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Sharing Our
Pathways
A newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic
Initiative
Alaska Federation of Natives / University
of Alaska / National Science Foundation
Volume 1, Issue 4, September/October 1996
In This Issue:
Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit as a Foundation
for Education
by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley
Modern science studies that which is visible using
many technological devises to refine their observations. Theories
are constructed, used, modified or discarded as new information
and findings warrant. The task of modern science has been to simplify
Nature, learn of its underlying logic and then use that logic to
control Nature (Briggs, 1992:14). Indigenous societies study that
which is invisible to temper the development of technology and
guide its association with Nature. The Yupiaq society deals with
trying to understand the irregularities of Nature which is underlain
with patterns of order. Many unseen forces are in action in the
elements of the universe.
To begin to understand these phenomena, Yupiaq science
education must begin with the five elements-earth, air, fire, water
and spirit. The sacred gifts of each must be understood, as well
as the human activities which contribute to the despiritualization
and reduction of these life-giving gifts. In order to be holistic,
the activities must include Yupiaq language and culture, language
arts, mathematics, social studies, arts and crafts and sciences.
All must be interrelated as all of earth is interrelated. For example,
in dealing with the element air, the teacher could select the sacred
gift of weather. And what an unpredictable choice! Like many Yupiaq
myths, weather is so very dynamic, ever changing, and, like the
myth, very mystical.
The wind has irregularities of constantly varying
velocity, humidity, temperature and direction due to topography
and other factors. There are nonlinear dimensions to clouds, irregularities
of cloud formations, anomalous cloud luminosity and different forms
of precipitation at different levels. There are patterns, however
tenuous, such as the path of a jet stream or fronts to be studied.
The Native students' visual acuity and memory for detail could
be used to advantage. There is very little in this universe which
is linear, in a grid or in a two-dimensional square or three dimensional
cube. The weather's dynamic is that the part of its part is part
of a part which is a part of another part and so on. The local
Native elders could explain how they were able to predict weather
based upon subtle messages given to them by the sun twenty-four
hours before it happened. This involves the language of feelings
of the inner world coupled with the language of reason. Being inclined
to the spiritual, the Native was able to understand and accept
the unpredictable permutations of weather. The Native people had
learned certain general predictable patterns of weather connected
to the seasons and moons. Yet, the Native student could get acquainted
with some more predominate tools of the meteorologist such as the
thermometer, barometer, anemometer, hydrometer, satellite pictures
and other tools to give the elders' knowledge depth, detail and
a broader view. Introducing students to the notion of irregularities
and anomalies of form and force (chaos and fractals) necessarily
introduces them to holism. The key idea is for the students to
understand the interconnectedness of all things in the universe.
Of utmost importance in using the five elements of
life to teach science is assuring that the students understand
that the sacred gifts of each is a gift to the life-giving forces
of the living earth (or Mother Earth). The teacher must be careful
to explain what those gifts are absolutely necessary for life on
earth to continue. All these five elements' gifts make possible
for creation on earth to continue. The Yupiaq honored and respected
these gifts in the rituals and ceremonies. Take for example, the
Nakaciuq or the "Blessing of the Bladders." The Yupiaq people believed
that when the seal or some other sea mammal gave itself to the
hunter, that the spirit of the seal entered its bladder upon giving
up its life. This required that the people take care to remove
the bladder, inflate it to dry and save it for the winter Bladder
Festival to honor the sacred gift of the element, spirit. In this
way the Yupiaq people honored and showed respect for the gift of
the element earth for giving birth to animals upon which they depended
for survival as a people.
During the festival, the bladders were reinflated
with life-giving air and hung on poles for the duration of the
activities. In the qasgiq were placed two three-to-four foot stout
poles in front of the place of honor for the elders. The honors
seating was located at the rear of the community house. On the
flattened upper end were placed two earthen lamps with wicks which
were *then filled with seal oil. The wicks were lighted and the
lamps kept burning during the entire festival. One or two people
were given the responsibility of keeping the lamps going. The gift
of the element fire was used to light and give some warmth to the
community house. To purify the air and the participants in the
house, wild parsnips were burned. Another gift of the element earth,
the parsnip plant was used to create purifying smoke with the transforming
gift of the element fire. Fire, with the gift of air, transformed
the seal oil to heat and light.
