essential to the development of the self-actualized person. So it was their intention that hosting the world conference would enable them to "bring about greater unity and co-operative action to make our world the place that our creator intended it to be." The conference brought educators together from around the world to provide opportunities for collaborative initiatives. A challenge in hosting the conference was to make the circle larger by bringing representatives from countries that had not previously participated. Thus the conference included people from Central America and Samiiland. The WIPCE 2002 logo was drawn by Allen B. Wells from the Kainai Blood Nation in Alberta. His logo captured the proud spirit of First Nations heritage and the attainment of education. The peace pipe stood as a spiritual symbol of our cultural beliefs, a gift from the Great Spirit. Within the circle was a teepee, the meeting and learning place from which emanates the knowledge for living that is passed on from generation to generation. The mountains in the background represented the spiritual essence of our culture. They also formed the beautiful backdrop for the chosen venue of WIPCE 2002-the land of the Nakoda Nation. The feathers represented the four seasons flowing in perpetual motion-the Circle of Life. Also, embodied within the meaning of the feathers is the Great Spirit above whom has blessed us with spiritual, mental, physical and emotional balance to live in harmony within His creation. WIPCE 2002 began on a cold, gray day nestled in a clearing surrounded by poplar and pine trees, with the majestic Rocky Mountains in the background and the beginnings of the Bow River as it flowed from the mountain range out into the prairie lands that surround Calgary. We, from many international indigenous nations, huddled together for warmth on bleachers as we listened to the opening ceremonies. The largest contingencies came from Hawai'i and Aotearoa, with more than 100 from each nation. There were about 30 people from Alaska, a majority of whom are involved with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, either as employees or memorandum-of-agreement (MOA) partners. On Monday, Tuesday and Friday, workshops and presentations were held in over 60 teepees sprawled out over a field that is also gopher and grasshopper habitat. We either walked or rode on golf carts from the entrance to our destinations. Most of the teepees had no electrical outlets which presented a challenge for those who came with Powerpoint presentations or had planned to use transparencies. As a result, we truly relied on traditional methods of sharing through our oral tradition. It made for a startling jolt from the taken-for-granted modern technology that we have become accustomed to. But by the end of the week everyone was comfortable with this type of presenting, because it seemed to encourage more interaction. We were taken to a time where we had to listen with our ears, eyes, minds, hearts and souls. The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative representatives and MOA partners put on a joint presentation with a delegation of Native Hawaiians from the Kahuawaiola Teacher Education Program in Hilo. This presentation was held in a virtual teepee (outdoors on the ground), and it was appropriate since it accommodated a large audience. Part of the Alaskan group held a dance practice in one of the teepees before the joint presentation, as we didn't want to be out-done by the Hawaiians with traditional dances. Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle and Nita Rearden each lead an Iñupiaq and a Yup'ik dance, respectively. Over the last two years there has been an intense exchange and networking between the Alaskan and Hawaiian Native education groups around the development of cultural standards, which was the theme of our three-hour presentation. This is a great partnership that is sure to continue with the development and exchange of models and ideas to improve education. Elder Julie Kangin giving her presentation at the "virtual teepee". WIPCE 2002, Stoney Park, Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Lolly Carpluk A group of us attended a workshop presented by Graham Smith of the University of Auckland in which he shared recent developments among the Maori in Aotearoa (New Zealand). He discussed at length a theory of transformative action during which he shared that the Te Kohanga Reo (language nests) served as a flagship for a new mindset of indigenous peoples realizing that the movement to integrate indigenous language and culture was an affirmation of self-determination. As indigenous peoples we are cognizant that our languages and cultures are parallel to and on par with those of the colonizers and thus we do not need external endorsement that our culture is valid and something we should be proud of. This realization has now reached to all levels of education and is having an impact on everything from infant to tertiary (postsecondary) institutions. Another presentation that we attended was lead by Pita Sharples of Auckland, Aotearoa. He presented a rationale and strategy for the development of a Maori Education Authority, where there would be a Maori education minister with joint responsibility for the coordination of all Maori education programs. He wanted feedback from the audience on this concept as a way to exercise greater self-determination and to increase Maori control over Maori education. Virginia Ned and I led a workshop on "Promoting an Indigenous Perspective in Research." I discussed my personal journey in becoming an indigenous researcher, with help from the timely work and publications by Linda Smith of Auckland, Aotearoa and Marie Battiste of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I discussed the benefits of doing a community research assessment and how I would like to go about it. I believe each Native community is at a different level in their journey to accepting research from an indigenous perspective. Virginia presented her preliminary study of research that has been conducted in the Interior Athabascan region. The results from her study are extensive and very interesting and should be shared with Native peoples throughout Alaska. All the participants were interested in finding out more about further work on indigenous perspectives in research. On Wednesday and Thursday, we had the opportunity to participate in cultural and educational tours. A group of us went on the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation tour. We went onto a reserve that was 20 by 80 miles in size. Our tour was opened with a prayer before we visited historic sites, including a memorable visit to the site where Treaty Number 7 was signed. The significance of the setting was felt spiritually and moved a group of Maori who were on the same tour to lead a prayer and blessing. We were treated to a wonderful feast and powwow. WIPCE 2002 gave birth to a new organization, the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC). The declaration establishing WINHEC states that, "as indigenous peoples of the world, we recognize and reaffirm the educational rights of all indigenous peoples, and we share the vision, united in the collective synergy of self-determination through control of higher education". The members of the consortium are also committed to building partnerships to pursue common goals through higher education. This was a historic moment, bringing together indigenous higher education representatives from all the indigenous regions represented at the conference to support the creation of this new organization. The concluding comments by the five representatives of past WIPCE organizing committees gave us a clearer picture of what WIPCE has been and will continue to be-the rebirth of indigenous peoples realization that our language and culture will always define who we are, and it is our right and responsibility to make sure this is passed on to future generations. Thus it was appropriate that Dr. Verna Kirkness equated WIPCE with a child, for the rebirth of indigenous peoples education began with the infant in the language nest and has grown to nurture the full potential of our children and their parents as we move through the different stages of development and grow into those who will become our future Elders. For that child, it has been a time of celebrating learning, celebrating cultures, celebrating our ancestors, celebrating who we are and celebrating our goals and aspirations. As Verna pointed out, it has also been a time to share our knowledge, a time to give thanks to the Creator and even a time of romance, not only among the young but among the old(er) as well. That child's image has been molded by each nation that has hosted the conference, helping us to continually discover new ways to move beyond being merely guests in someone else's educational system. We need to better define who we are and continue to highlight what is indigenous about WIPCE. As the Elders have taught us, it is important to take good thoughts with you and leave the bad