At the conclusion of the Bladder Festival, the bladders
were taken down, deflated, and carried to the ocean or river where
an opening in the ice had been made. With collective mindfulness
of all the Yupiaq participants that the spirits of the animals
were happy and satisfied with the care and careful execution of
the required rituals and ceremonies, and that they would return
and give themselves to the hunters, the bladders were returned
to the sacred gift of the element water, the womb of creation.
A multi-disciplinary and -sensory study of the elements
can be undertaken for the entire school year. The students would
begin to understand that the experience of knowing and making the
place a friend takes time. The students can be helped to fine tune
their endosmotic sense-makers through carefully planned and executed
lessons of observation that incorporate their Yupiaq language of
feeling with the language of reason. The ultimate gift is that
of the element spirit. This gift is, through the Yupiaq language,
mythology, rituals and ceremonies, the students are taught the "correct
lifeway, a lifeway appropriate to place" (Mills, 1990:159).
The modern schools are not teaching students how
to live a life that feels right. Rather, the schools are giving
a lot of information to the students without also showing them
how they can transfer the information into useful knowledge for
making a living. Another step is to individually and collectively
as a people see how the usable knowledge could be transformed into
wisdom to make a life. The students now look at an innovative teacher
who refuses to use existing curricula, syllabi, lessons plans,
media presentations, photocopied materials and so on, as not really
teaching. They expect to be given a lot of information and to be
entertained. The many machines, modern tools and the vaunted computers
are not enough to teach a lifeway that feels right. It is more
important that we use the Yupiaq values and culture well interspersed
with imagination or intuition from within and the element spirit
to make the new lifeway that feels right.
During the years which this activity is being done,
the participants will explore, plan and implement ways to make
the Alaska Native mythology as a teaching tool for the sciences
as well as the humanities. Within the humanities (mythology) are
the sciences and within the sciences are the humanities.
Kindergarten through third grade could possibly talk
about the five elements generally. This is what earth does: it
provides homes for people, animals and plants. Air is what you
breathe. Fourth through the sixth grades can begin to talk about
certain gifts that each element gives to earth to make it good
and beautiful. They can begin to talk about the water cycle and
begin to see how it is affected by the sun, water, land, air, plants
and people. The junior high grades can begin to talk not only of
the gifts, but how the activities of the human being affects the
life supporting gifts of the five elements. The high school students
can begin to discuss and research the five elements' gifts and
how people and pollution reduce the life supporting role of the
gifts. They can expand their knowledge of the Yupiaq peoples' perceptions
and behaviors to the natural and spiritual worlds to keep them
sustainable.
The teachers and teachers-to-be must be taught that
the world is nonlinear and that, as a result, science will never
understand everything about the universe. They must also realize
and appreciate that in modern scientific and technological endeavors,
mathematics, science and technology are interrelated as are all
other disciplines. It behooves that science education and teaching
in general become aligned to the common philosophical thread, or
the "distant memory," as it is called by N. Scott Momaday, of the
ecological perspective. All peoples of the earth began from this
vista, and therefore such a perspective makes it more probable
and possible for attaining a new consciousness for a sustainable
life.
References:
Briggs, J. (1992). Fractals the patterns of chaos.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
Mills, S. (1990). In praise of nature. Washington,
D. C. and Covelo, CA.: Island Press.
Annenberg Rural Challenge Award
by Dorothy M. Larson
The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) was notified
by the Annenberg Foundation of the $3 million award of funding
that will augment the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative that the
National Science Foundation awarded to AFN in collaboration with
the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Annenberg Foundation has funded over a dozen
projects under the Rural Challenge with efforts to focus on implementing
change in rural education.
The Alaska Rural Challenge project will be funded
over a four-year period which will coincide with the last four
years of the Alaska RSI project that is funded for a five-year
period. The first year for the Alaska RSI ends in November 1996.
Drs. Oscar Kawagley and Ray Barnhardt of UAF and Dorothy M. Larson
of AFN serve as co-directors of both projects.
The Alaska RSI project focuses on science, math and
technology while the Alaska Rural Challenge project will focus
on the social studies and humanities aspects of educational change.
The two projects will provide a holistic approach and strategy
in reform efforts that are culturally appropriate and aligned.