thoughts in the snow, so that come springtime they may be reborn into good thoughts. Dr. Bob Morgan of Australia pointed out that Elders are our pathway to the past and the youth are the custodians of the future. As the WIPCE child has grown, there have been themes of cultural affirmation by performances and ceremonies; exchange of ideas and materials where we learn from each other and develop connections between and among nations, strengthening and reinvigorating ourselves in an open forum, networking and sharing so that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts, celebration and renewal for all to love being indigenous and thankfulness that we are going home with full hearts to take the learning and growth to our families. . . . our language and culture will always define who we are, and it is our right and responsibility to make sure this is passed on to future generations. In looking to the future of the WIPCE child, Verna Kirkness encouraged holding youth forums, emphasizing that we need to do more for our youth so they know that we now have new instruments by which we can reinvigorate our educational agenda. We can create a path of harmony for our young people and we can create institutions that celebrate our advocacy for indigenous education. We are fortunate to have our Elders who can guide us in our return to our traditional language, laws, values, beliefs and rituals that will be at the center of the rebirth, rebuilding and recreating of our institutions for tomorrow. As this year's theme stated, the answers are going to have to come from within us. Our traditions will show us how to cleanse our souls and our minds to deal with finding the answers. Harold Cardinal reminded us that we have to look deep within ourselves as we revisit our past to create the most successful institutions for our future, so they will bring harmony to our nations, as well as to the rest of the world. The Maori of Aotearoa were selected to host the 2005 WIPCE. There was an eruption of celebrations as this news was shared. It is appropriate that the WIPCE child return to Aotearoa, since the Maori have created models of education for the whole child. We will try our very best to be patient for the year 2005 to arrive, when we can all join in another open forum of renewal and celebrations. I would like to thank the Nakoda Nation and FNAHEC, on behalf of the Alaska contingency, for the wonderful and loving care you shared with us in hosting WIPCE 2002. As I was leaving the bus that took a small group of us to the Calgary airport, the nine year old girl that accompanied her mom (who was the bus driver) gave me a pin that said, "Make the Circle Stronger." So, as the WIPCE logo incorporates the Circle of Life, may we continue to be blessed with spiritual, mental, physical and emotional balance as we live in harmony with all creation. | |
|
WINHEC Formed At WIPCE by Merritt Helfferich:Declaration On Indigenous People's Higher Education On this day, August 5, 2002, at Kananaskis Village, Alberta, Canada, we gather as indigenous peoples of our respective nations recognizing and reaffirming the educational rights of all indigenous peoples. We share the vision of indigenous peoples of the world united in the collective synergy of self determination through control of higher education. We commit to building partnerships that restore and retain indigenous spirituality, cultures and languages, homelands, social systems, economic systems and self-determination. We do hereby convene the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium. This consortium will provide an international forum and support for indigenous peoples to purse common goals through higher education. By our signatures, we agree to: 1. Accelerate the articulation of indigenous epistemology (ways of knowing, education, philosophy, and research); 2. Protect and enhance indigenous spiritual beliefs, culture and languages through higher education; 3. Advance the social, economical, and political status of indigenous peoples that contribute to the well-being of indigenous communities through higher education; 4. Create an accreditation body for indigenous education initiatives and systems that identify common criteria, practices and principles by which indigenous peoples live; 5. Recognize the significance of indigenous education; 6. Create a global network for sharing knowledge through exchange forums and state of the art technology and 7. Recognize the educational rights of indigenous peoples. In the spirit of ancestors and generations to come, we hereby affix our signatures below: [signed by over 100 WIPCE participants] The initial signing took place at a ceremony outside the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis Village, Alberta where signatures were affixed to the charter document while it lay on the ground to mark the indigenous peoples interdependence with the earth. After prayers, members of the interim executive committee named at the meetings signed the document while about 30 Maori sang songs in the background. Following the signing, there were additional prayers and a lot of hugs and cheers! | |
|
Youth Empowerment: Traditional Values & Contemporary Leadership by Cathy Rexford:The First Annual Youth Leadership Conference. We lift up a new generation of leaders who are grounded in our Iñupiaq values. During the three-day event, high school students from across the North Slope discovered that the key to success in leadership is Iñupiaqatigiigñiq (Iñupiaq values). As we focus on cultural identity in leadership, we raise the status of our Native way of life and further revive traditional values in contemporary Iñupiaq leadership. The connection between positive self esteem, cultural respect and leadership was stressed in the conference theme, "Empowering Our Youth Through Positive Leadership." The message was strong throughout the conference: "Know who you are, respect yourself, know where you come from, respect and remember the Iñupiaq people you serve. Be strong and proud of your place in our communities." Elders, experienced community leaders, along with young up-and-coming leaders shared their knowledge and gave encouragement to the students. The combination of panel presentations and student action oriented work sessions gave the students the knowledge they need to make a difference and a forum to contribute to the health of their schools and communities. The youth raised their voices, and what we heard from these young people was a new generation of Iñupiaq leaders who will look with hope to the future while learning from the past. These students worked long and hard hours for three days. Leaving the conference, students were better able to understand their important roles in school and in their communities, they learned valuable lessons from our Barrow Elders and they had a level of excitement and confidence in themselves that we hope they carry with them for their lifetimes. Student participant Desiree Kaveolook of Kaktovik writes: While I participated in the First Annual 2002 Leadership Conference, I learned many values a person must have to be a good leader. One of the senior guest speakers, Kenneth Toovak, said in order to be a leader, we have to get up early in the morning to plan for the day. That way the people would get more work done, and they would feel better about themselves. I also learned that the cultural values are important to an Iñupiaq leader. They connect us to our ancestors and land. Commitment, confidence and communication are also important values to have for being a leader. I think that a leader who does not have commitment would not be able to hold a community together. I also don't think someone could be a leader without confidence. A person could not be a leader without communication, because he or she would not know what the people feel or want. This conference taught us many things. I am looking forward to next year's conference and hope that it is as successful as this one. Day One featured community panels: . "Qualities of a Good Leader" with Elders Martha Aiken, Kenneth Toovak and Lloyd Ahvakana. . "Qualities and Values of Sound Leadership" with community leaders Jacob Adams, Margaret Opie and Audrey Saganna. . "Overcoming Obstacles in Leadership" with Dennis Packer, Bobbi Quintavell and Jaylene Wheeler. . Students also watched a film "Capturing Spirit: An Inuit Journey", a film which focuses on how to make positive choices to live a healthy life. Day Two featured: . "Leadership Shadow" experience. One student was paired with one community leader on the job to learn and witness the skills needed to be a successful leader on the North Slope. . General session meetings to discuss their experiences. . Students also worked on revisions to the districts own "Student Rights and Responsibilities" section of the Student-Parent Handbook. Day Three featured more community leader panels: . "How to use Media to Effectuate Change" with Rachel Edwardson. . "Making a Difference Through Teaching" with Innuraq Edwardson. . "How the Board Makes School Policy" with Rick Luthi and Susan Hope. . "How the North Slope Borough Assembly Adopts Ordinances" with Molly Pederson and Bertha Panigeo. . "Serving on the NSB Assembly or School Board" with Mike Aamodt and Tina Wolgemuth. . The students wrapped up the conference with an examination of the following issues and developed strategies for initiating positive change: * Drugs and alcohol * Violence and suicide * Community in school * Jobs and teaching "I learned that if you're trying to become a leader, don't give up at what you are doing! Do your best at it!" -Donald Taleak For more conference information please contact Cathy Rexford at: Cathy.Rexford@nsbsd.org. Editor's note: Cathy Rexford wsa crowned Miss World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO) in July. Congratulations Cathy! | |
|
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 5 |
|---|
Alaska RSI Regional Contacts:Andy Hope-Southeast fnah@uaf.edu Teri Schneier, Olga Pestrikoff, Moses Dirks-Alutiiq/Unangax tschneider@kodiak.k12.ak.us John Angaiak-Yup'ik/Cup'ik john_angaiak@avcp.org Iñupiaq Region pending at Kawerak Athabascan Region pending at TCC Lead Teachers: Angela Lunda-Southeast lundag@gci.net Teri Schneider/Olga Pestrikoff/ Moses Dirks-Alutiiq/Unangaxˆ tschneider@kodiak.k12.ak.us Esther Ilutsik-Yup'ik/Cup'ik fneai@uaf.edu Bernadette Yaayuk Alvanna- Stimpfle-Iñupiaq yalvanna@netscape.net Linda Green-Interior/Athabascan linda@mail.ankn.uaf.edu | |
|
Alutiiq/Unangax Region: A New Elementary School in Unalaska: "Saaqudikingan" by O. Patricia Lekanoff-Gregory:As we waited patiently to see our new elementary school being built, the buzz around town was what would the name of the new building be? After a year of construction we now see the building we were anxiously waiting for. This new state-of-the-art facility has 13 classrooms, an excellent multipurpose gymnasium that is also used for serving lunch. In the background is a stage so we can watch performances. There is also a rock-climbing wall hidden behind the mats to keep temptation down. There is an elaborate library with windows from the floor to a twelve-foot ceiling and a computer room with 24 brightly colored Apple® iMacs™. The wide hallways provide space for beautiful art displays. There are over 240 lockers-just the right size for the elementary students. In fact, one of the doors to the preschool room is only three feet tall so the little tykes feel comfortable; the windows are just their height as well. The floor has radiant heating so the students' feet don't get cold and they are comfy when they lay on the floor reading their books. This new elementary school is run by a distinguished gentleman, our principal or tukux, which in the Aleut/Unangan language means boss. He greets the students every morning as they arrive and he walks the halls checking how the classes are going. During his lunch period he is out on the playground. The new playground has three different equipment structures, bright in color and inviting to the students, along with a soft mat underneath the equipment. There is a covered play area, basketball court, baseball/soccer field and two tetherball poles. Principal Craig Probst came to Unalaska City School District from the Iditarod School District and before that the Pribilof School District so he is able to relate to the needs and the necessity of the Aleut "Unangan" Culture Program. He wants to see and hear the students saying Aleut phrases: qilam Ixˆamnaa, good morning; qagÿaasakung, thank you; aang, hello/yes; iislilix, come again; and identifying the local birds: tixˆlaxˆ, eagle; uxchuxˆ, puffin; qamgaang, emperor goose; and animals: qawaxˆ, sea lion; isux, seal; aykaagÿux, fox; to name a few. Mr. Moses Dirks and his assistant (that's me) teach these classes. The new elementary school is well suited for doing the crafts of the first comers, the Unangan (Aleuts) of the Aleutian Islands. In the Heritage/Cultural room there is a tile floor so we can do all sorts of arts and crafts: butchering a seal, cleaning fish, weaving grass baskets, carving Aleut Bentwood hats (chagudaxˆ) and someday soon maybe building a kayak (iqyaxˆ). This is only the beginning of all the arts and crafts we hope to share with our students. And finally, the name for the new elementary school is Eagle's View Elementary School, "Achigaaluxˆ" (the learning place)! We are proud to see that the community and school are getting involved in using the indigenous names for buildings, roads, bridges and so on. Qagaasakung! Thank You! | |
|
Alutiiq/Unangax Region: Lu'macihpet, "Our Culture" Camp at Dig Afognak: Growing Elders by Alisha Drabek:The Native Village of Afognak held a six-day cultural immersion camp called Lu'machipet, "Our Culture," at their Dig Afognak site on Afognak Island this past June 17-22, 2002. The camp brought 40 youth and adults together to explore Alutiiq language through dance, song and performance. The program was supported through a grant from the Administration for Native Americans, Afognak Native Corporation, Kodiak Island Housing Authority and Native Educators of the Alutiiq Region. Sperry Ash, Alutiiq dancer from Nanwalek, and Tanya Lukin, an indigenous performance artist originally from Port Lions, served as facilitators for the program, along with Native Village of Afognak Educator Olga Pestrikoff. Applicants to the program were asked to submit an essay, a narrative or poetry answering, "why I want to learn more about Alutiiq dance and language and how I can share our cultural traditions with others." The following two statements were selected as the best youth and adult submission: I want to learn more about Alutiiq dance and language so our dance group can learn more songs. We learn the language through songs, this way we know what we are singing. The dance movements teach us how to interpret the song. The drumbeat helps us to keep time and rhythm. We share our dance and songs with our village people, at special occasions and sometimes we sing and dance in Kodiak and Anchorage. People like to see us and we like to dance and sing for them. It gives us pride and we feel good when we perform. -Devin Skonberg, age 14, Ouzinkie Lately there has been a need to do something to validate who I am as an Alutiiq living this fast-paced life. I need to understand our traditions, our stories and our culture so I can better understand myself as the portion that constitutes the "our." I will come to the camp as a newborn struggling to learn and glean all that I can: devouring the history, the movement, the stories like Fuzzy's smoked fish. And when I've gorged on my history, I'll gulp freely of the fresh air like water to quench the thirst for more-always more. This is what I envision as my experience and what I hope to gain at the Lu'macihpet Dance Camp: A Song For Renewal and Hope To feel the movement of my arm sensing a seal was caught and the celebration was such that my other arm went up to greet my outstretched hand like salmon straining to the top of the torrential water. strong and persevering, determined to go back to that shallow where life began to finish my time with my spawn enriching the pool for the next generation. To share my experience with my students in my classroom when I become a certified teacher is my hope and my dream. I desire to make the regalia, know a dance, utter a word deep in my throat that speaks the stories of those that walked on the beach before me. This is what I hope to gain and share with those that are willing to listen and walk the beach with my memories and me. -Marci Nelson Orth, originally from Port Lions, now living in Wasilla Each participant at the camp received a certificate of completion recognizing their efforts and honoring them with the statement: "Take care of the Elder you will become." | |
|
ANKN Curriculum Corner by Ray Barnhardt:The Plants of My People: The Iñupiaq of Golovin Bay -by Cheryl Ann Wood. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/plantsofmypeople Medicinal Plants of the Kodiak Alutiiq Archipelago -by Rosa Wallace and Victoria Woodward (poster also available from ANKN) http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Subsistence/medplants.html Narrative of Plants of Point Hope for ARCUS -by Sheila Gaquin and Jason Fantz. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/plantnarr.html Nauriat Niginaqtuat: Plants That We Eat -by Anore Jones. Available from Maniilaq Association, Kotzebue Alaska's Wilderness Medicines: Healthful Plants of the Far North -by Eleanor G. Viereck. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/viereck/index.html Edible Plants of Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay and Marshall -by Frank Keim and LYSD Students. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Marshall/edibleplants/index.html Tanaina Plantlore Dena'ina K'et'una: An Ethnobotany of the Dena'ina Indians of Southcentral Alaska -by Priscilla Russell Kari. Wild, Edible, and Poisonous Plants of Alaska -by the Cooperative Extension Service. Available from Alaska Cooperative Extension, UAF Unangam Hitnisangin/Unangam Hitnisangis/Aleut Plants: A Region-Based Plant Curriculum for grades 4-6 -by Unangan Educators with editorial support from Barbara Svarny Carlson and Paula Elmes. Forthcoming on the ANKN web site http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/unangam/ Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge -a set of guidelines that address issues of concern in the documentation, representation and utilization of traditional cultural knowledge. It is important to recognize the cultural and ethical precautions involved when working with Elders on subjects such as traditional knowledge regarding edible and medicinal uses of plants. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/standards/culturaldoc.html We welcome submissions of curriculum resources and ideas that you think might be of interest to others, as well as descriptions of curriculum initiatives that are currently underway or for which you are seeking sites or teachers who are willing to pilot-test new materials. Information on obtaining the materials described in this column is available through the Alaska Native Knowledge Network at www.ankn.uaf.edu, fncst@uaf.edu or at (907) 474-5086. | |