The projects are designed and implemented similarly
in each of the cultural regions where they will work on the five
initiatives-Oral Tradition as Education, Language/Cultural Immersion
Camps, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Subsistence
Economy, Living in Place, Reclaiming Tribal Histories as well as
statewide initiatives which will focus on the Alaska Native Knowledge
Network and Curriculum Unit. Kawagley, Barnhardt and Larson are
very pleased to make this announcement and will provide a more
in-depth description of the initiatives to be implemented in conjunction
with the Alaska RSI project.
Village Science: Developing Science Curriculum
by Alan Dick
The sequence in which we develop science materials
is not the same as the sequence it should be presented to students.
That is, the creative process seldom has the same sequence as the
learning process. I have found the following to be a helpful pattern.
- Download. Get your information on paper. Let the
ideas flow. Don't worry about sequence, spelling, art or any
other distraction. Let the ideas flow. Jot ideas as they come-in
the bath, early morning during a walk, etc.
- Organize the information. Group facts under sensible
headings. Put the information in a logical sequence. Adjust for
the audience (Grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, HS.) It helps to have pictures
of students in front of you as you write. Adjust for the educational
objectives stated in the curriculum.
- Insert the educational applications: science concepts,
social studies activities, math problems, language arts activities,
etc.
- Develop student responses giving careful attention
to the level of understanding of the audience. This consists
of measuring the students' response to the materials and measuring
the degree to which the educational objectives were met.
- Edit again for content and formatting. Check spelling,
context, flow of words and thoughts. At this point other people
are very valuable. It is quite difficult, if not impossible,
to edit your own work. Correct spelling and typos.
- Identify yourself. True learning comes from relationship.
With pictures of students in front of you, share those things
about yourself that you would want to know about someone writing
this text for you.
- Arrange the above information.
A suggested sequence is:
A. Personal information about yourself
B. Text
C. Activities
D. Student response (evaluation)
Mokakit to Host Native Education Research Conference
by Ray Barnhardt
The Alaska Chapter of Mokakit, a Native educational
re- search association, will be hosting the 1997 Mokakit Conference
in Anchorage, Alaska February 10-12, 1997, in conjunction with
the annual Bilingual/Multicultural Education and Equity Conference
February 12-14. The theme for the conference will be "Native Pathways
to Education."
Mokakit is a Native-directed association of educators
and researchers concerned with issues in Native education, first
formed at the University of British Columbia in 1983 to foster
the involvement of Native and First Nations people in all aspects
of education and research. An Alaska Chapter of Mokakit was formed
in 1996 with Oscar Kawagley serving as the chair. It will serve
as the host for the 1997 Mokakit Conference. This will be the first
time the conference will be held outside of Canada and we're expecting
a lot of Canadian First Nations educators to attend.
The purpose of the Mokakit Conference is to provide
an opportunity for people engaged in educational research impacting
Native people to come together and learn from each other's work,
and to explore ways to strengthen the links between education and
the cultural well-being of indigenous people.
The Mokakit Conference will be held in conjunction
with the annual Alaska Bilingual/Multicultural Education and Equity
Conference (BMEEC) as co-hosts, with the last day of Mokakit overlapping
with the BMEEC. The first two days of the Mokakit Conference will
be organized into concurrent presentations and symposia to provide
an opportunity for presenters to describe the work they are doing
and identify issues of mutual concern. Anyone interested in contributing
to the conference as a presenter is encouraged to submit a proposal
to the address listed below. Special consideration will be given
to research issues associated with the documentation of indigenous
knowledge systems and the implications of indigenous knowledge,
ways of knowing and world views of the way we do education. Research
issues and symposia topics may include, but are not limited to
the following:
- Elders as the bearers of traditional knowledge
and culture
- Camp environments for cultural and spiritual learning
- International Declaration of Indigenous People's
Education Rights
- Incorporation of traditional knowledge into educational
practices
- Indigenous and Western scientific traditions
- Designing culturally appropriate curriculum
- Indigenous leadership and resource development
- Education for community and economic development
and Native self-determination
- Educational institutions as repositories and transmitters
of culture
- Revitalization of indigenous languages
- Alternative approaches to standards for accreditation
and qualifications
- Governance, funding and management of indigenous
institutions
- Role of research in understanding cultural identity
- Support services for Native and First Nations
students
- Indigenous teacher education programs and initiatives
- Tribal colleges and indigenous higher education
institutions >
- Culturally appropriate institutional environments
and facilities
In addition to the research presentations, various
cultural events, displays and field trips will be available including
an opportunity to visit Native education programs in the Anchorage
area. All interested individuals, programs and institutions are
invited to submit proposals for workshops, panels or speakers on
any of the above topics, or others that may be appropriate for
the theme of the conference. Sessions may be one and one-half or
three hours in length. Proposals should include the title, length,
names of presenters and a brief description of the topic. Workshop
proposals should be submitted to the address below by December
15, 1996.