|
Athabascan Region: An Elder Interview With Howard Luke:Sarah McConnell interviewed Howard Luke on April 3, 2002. Below is an excerpt from that interview. Transcription by Jeannie Creamer Dalton Sarah: It is a sunny April 3, 2002 and Howard, you wanted to talk about respect? Howard: Yeah I like to talk about respect because we're losing it so fast right now it's terrible. Myself I don't care about it because I'm old enough now. The biggest thing right now is I want my young generation to pay attention about respect because down the road they will find out but it will be too late by then. Respect is the biggest problem: respect is something that you really got to take care of yourself by being clean and when you're skinning moose or cutting fish. Never try to get bloody, get blood on your clothes or nothing. Many years ago I use to hunt with a lot of old people; my mother used to tell me to go out with them old people so I used to go with them. They give us some meat and stuff. I lost my dad when I was really young so it was just my mother until she got married, married again. So I went out with a lot of old people and I seen them how they do it 'cause my mother say you pay attention now you see how they do it; you see they don't try to get bloody and the first thing they do is clean all the tripe-they clean all the guts-they never throw anything away. The main thing they do right away is they roast meat. I hunt caribou, there used to be a lot of caribou in Nenana at one time way back in 1934, somewhere around there anyway. I used to go out with them, I seen how they do it, they clean the tripe, they clean it good. They wash it, they use a little water, then they turn it inside out; they put all their stuff in there. They put the kidneys, and heart, and all the stuff they can put in there. They tie it-they put a stick through it-then you can just carry it on your hand. That little bag would hold all that. So I learn all that. This is what I want to teach the kids how to do things because if we don't show respect, our animals are going to disappear. That's what is happening right now, we don't respect, that our fish is disappearing. People, when they were fishing, all they want is eggs, the roe, they just take the roe, and just throw the fish out. That's not respect. That's what I mean, right now, if you were mistreated, you wouldn't go back there, would you? Well, that's the same thing with the animals and the fish and our ducks and everything, you see. Like I'm saying about the airboats, that they go out in the spring, they run over the eggs and all young ones, they run over them. We don't take care of our animals. We just don't care and that's the reason all our animals are disappearing, especially our ducks. Every year it's getting lesser and lesser. And that's what I mean. They're not coming back. I mean, if I was mistreated, I'm not going to go back too. Well it's the same way with animals. When I was brought up that's what they tell me about respect. Right now, just like, you bring moose head in house and there's a bunch of kids in house and the kids look at that moose head, the eye, and they play with that. They play with that, and that was against our nature. We always covered up because if you make fun of that animal, they tell each other, just like humans, same thing, humans that are dead. Their spirit is here and they tell each other and that's what our people used to tell us-not only my mother, but my uncle, people I used to hunt with. People always used to tell us that if you are skinning moose or skinning caribou you always try to stay away from the blood. Don't try to cut the veins they say. When you're skinning moose, you always take the brisket out first. Take the brisket, then you feel your way, you get by the throat, then you take the whole thing, the throat, you just pull it right out. The whole thing will just come right out. That's our way of doing it. That's the reason a lot of people used to lose their luck. But now, right now, we don't respect. They throw the head away. There is a lot of good stuff on that head there. This is what I want to teach the kids how to do things because if we don't show respect, our animals are going to disappear. When I went to New Zealand, them people down there, when they kill a cow, when they're going to have something going on, a potlatch, or something like that, they throw the head away. So when I went down there, I told them, gee, man, I said, there's a lot of good meat on this stuff. When we kill a moose, we never throw it away, we take the tongue, we dice it up, all the cheek, we dice it up and make a good pot of stew. So I did that. I taught them something and they started doing it. So that way we work with each other. We share with one another. That's my biggest thing right now is that I want to share with people. Especially young people. My big thing right now, when I'm laying down here, I think about these things that, gee my uncle, all my old people I used to go out hunting. I used to go out hunting with big Albert and John Silas and lot of old people down in Nenana. I use to go out with them, a big run of caribou. So I go out hunting with them because they give me some meat when I go out. When I go with them, they give us ribs or something like that. Even the little thing, you were so thankful for it. Right today, I'm so thankful right today, that what I went through, what my Mom taught me and the other people taught me-how to respect, take care of your things and always when you kill moose, they always say, you turn the head towards home and that way, the next moose you kill will be closer to your house, they said. So all them things, it make me think about it. But right now, we're going the other way, we're not going the right way. We always trying to make that cut off, just like we're going against nature. We want to get done with it right away. Just like if we go visit or something like that, we look at the time, well I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. And old people figure that oh no, that fellow he thinks I got nothing to say. We share with one another. That's my biggest thing right now is that I want to share with people. Especially young people. That's the reason why right now a lot of our people doesn't want to share with people because they do that and I tell my young people right now that that's not the way to act because people watch how you work-if you show respect. | |
|
IATC Update: Athabascan Language Program by Beth Leonard:The Interior Athabascan Tribal College is looking for language instructors who are willing to teach community multi-age classes. If you are interested, please contact me as we can also offer teacher training and support. Conversational Koyukon and Gwich'in Classes, Fairbanks IATC, in cooperation with The Morgan Project/UAF School of Education and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District After School Program, is offering courses for Gwich'in and Koyukon Athabascan languages this fall from October 1-November 21. The instructor for Gwich'in is Kathy Sikorski and Koyukon instructors are Susan Paskvan, Joe Kwaraceius, Clara Clark, Agnes Moore and Steven Toby. This is an exciting program as it serves parents and children-the Koyukon class accepted students from ages 10 and up (ages 10-13 with parent/guardian) and the Gwich'in class accepted students ages 14 and up. The After School Program is providing classrooms and, because the IATC and Morgan Project are paying instructor salaries, the registration fee is reduced to $5. Students are also able to register for one credit of ANL 121 through UAF for an additional $25. If instructors are available, we are hoping to offer two seven-week sessions during the spring semester for Gwich'in, Koyukon and Iñupiaq. Funding Awarded for Family Language Immersion Program-Athabascan Through the Administration for Native Americans, TCC and IATC were recently awarded three years of funding that focuses on two pilot projects: (1) training in family immersion models and (2) development of family-oriented language immersion/cultural camps. We will begin advertising for regional coordinators and language specialists to assist with development of family immersion curricula and model development for language immersion cultural camps. For more information on the IATC Language Program, please contact Beth Leonard at 452-8251, ext. 3287 (or 1-800-478-6822). | |
|
Inuit Studies: Some Reflections by Maricia Ahmasuk:The Inuit, "The People" of the world are one of the more studied people in recent history. This timeless research and documentation seeks to capture the essence of what it was like in a time when all one had was oneself and those immediately surrounding to sustain life itself. It is observed that since contact, Inuit have adapted to new ways brought on by outsiders, thereby changing the way Inuit operate in their daily activities and even in their mode of thought. Barrow's George Ahmaogak, Sr., mayor of North Slope Borough, put it interestingly in his keynote address at the 13th Inuit Studies Conference, titled, Science, Politics and the Bottom Line: the North Slope Experience: " Your conversations can help to interpret what's happening in the cracks where Native culture and the mainstream culture rub against each other. It's a constant and silent and powerful movement, like the shifting of the earth's continental plates under our feet." Ahmaogak commented that these fault lines are not necessarily hostile or incompatible, but are simply hot spots that if taken so far as to interrupt the heritage of a people, such as banning the age-old practice of whaling, there are sure to be upheavals, or earthquakes. The whole subsistence issue is a prime example of how differing cultures tend to clash. It is certain that we as Inuit have felt the ripple effect of two or more cultures coming together, as all cultures of the world continue to undergo, as we are drawn into this global village through modern technology. I view our current experience as a melding, an evolution. We are living in a time where the very existence of every single human being on earth depends to a certain extent on a network of governments and countries in globally negotiated positions. As Inuit, playing an active role in what is being documented even today is crucial in terms of preserving the accuracy of the image being portrayed. Faulty past records since outside contact have proven to haunt Natives with negative connotations and misinterpretations. It is certain that we as Inuit have felt the ripple effect of two or more cultures coming together, as all cultures of the world continue to undergo, as we are drawn into this global village through modern technology. An important trend for Native peoples in the world of research is where the ownership of the surveys and their outcomes lie. Being involved from square one when the surveys are being developed is a must if they are to capture the essence of what Natives consider important information to relay to a public or agency reviewing the results. For example, the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic, headed out of the Institute of Social & Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage has organized a group of Alaska Natives to form the Alaska Native Management Board (ANMB), which basically steers the project. This board ensures that the information gathered for this project follows the concept of informed consent, as well as making sure that the survey is culturally sensitive. Respecting the whole process of including Native guidance on research projects brings useful information to light while at the same time defends a Native peoples' dignity and right to own what is really theirs. After two-and-a-half days of listening to intelligent speakers such as Father Michael Oleksa and Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley and visiting with Elder and author, Lela Oman of Nome, among other distinguished individuals, I was boiling with ideas, theories and a willingness to share my story with the group. I managed to offer my views with humor despite all seriousness of the issues at hand. I spoke of topics that ranged from language retention (or theory of retrieval through hypnosis in this case) to racism within our own Native society. The key point that I hoped to portray to the group was how important it is to find a balance between our modern lifestyle and the inner voice that constantly reminds us of where we came from. Coming to terms with our identity as a Native person, or just as a human being in modern society, should be an area of concern and deserves some dedicated time and research on our behalf. Coming to terms with the small, still voice inside is key to our well being and long-range health. Perhaps some of the research that shows our people to be among the most devastated statistically is a result of overlooking our important role in a societal situation that is fairly new compared to where even our parents came from. Cultural adjustments do not happen over night, and we are not all naturally compatible with the modern Western values and mannerisms. Our whole life is a research project as we gather data and interpret its meaning as it applies to our selfhood. Finding meaning and truth is a universal, yet very individual concept and delves deep into the spiritual realm. If we think about it, just being outside doing activities such as berry picking, fishing or gathering wood for a fire grounds us, bringing us back to who we are as human beings, which is a spiritual experience-being one with the land and our natural surroundings. It is the simple things in life that make an individual or society feel grounded in a culture or heritage. Finding meaning or purpose in life may mean putting the communal good over personal pain, as it was traditionally. It is important to honor our heritage by practicing our values, so as to discover their true significance and intent. Discovering past morals and ways of living an honest life may lead us to a broader understanding of where we stand in today's world of individualism, even as we fight for a co-dependant relationship with the world-at-large. As we continue to adapt to the changing times, it is a comfort to know that there exists a wide collection of materials representing a time past when life appeared simpler. We have a big picture to work with in respect to the Native way of life as we move forward in progression toward an understanding of where we have been and where we are going. It is time to take authority over our own lives through our Native organizations. Respecting the whole process of including Native guidance on research projects brings useful information to light while at the same time defends a Native peoples' dignity and right to own what is really theirs. | |
|
Iñupiaq Region: The Iñupiaq Immersion Program in Barrow by Martha Stackhouse:The immersion program started in Barrow as a pilot program since there were not enough certified teachers to teach immersion classes. It started with the Early Childhood Education (ECE) students who were three- and four-year-old students. During this first year, the curriculum developers prepared materials for the kindergarten level, which was to start the following year. While the Kindergarten immersion curriculum was taught to the students, the curriculum developers prepared first-grade readers for the first-grade immersion class. As a result we now have many kindergarten and first-grade readers translated into Iñupiaq. However, there aren't many materials translated for the second-grade level on up yet, so the teachers decided that even though we may use English materials in the immersion classroom, we would talk in Iñupiaq as much as possible. The third-grade immersion class speaks about 75% Iñupiaq and 25% English. The fourth-grade immersion speaks about 50% Iñupiaq and 50% English. From early childhood on up to the second grade, we try to speak as much Iñupiaq as possible. However, some of our materials are not translated so we have to speak English sometimes, ranging at about 85-90% Iñupiaq and 10-15% English. The teachers are certified educators who are fluent Iñupiaq speakers, but most of us had not received any language training. We were certified in teaching English classes. Last school year we had language evaluators that came to observe our classes. They noted that the teachers were speaking 80-90% of the time and the students were speaking 10-20% of the time. As a result, our students were able to understand what the instructors were saying and they became fluent readers and writers-but not so fluent in speaking the Iñupiaq language. This school year all of the immersion classes are concentrating on having the students speak as much as possible. The immersion classes follow the state and district standards. We have many materials that are in English but we try to speak as much Iñupiaq as much as possible as we teach them. Whenever we have the time, we translate our own materials. The Iñupiaq language is a very phonetic, and as a