Information
For a registration packet and further information,
contact Oscar Kawagley or Ray Barnhardt:
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Harper Building
University of Alaska
P.O. Box 756730
Fairbanks, AK 99775 Phone: 907-474-5403 or 474-6431
Fax: 907-474-5451.
E-mail: rfok@aurora.alaska.edu or
ffrjb@aurora.alaska.edu.
Science and Math Support Available from the SMCNWS
by Stephanie Hoag The Science and Math Consortium
for Northwest Schools (SMCNWS) is an organization that has been
funded to:
- Identify, inventory and disseminate resources
for science and math education.
- Provide technical assistance and training in support
of state and local initiatives (such as Alaska RSI!) for quality
science and math content, curriculum improvement and teacher
enhancement.
As the Alaska state coordinator for the consortium,
I am interested in finding ways to help the participants in the
Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative meet their goals. Last spring,
we gave travel grants to help educators participate in many training
activities for rural, locally relevant science education. These
included the Old Minto Camp, Project WILD, the 4-H Fisheries Project,
and the Alaska Pacific University's summer science program for
rural teachers.
We are working on creating a mailing list to contact
math and science educators directly about free and inexpensive
classroom materials, training opportunities, grants available and
many other resources. We'll use e-mail as the primary means of
disseminating information, but would like to encourage anyone interested
to sign up-even if they don't use e-mail yet!
To sign up for the mailing list, you may contact
me using the information given below, or sign up via the World-Wide
Web at http://www.col-ed.org. (Look for SMCNWS and "become a partner".)
In addition to signing up to receive information, please contact
me if you want to tell other educators about great math and science
resources you have found.
Another project underway is an inventory of all of
the "informal" science and math education providers in Alaska.
This includes museums, youth programs, government agencies, and
other organizations that have science exhibits, hands-on kits to
distribute, classroom materials, speakers and experts to talk to
classes, math- and science-related activities for young people
and other types of programs. We'll be distributing a directory
later this year. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact me for
information about informal science and math providers, or to tell
me about any organizations or programs I might have missed!
You may contact me by phone, fax, mail or e-mail
as follows:
Stephanie Hoag
Alaska Coordinator, SMCNWS
119 Seward #4
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Phone: 907-463-4829
Fax: 907-463-3446
E-mail: shoag@ptialaska.net
World Indigenous Peoples Conference: Education
by Moses L. Dirks
The World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education
met this year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 15-22, 1996. The
purpose of the conference was to involve indigenous peoples in
the development of their own institutions and programs aimed at
meeting the unique educational needs of Native, First Nations and
Aboriginal peoples. Also, it was intended to provide an opportunity
for people engaged in such educational initiatives to come together
and learn from each other's experiences and to explore ways to
strengthen the links between education and the cultural well-being
of indigenous peoples.
The theme of the conference was "The Answers Are
Within Us.'' It was evident that answers could be found from the
elders and young people that were in attendance. The conference
was one of the most exciting and educational events that I have
ever attended. It provided a week-long program of workshops, cultural
events, displays and some opportunities to take organized excursions
to various American Indian settings in the area.
We also got to meet with various indigenous groups
worldwide. Groups represented were Maori people from New Zealand,
Aborigines from Australia, Native Hawaiians from Hawaii, American
Indians and a fairly large Alaskan group.
The workshops were very informative and there was
a sharing of similar struggles we, as indigenous people, face as
we live our lives in our communities. I was also intrigued by the
fact that the problems faced by the other indigenous people were
very similar and the frustrations that they face are being addressed
in much the same ways. There is progress being made in leaps and
bounds by the indigenous peoples of the world in the areas of elementary,
secondary and postsecondary education. The respective groups were
presenting positive things about indigenous peoples getting more
opportunities in schools. Indigenous ecological knowledge is not
only being used more and more by the indigenous people but it is
being used to teach other indigenous people also. Indigenous materials
and historical texts are also being implemented in the curriculum.