result our students are able to become good readers. Most students keep daily journals and are able to write in Iñupiaq with ease. We teach the Iñupiaq number system invented by the Kaktovik students, therefore it is called the Kaktovik Math. We teach the Arabic numeral system as well. Most of our immersion students are very proficient in math. We usually dissect Arctic animals from the region: seals, ducks, geese and fish. We identify all of their internal organs and have the older students make diagrams of the digestive system. Perhaps the best part of dissecting fresh animals is the fact that we can cook and eat them in our classes! We usually receive a seal from the community members. We have all of our immersion classes gather around to watch. Some of our older students participate in butchering the seal. There is a cute story told by one the mothers of an immersion student. Her cousin had caught a seal one summer. Their aunt, who usually did the butchering, was out of town. She and her cousin had no idea how to butcher a seal. Her daughter, who is an immersion student, spoke up and said she knew how to do it. Step by step, she told her mom and her aunt how to butcher the seal until it was completed! She had learned by observing from the immersion classes on how to butcher a seal and was able to help her mother and her aunt! Our Arctic science is strong. Our fourth-grade immersion class completed a Sigluaq project which is the study of the ice cellar. They recreated the actual cross section of a sigluaq with paper mache', and made maktak, whale meat, seals, fish, geese and ducks out of paper. It is now a show case in our Cultural Heritage Center Museum. We usually pull together to practice singing for special occasions: Christmas program, Christmas caroling (which includes the Senior Center), spring programs, and many other occasions through out the year. Recently, we sang the Alaska State Flag song with the newly added second verse. People marveled at how quickly the immersion students had learned the second verse as it had just been adopted by the state and the fact that it had just been translated. Perhaps the greatest joy we see in our immersion students is the fact that they are proud to be Iñupiaq. They have self esteem. They are confident in meeting the challenges that they face in today's world. They know that they can be an Iñupiaq and also be able to combine what they learned in the Western world and live productive lives. We encourage them time and again that they can be whatever they want to be, that it is indeed possible to take the best of both worlds and live a productive life. | |
|
Local Culture and Academic Success Go Together by Mike Hull:Place-based Education in Russian Mission Something special is happening in Russian Mission. Just three years ago one-third of the children ages 12 through 16 were not attending school. Now every child of school age is in school. Three years ago there was great concern about test scores because they were among the lowest in the district. Last year six of our seniors passed all three sections of the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, and the other two passed writing. Our ten third-graders achieved advanced or proficient scores on all sections of the Benchmark test. Margie Larson and Jimmie Polty with their first beaver. Changes that are this broad-based are not merely the product of great teaching-though we have great teachers. Research shows that teachers can accomplish a lot, but a high level of success is attainable only if you have family and community support. There are many great stories within the process we are going through. I will present one change because it is at once simple and perhaps a catalyst for others. Members of the school staff and community targeted the junior high because that was the age group that was dropping out of school. We built a curriculum based on the subsistence activities of each season. Young people of that age have a lot of energy, do not do well in confined spaces, and they are trying to define their place in the world. Traditionally these adolescents would have begun learning the roles of young men and women, getting prepared by the community to take positions of responsibility. We sent them to camp for two weeks in the fall. They caught fish, picked berries, learned about medicinal plants, cooked and they climbed mountains. While doing this, they recorded their activities with digital cameras and lap top computers. When they came home, they processed all this information and developed web pages to share their adventures with others. They became storytellers-to the global community. When in the classroom much of their reading and writing focused on the wildlife of the area as well as local history. They studied their world. Then they went out, on a weekly basis, for experience-based learning with local experts. Max Nickoli, the librarian, and Wassily Alexie, the school maintenance man, took them ice fishing and had them set rabbit and beaver snares and blackfish traps. They learned how to skin beavers and build snow shelters. And they came home and, again, told their stories. Seventh- and eighth-grade students studied a beaver lodge. Seventh- and eighth-grade students camped on top of the mountain and got a view of their home. This fall students traveled by canoe between three different camps. Each camp focused on a different aspect of subsistence. Students caught and cleaned fish, went hunting, studied beaver habitat and built a cabin they will use for trapping this winter. The activities set a pace for the students that carries over into the classroom. We need to keep moving because there are things we need to get done-inside the classroom and outside. Set the snare . . . finish this book. Kids who had never seen a beaver lodge snared and skinned their first beaver. The same kids raised their reading level by more than a year in just five months. Junior high students are, by circumstance of their own developmental level, self-conscious and even self-centered. So, why not make them and their world the things they read and write about? They are trying to find out who they are-show them. They want to know their place in the world-bring them into their world. The resources are within each village-each has land, heritage, experts and children. This is but one element of what is taking place at Russian Mission. The school has done nothing more than integrate into its program the skills necessary to sustain life in a subsistence setting. Isn't that the purpose of an education-to acquire the skills one needs to lead a productive life in one's community? By doing so the school has made a statement about the value of traditional skills and the value of culture. Students study their heritage and practice it and it is working. It is gratifying to see young people excited about what they are doing. It is even more special to see young people excited about who they are. Perhaps the community of Russian Mission has come to acknowledge the value of school because the school has come to acknowledged the value of the local heritage? | |
|
Love and Caring for Balance by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley:Several issues ago, I wrote an article about talking to, singing to and making the child feel good while still in the mother's womb. This is important for the child to learn the sounds you make as the mother, the father or the grandparent. They will learn to identify you as parents and as members of the family. They most importantly will recognize the love being shown to them. Through this love they will obtain a sense of belonging-belonging to the mother, the father, siblings and grandparents. At a later time the child will learn that s/he belongs to a village/community, a group of people, and in some instances, a tribe. You as the parents begin to teach the youngster by example. which is a more powerful teaching/learning tool than any formal method you may use. And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye (Antoine de Saint-Exupery). This builds the self-respect and pride of the child by knowing who they are and where they are from. As the Golden Buddha is made of pure gold, so there is a golden essence in each child. We, as parents, must nurture this natural self, so that the child grows up strong with the golden glow of self and never loses it. Below is a poem written by Kahlil Gibran1. Ellam Yua, God, has a plan for each of us. It is these inner assets that the child already possesses that we want to develop so s/he can grow up to become the very best they are capable of becoming. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you, For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the Infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows might go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, So He loves also the bow that is stable. by Kahlil Gibran The modern world has been struggling with the education of our children for quite some time. We in Alaska are trying to change education so that its foundation becomes our Native worldviews using the languages that constructed them. We continue to struggle against those that oppose us, laws that present obstacles and money that is reduced or taken away. Yet, when you think about it, our ancestors and parents knew what they were doing when they provided an education based on knowing who you are and where you are. They produced children with minds that have a home. Many of us have homeless minds because of lack of being told our stories. I am again going to provide another story from the book, All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum: Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not be at the top of the graduate mountain, but there in the sandbox at the nursery school. These are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic. Hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup-they all die. So do we. And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics. Sane living. Think of what a better world it would be if we all-the whole world-had cookies and milk about 3:00 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the World, it is better to hold hands and stick together. From this we learn that we acquire a lot of knowledge without realizing it from conception to birth to death. For our children in schools, it is necessary that they not only learn the three "Rs", but include a fourth "R", relaxation. We have forgotten how to do this. Children from the first grade through high school need time for quiet. A time for reflection, a time to imagine, a time to visualize what one would want to be in the future. Teach our children to dream and then help them make those dreams come true. Quyana. 1. The poem and story were excerpted from Canfield, J. & Hansen, M. C., editors. Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit. Deerfield Beach, FL.: Health Communications, Inc., 1993. | |
|
Rakaumanga: Maori Immersion School Success Story by Frank J. Keim:In New Zealand we stayed with an old friend, Barbara Harrison, who used to live in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta back in the early 1980s. During one of those years she regularly flew into Hooper Bay to work with students in the Cross-Cultural Education Development program. We were teachers in Hooper Bay then and each time she came in to the village to tend to her students she was our special house guest. So it was natural that when we traveled to New Zealand we became Barb's house guests. Barbara has been living and working since 1986 with the Maori community in Huntly, a small town on the North Island about an hour's drive south of Auckland. More specifically, she has been involved with the Maori immersion school there called Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga. One morning Barbara took us on a tour of the school. What we saw at Rakaumanga, as most people refer to it, prompted this article which I hope will encourage Alaska Native peoples to continue their own efforts to preserve their Native tongues. Let me tell you about it. Rakaumanga is what we in Alaska would call a K-12 school. It has more than 400 students and a Maori language immersion program that is the envy, I believe, of the world. All of the children there speak the Maori language fluently. One of reasons for this is that all of their subjects are taught in Maori by fluent Maori teachers and they are expected to speak in Maori while they are inside the school buildings. The campus is a marvel to wander through with bright murals and carved wood and rock statues representing traditional themes from Maori culture. The children, who range in age from 5-17, have tidy classrooms, a computer suite, a library, a large gym and a meeting house they call Te Hokioi. All of the students we met in the school smiled readily and were eager to chat with us, indicators that this was a happy place of learning for them. But this wonderful school didn't happen overnight. Its existence is the result of a lot of blood, sweat and tears by dedicated Maori parents, teachers and others who didn't want to see the Maori language disappear into oblivion like so many other indigenous languages have all over the world. Here's a little history. Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga School was first established in 1896 to educate the children of Maori parents living in west Huntly, located on the west bank of the Waikato River. After a number of setbacks, including fire, floods and a government attempt to shut the school down in the 1970s, a few determined Maori men and women spearheaded a new movement to change the very nature of the original school. Disillusioned by the academic failure of the graduates of the old school and concerned about the future of the Maori language (te reo Maori), they applied to the New Zealand government for a bilingual program at Rakaumanga. But they saw this as only a half-measure and pressured the government to recognize the need for a total immersion experience for their students. Only in this way, they said, would fluency in the language be gained. By 1987, Rakaumanga had started its first immersion class with 20 kids. At the time, there were only eight levels of school; when the students became 12 years of age and had reached their final grade of schooling, none of their parents wanted them to go elsewhere to a high school where they would be educated in English. So in 1992, the immersion battle resumed. Meanwhile, during the mid 1980s the Maori people had been negotiating on a national level for recognition of their language as an official language of New Zealand. A formal claim was lodged in 1985 with the National Waitangi Tribunal, which considers questions related to the original 1840 Waitangi Treaty that was signed between Maori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown. In 1986, the Tribunal decided in favor of the Maori, and shortly afterward the Maori Language Act was passed which established te reo Maori as an official language of New Zealand. In the early 1980s, something else had been happening nationwide that added further impetus to the language immersion movement. Preschool programs called Kohanga Reo (literally "language nests") had been established all over the country which provided Maori language immersion for children from infancy to age five. By 1994 more than 13,000 Maori children were enrolled in 819 Kohanga Reo programs. Without the six local Kohanga Reo in Huntly sending kids on to primary school at Rakaumanga, the immersion program could not have operated as it did. So you can see the New Zealand national government was faced with an imperative. Now it had to provide large scale financial support for Maori language programs at several different levels of schooling throughout the country. This included Rakaumanga School, although it took additional hard work to convince the national government to fully fund a Rakaumanga five-year high school. This was finally accomplished by 1994. While this effort at convincing the national government was going on, Rakaumanga School had been educating its original primary graduates for two years in its own locally-generated immersion program, so that by the time the government got around to kicking in five million dollars to fund what had became a five-year full secondary program, the Rakaumanga pupils already had a head start. By 1997 the first crop of six students completed their final year (seventh form) of high school at Rakaumanga. This meant they had not only passed their Maori language exams, but also their national proficiency exams that all New Zealand high school seniors have to pass to qualify for admission to post-secondary institutions. According to Barbara Harrison, who wrote an informative article on Rakaumanga, most of these and subsequent graduates of the high school have gone on to post-secondary studies. In this respect, the school has been a terrific success. And Barbara's research indicates a direct link between this success and the use of the Maori language as the language of instruction in the school. Barbara was recently featured in a story in the Maori magazine, Mana. During the interview she indicated that there are teachers here in Alaska who would like to emulate the Maori formula for success. But she also warned that it wouldn't be an easy process. Success at Rakaumanga was due to devoted Maori leadership, community and parent support, political pressure resulting in legislative changes like making Maori an official language and finally funding for the instruction in Maori language, training of bilingual teachers and the development of curriculum materials. I recently read that Ayaprun Elitnaurviat Yupiik Immersion School in Bethel began its first sixth-grade class. I have also heard of an earnest and ongoing attempt by parents and teachers in Hooper Bay to start their own immersion school there. Perhaps the Maori example at Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga will indeed provide some encouragement for their efforts to preserve the Yup'ik language and culture. Anyone interested in more information about Rakaumanga School or the process of setting up a similar program can contact Barbara Harrison at maor3055@waikato.ac.nz, or contact the Alaska Native Knowledge Network for a copy of the Guidelines for Strengthening Indigenous Langauges. But this wonderful school didn't happen overnight. Its existence is the result of a lot of blood, sweat and tears by dedicated Maori parents, teachers and others . . . | |
|
Remembering Our Heroes by Frank Hill:Today, if we were to ask our young people who their heroes are, many would say Michael Jordan, Eminem or other sports or entertainment personalities. The heroes of my childhood have endured for my entire life. I grew up in a time and place rich with opportunity to be among heroes. Besides my Finnish seafaring father and my Dena'ina mother and grandmother, my favorite hero is my Uncle Gabriel Trefon, a Dena'ina from Nondalton and the Lake Clark area. I refer to Uncle Gabriel's life for inspiration and an example for myself as I have transitioned from those days of living with the land to earning a living in the modern world. Uncle Gabriel was my mother's brother, who was born at the beginning of the last century. As was customary in those times, his life as a true Dena'ina man required him to become an expert hunter, fisher, provider and leader. And that he did for the remainder of his life. After he became chief of the Nondalton people and I was old enough to be aware of Uncle Gabriel's leadership, I began to pay attention to his activities. Many people regarded Uncle Gabriel as a gruff, stern person. At first, I thought so too. But as the years passed I became aware of his other strong traits. Uncle Gabriel was the local church leader. Active in the church as well as performing the duties of traditional chief, Uncle Gabriel combined Dena'ina cultural values with those of the church. I recall him counseling a young couple who wanted to get married in the church. He admonished the young man for thinking about marriage and family responsibilities without first demonstrating his independence from his parents by having his own house. Another time, Uncle was asked by a couple to plan a funeral for a newborn baby. I recall watching Uncle carefully examine the dead infant and ask the parents questions about how and when the baby died. When we were building the casket for the tiny baby, I remember his tears and the mourning songs he sang to the child. After realizing that the cost of store-bought goods was prohibitive for his people when purchased and transported from the nearest store a day's travel away, Uncle Gabriel established a store in the village. Although he lacked formal schooling, he kept the store accounts accurately. He made arrangements with the cannery employers of his people to sign over a portion of their earnings to the local store to ensure that their families could buy what they needed. Among other firsts, Uncle was the first in his village to own an outboard motor and to bring a washing machine to his home. This demonstrated to me that he was continuously thinking of how life for his people could be made better. Once, when there was a very long cold spell of winter weather, no one could travel in the extreme cold and whiteout blizzards to get needed supplies. Even the younger men were fearful of going out into the weather. As the storm continued and supplies in the village ran low, Uncle Gabriel hitched up his dog team and made the trip by himself. My family was living in the community where the store was located and I remember him returning in that blizzard, to the surprise of everyone. Again he showed the commitment and leadership that a Dena'ina chief should have. Uncle Gabriel passed on while I was away attending high school. I remember one of the last conversations I had with him, telling me it was good that I was going on to get an education and to remember that I was Dena'ina too. One of my grandsons is named after Uncle Gabriel and I am proud that my daughter also remembers my hero every time she calls her son's name. We need to remember and honor the heroes that helped us become who we are-whose memories should not be allowed to die. There are heroes in every Alaska Native culture like my Uncle Gabriel. I hope their children and grandchildren will continue their examples. As they do so, they remind us of the strength, knowledge, honor and wisdom of our cultures; characteristics which are needed even more today. | |
|
Southeast Region: Alaska Native Studies at Sheldon Jackson College by Jan Steinbright Jackson:The academic program has three goals: (1) to inform students of the "special relationship" between Native American tribes and the federal government and of the many contemporary issues derived from that relationship; (2) to provide knowledge of diverse Native cultures of Alaska; and (3) to assist students and school personnel in establishing effective communications across cultures. Fall 2002, offerings include Introduction to Alaska Native People, The Alaska Native Land Settlement Act, Alaska Native Art History and Cross-cultural Communications. In addition, the Native Studies program is assisting other academic programs at Sheldon Jackson to incorporate relevant knowledge about the Native community into their coursework and requirements. "There's Native-related information that is relevant to each academic program at SJC, whether it's education, human services, business or environmental science," says Demmert, "and graduates from each program should be informed of Native issues in their areas of expertise." Student support is provided by two advisor/counselors, peer advisors and tutors. "Students aren't always ready for the transition to college," says counseling coordinator Michael Baines, "so our job is to help them get oriented and to monitor their progress as they make the adjustment to college. Nearly 30% of the Fall 2002 enrollment is Native American." The Native Studies program provides a computer lab and a lounge for Native students and ongoing activities through a Native Culture Club. The club has sponsored fund-raising activities and plans other activities throughout the year. Native Studies has advised the Sheldon Jackson College library on books relevant to Native Studies and the library has developed a strong collection on Native culture and contemporary issues in the Native American community, with emphasis on Alaska. Native Studies has a staff of five and is funded under the U.S. Department of Education's Title III A. "There's Native-related information that is relevant to each academic program at SJC, whether it's education, human services, business or environmental science . . . " | |
|
Yupik Region: The First AKRSI MOA Meeting in Bethel: Multiple Districts Speaking as One by John Angaiak:Some recalled the Y-K Native Education Summit of April 24-25, 2002 in Bethel, Alaska. It was designed to introduce AKRSI to the region through the theme, "Bringing the Minds of Community and School Together." At last week's follow-up planning meeting, the theme rang again-it was an in-depth meeting. Everyone gathered in the AVCP Tugkar Building conference room. After introductions, the activity reports were given from each school district. It was good to hear reports coming from all sectors of the Y-K region. Everyone was eager to hear what their neighbors were doing with culturally-relevant programs and everyone needed to be heard and be counted. The new AKRSI lead teacher for the Yup'ik region, Esther Ilutsik, was introduced as she joined the meeting, she explained her role and took vital information from each MOA partner so she can do the job right. Two Elders attended and the school district presentations set the tone for the rest of the meeting. This report summarizes the highlights of the meeting. The group set its own goals, including the following: * Cultural relevancy should be broad enough so that each school district is not locked into one set of goals and can incorporate local relevancy. * Native teachers should get together with the lead teacher. The lead teacher will visit all sites, attend in-services and generally be a walking Native education dictionary. * The group should network among all MOA partners-they wrote down their email addresses and phone numbers. The regional coordinator encouraged them to talk among themselves and compare notes in order to deliver quality and unique culturally-relevant programs. * Each district should have its own goals but share them with others. * They will file their written reports with the coordinator's office which will then be compiled to be shared with MOA partners. * They will obtain a commitment from school districts for AKRSI implementation to guarantee success. The group also discussed how often they should meet for consistency and continuity. Two options came forth: three meetings (fall, winter and spring) or one planning meeting in the fall and a regional Native education summit in the spring. The coordinator informed them that he would negotiate the options. The group came with clear purpose. They left with clear goals. They found a place to share and feel victorious. | |
|