Alaska was represented well. Participating in the
cultural events that WIPC:E sponsored were Tlingit, Aleut, Inupiat,
Athabascan and Yup'ik people. We all had good fun and just being
with all the people who were there was exciting. Gifts were also
shared by the people who attended.
The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative had its own
booth and made a presentation. Many thanks go to Dorothy M. Larson,
Ray Barnhardt, Oscar Kawagley, John Pingayak, Bernie Alvanna-Stimple,
Paul Mountain, Bernice Tetpon and Lolly Carpluk for helping man
the booth. At the booth we provided information on the Alaska RSI
program and sold quite a few of Oscar's books.
Whenever you get a chance to attend a World Indigenous
Peoples Conference on Education, I would highly recommend it.
The (Coolangatta) Statement on Indigenous Rights
in Education
by Paul Mountain
The purpose of this document is to begin the drafting
of an international instrument on indigenous peoples' education
rights.
The document was prepared by a task force who met
in Coolangatta, New South Wales, Australia between September 24
and October 1, 1993. Their primary purpose at this meeting was
to establish a document for discussion and refinement by all indigenous
participants at the 1993 World Indigenous Peoples' Conference:
Education that was held in Wollongong, NSW, Australia the following
December.
The task force which was established at that time
believes that for all indigenous nations to be represented in an
international instrument on indigenous peoples' education rights,
time must be spent on debating the nature, purpose and contents
of such an instrument.
The statement lists several issues of indigenous
peoples' rights to education. A fundamental statement is, number
one, that indigenous people have the right to be indigenous; that
includes the freedom to determine who is indigenous, what that
means and how education relates to indigenous cultures. Another
statement is that land gives life to language and culture. Feelings
and thoughts of indigenous peoples toward the land forms the very
basis of their cultural identity.
The conclusion for the statement at this time is:
We, the indigenous people of the world,
assert our inherent right to self-determination in all matters.
Self-determination is about making informed choices and decisions.
It is about creating appropriate structures for the transmission
of culture, knowledge and wisdom for the benefit of each of our
respective cultures. Education for our communities and each individual
is central to the preservation of our cultures and for the development
of the skills and expertise we need in order to be a vital part
of the twenty-first century.
Paul Mountain and Bernice Joseph hosted a discussion
of Alaska Native concerns for the international instrument during
the Association of Interior Native Educators' Third Annual Conference
on August 8 and 9, 1996 in Fairbanks, Alaska. There will also be
a discussion on this at the Alaska Native Education Council Conference
scheduled for October 14 and 15, 1996 in Anchorage, Alaska. Input
from these and subsequent presentations will be presented to the
general body of the World Indigenous Peoples' Conference: Education
which will be held in Hawaii in 1999. It is our hope that this
will ensure that Alaska has adequate representation in the drafting
of this important international instrument.
For further information contact Paul Mountain at
(907) 279-2700 (w).
UA Establishes Rural Educators Preparation Partnership
At their June 1996 meeting the University of Alaska
Board of Regents authorized establishment of the Rural Educators
Preparation Center. UA President Jerome Komisar recommended this
action following a year of work by the Rural Educators Preparation
Partnership committee (REPP).
Komisar announced formation of the REPP committee
at the Association of Interior Native Educators 1995 conference,
and asked the committee three questions: how to improve rural students'
access to UA's teacher education programs, how to improve UA's
in-service assistance to rural districts, and how UA should respond
to the Alaska Department of Education Task Force on Certification
as it considered alternative means of certification. He also asked
for their ongoing oversight of UA's implementation of their recommendations,
and the REPP meetings will continue next year. UAF Chancellor Joan
Wadlow chairs the group of five UA and nine public representatives,
four of which are Alaska Natives and most of whom have extensive
experience with rural Alaska education.
At monthly meetings between December, 1995 and the
following May, the REPP soon identified the rural school child
as the "client" for their discussions. In reaching the initial
conclusions and recommendations, the REPP members used existing
information and collected new ideas from a broad range of people
involved in strengthening education. Reports on rural and Native
education from state and national sources were examined as were
recent reports from external evaluators and models of effective
university-school partnerships elsewhere in the country. Based
on these recommendations and on their belief that children learn
best from teachers who reflect the students' culture and values,
REPP clarified that increasing the number of outstanding administrators
and teachers who are Alaska Native in the state's schools was their
highest priority outcome.
REPP discussions returned many times to several major
values critical to student and teacher success. REPP members agreed
that when incorporated into education programs, these values effectively
promote relevance to communities and student success:
- program administration must be modeled on partnering
and shared governance;
- communities are critical educational resources
and must be involved in curriculum development and instruction
and through the school boards, in-staff hiring;
- Alaska's school curricula must include Native
languages and culture;
- pre-service and new educators require mentoring
by outstanding, practicing professionals in many varied real-life
field placements;
- instruction must incorporate diverse learning
styles as well as current and future educational technologies;
and
- high academic quality must be maintained to ensure
teacher and student mastery of standards pertinent to program
goals.
The REPP committee discussed many other issues. Unlike
the critical values listed above however, they did not particularly
seek or achieve consensus on:
- where or how programs should be delivered, as
it depends on the student and community situation and the program
content;
- whether preparation for certification should be
independent from earning academic degrees; and
- how the University would draw on existing, system-wide
resources to meet partnership commitments.
Based on review of many letters, documents, verbal
presentations and discussions-both formal and informal-with interested
individuals and groups outside the REPP members, and on extensive
discussion and documents drafts, the REPP recommended that UA establish
a center for development of partnerships and innovative delivery
of education programs incorporating REPP values. The center is
associated with the UAF campus and the director reports to Chancellor
Wadlow. Recruitment for the center director is in process. Success
in the director's position requires understanding and commitment
to REPP Center values and effective functioning in rural communities
and in K-12 and higher education systems, as well as other attributes
and skills.
For further information about the REPP committee
or a list of the members, please call Ann Secrest, office coordinator
for Chancellor Wadlow at 474-7112, or April Crosby, assistant to
President Komisar, at 474-5922.
Iditarod Area School District Utilizes E-Mail
by Bob Kuhn
Five years ago when I started using our school district's
electronic mail (e-mail) system, I was not too taken with the idea
of this impersonal method of communicating. Something would be
lost without the face to face contact, or even the sound of a voice
over the phone. But this is an old story, one I'm sure most of
you have heard many times.
Somewhere in the past few years, I began to see beyond
the argument of, "where is the human factor in communicating." I
have come to see that rather than decreasing this human factor,
the use of e-mail in our district has brought our staff and students
closer together. Being as large in area as our school district
is, having the capability of communicating with peers 200 miles
away has allowed staff members and students to work together as
if they were in the same building. Staff and students alike are
beginning to see that a district-wide e-mail system can enhance
not only the instruction in the classroom, it can also help teachers
in remote villages feel less isolated.
The Iditarod Area School District has been using
the software package QuickMail for about five years now. This is
our choice but there are numerous others. We chose QuickMail for
a number of reasons, not least of which is its very user friendly
interface. Functions such as sending, receiving, and grouping e-mail
messages and documents from one person anywhere in our district
to anyone else within our district can be done with nothing more
complicated than the click of a mouse. All teachers and office
staff members have desktop access to QuickMail and we are in the
process of giving this same access to our students.
Staff members use QuickMail to share unit ideas,
obtain information from the district office, locate materials that
have moved around the district and just to keep in touch. The district
office uses QuickMail to communicate with school office personnel.
This allows for the easy transferal of attendance reports, food
reports and all of the other bits of paperwork that flow within
a school district.
The most exciting use of a district e-mail system
is the way it can be used by students. One student uses it to gather
material from other students for the district newsletter she publishes.
One teacher runs a math contest by sending math problems to students
throughout the district and receives solutions via the same method.
Students who have moved to another village in the district can
keep in touch with friends on a regular basis. The uses are limited
only by the imagination.
It must be noted that there are drawbacks to a district
e-mail system. First, is the expense. Our messages are transferred
over long-distance phone lines, so there are those costs. We have
our system set up to send messages at night to take advantage of
the lower costs. Second, are the poor phone lines in rural Alaska.
Due to lines and equipment that is antiquated, connections are
sometimes lost. This can be very frustrating. These are the two
major negatives that we have had to deal with.
Electronic mail has changed the way we do business
in the Iditarod Area School District. And it has been a change
for the better. I can't imagine going to work one day and not having
it. You might as well take away my blackboard. Setting this system
up in your district is not difficult. All it takes is time, commitment,
and someone with the minor skill and energy necessary to set it
up. I would be happy to assist in anyway I can.
Happy E-Mailing,
Bob Kuhn
Iditarod Area School District
McGrath, AK
907-524-3232 ext. 240
rsrck@aurora.alaska.edu
1996 Native Summit
Rural Student Services announces plans for another
historic summit of Alaska Natives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
Summit Goal:
To revisit the 1994 recommendations and develop a
plan for implementation.
Reason
: To gather statewide input that will result in positive
changes by Alaska Natives in postsecondary education.
Who will participate:
ALL interested individuals including people associated
with tribal administration, postsecondary education, scholarship
foundations, rural education, Alaska Native programs and alumni.
Recommendations from the 1994 RSS Native Summit
- Mentorship program for Alaska Native students,
staff and faculty
- All students take one course on Alaska Native
cultures as part of the core curriculum
- Mandatory interview process and orientation for
educators upon hire
- No cuts to College of Rural Alaska, rural campuses
or distance delivery programs
- Incentives for faculty and programs to work effectively
with Native students
- Develop a dissertation support fund on Alaska
Native or related issues
- Institute an Alaska Native experts guide of both
traditional and contemporary citations
- Establish UAF as a statewide center for Alaska
Native research and studies
- Utilize small residence halls as transitional
houses for students who desire a Native environment and support
- Accountability of programs for secondary schools
preparing students to be more academically prepared for college
level courses
Telephone: (907) 474-7871
FAX: (907) 474-6619
E-mail: fnjkd@aurora.alaska.edu
UAF Native Summit
Nov. 14-15, 1996
R |
ural students |
I |
nitiating |
S |
uccess in |
E |
ducation |
"A plan for the 21st century"
Dr. Shirley Holloway, Commissioner of Education for
the State of Alaska, has agreed to attend and participate in the
Native Summit. She will lead a discussion on "Accountability for
Public Education." This discussion is based on recommendations
that were a result of the 1994 Native Summit at UAF.
Rural Student Services is in the preliminary planning
stages of the event. The agenda will include audioconferencing
to the five rural campuses as well as other rural communities.
It is hoped that the rural voice will become a major focus of this
event.
Two UAF departments have agreed to focus course work
around the event. Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development will
take an active role in the planning and follow-up of the Native
Summit.
Any questions or requests for information can be
directed to JoAnn Ducharme, Director of Rural Student Services,
UAF, (907) 474-7871.
10th Annual ANEC Statewide Conference
The Tenth Annual Alaska Native Education Council
(ANEC) Statewide Conference will be held at the Egan Convention
Center on October 14 and 15, 1996.
The conference theme is "Community Involvement Equals
Quality Education." Conference participants may use AFN Convention
special rates for travel and accommodations. Most participants
attend the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention that follows
this education conference. ANEC conference activities include review
of AFN resolutions that pertain to education of Alaska Natives,
forums to hear and voice educational issues with Alaska Department
of Education, Board of Education, Commissioner of Education, Alaska
Rural Systemic Initiative and school superintendents. Other activities
include election of ANEC executive board members, presentation
of awards for Native educators, elders, parents, students and education
programs. For more information about this education conference,
contact Charles T. Kashatok at (907) 543-4853 or Luanne Pelagio
at (907) 272-3399.
AISES Corner (American Indian Science and Engineering
Society)
School is starting for 1996-97 and AISES secondary
and elementary chapters will be starting in the schools of North
Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic, Bering Straits and Nome Public
Schools. School districts in Interior Alaska will begin planning
the introduction of new AISES chapters. Students will plan Village
Science Application projects to enter in district and regional
science fairs.
AISES in Alaska has a busy calendar:
The AISES Chapter Liaison teachers will meet in Kotzebue,
September 6-8, 1996. The teachers will represent the North Slope
Borough, Northwest Arctic, Bering Straits and Nome Public Schools
school districts. They will meet with two Alaska Rural Systemic
Initiative (Alaska RSI) directors, the Alaska RSI/AISES coordinator,
the Inupiaq regional coordinator and three Village Science Application
coordinators. AISES Chapter activities, Village Science Application
projects and science fair criteria at state and national levels
will be topics for discussion. Plans for the Arctic Regional Science
Fair will be finalized.
Alaska RSI is sponsoring an Arctic Regional Science
Fair sometime during the end of November or the beginning of December
1996. Students (K-12) in North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic,
Bering Straits and Nome Public Schools will be invited to enter
and participate in all activities. The best projects from the fair
will be entered in the AISES National Fair in Albuquerque, New
Mexico April 3-5, 1997.
UAF/AISES students are preparing to raise funds for
travel money to attend the AISES National Conference in Salt Lake
City, Utah, November 14-17, 1996. Some Alaska RSI staff and village
teachers are planning to attend the AISES National Conference,
also.
AISES Region I includes AISES college and university
chapters in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, Canada
and Alaska. The UAF Chapter of AISES is planning to host the Region
I conference on the UAF Campus in conjunction with the Festival
of Native Arts, March 6-8, 1997.
If you need more information or would like to be
included in any of the events listed above, contact Claudette Bradley-Kawagley,
Associate Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 756720,
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775.
Inupiaq Regional Report
by Elmer Jackson
The Kiana Elders Council is sponsoring the 1996 Inupiat
Illitqusrait Summer Camp for the youth in Kiana. Youth, ages eight
through ten, held their camp session July 29-31 and August 1; a
total of nineteen students attended the first camp session. Youth,
ages eleven through thirteen, held their camp session on August
5-8; a total of sixteen students attended this session. A camp
session was held on August 12-15 for ages fourteen on up. A cook,
a fishing person and an assistant were hired. We have had nine
people-mostly young-volunteer their time to help out during the
camp sessions.
Camp activities included preparing and setting a
net for salmon, building fish racks and cutting and hanging fish
to dry. Other activities included survival skills, gun safety,
target practice, hiking, storytelling, games, berry picking and
prevention activities. The students were also involved in day-to-day
chores such as packing water, gathering wood and keeping the camp
area clean.
Moose hunting season is now open and the caribou
are returning to the Kobuk area, so we went boating and hunting
for game. The campers also had fun activities and were able to
carve, draw and paint in their free time.
The Kiana Traditional Council and the Kiana Elders
Council thank the volunteers and workers for making the Inupiat
Illitqusrait Summer Camp a success. Hopefully, we will have teachers,
scientists and Alaska RSI people in future camping sessions. Hint,
hint . . . .
Yup'ik/Cup'ik Regional Report
by Barbara Liu
The Yup'ik/Cup'ik regional report will focus on the
memo- randum of agreement (MOA) activities that have been started
in area schools through the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. Between
January and May 1996, MOAs were negotiated with Kuskokwim Campus,
Bristol Bay Campus (BBC), Lake and Peninsula School District and
Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD). The allotted funds support
these educational agencies' efforts to collaborate with our initiative,
Yup'ik/Cup'ik Ways of Knowing.
Four Native professionals are implementing activities
in their areas that are directly or indirectly related to the Alaska
RSI. Cecilia Martz, a Cup'ik associate professor at Kuskokwim campus,
is interviewing elders and plans to go statewide with an audioconference
course called "Yup'ik/Cup'ik Practices in Philosophy and Religion" (ANS
275, fall semester). This class fulfills the multicultural requirement
for new teachers. Another class Professor Martz will offer is on "Alaska
Native Language and Culture" (ANS 320, spring semester) using television
and audio conference to present this course. Students can enroll
where there are transponders for Live Net such as LKSD, LYSD, Yupiit
and Bristol Bay. She is also doing cross-cultural communication
workshops and inservices throughout the school year.
Esther Ilutsik, of Bristol Bay Campus/Ciulistet Research
Group Curriculum Project oversees the agreement with BBC and plans
to host a fall meeting to demonstrate the process of collecting
indigenous knowledge from elders. The Ciulistet Research Group
has developed a method of collecting indigenous knowledge that
has been very effective. The group is composed of elders, teachers
and university professionals, sometimes including students within
each of the village sites they work with. The group meets two times
during the school year consulting with elders on specific topics,
including evaluation, integration and method. The Ciulistet Research
Group shared this process of collecting indigenous knowledge in
conjunction with the LKSD 5th Annual Bilingual Education conference
titled "Yup'ik World View II" from March 6-8, 1996 in Bethel. Their
afternoon presentation provided a mini-version of their usual three-day,
two-night intensive meeting. The Ciulistet Research Group presenters
were elders Henry Alakayak, Sr. and Anuska Nanalook of Manuquutaq,
Lena Ilutsik and Adam Caiggluk of Alaqnaqiq, Mary K. Active of
Tuyuryaq, two certified teachers Sassa Peterson and Ina White both
of Dillingham City Schools, bilingual specialist Evelyn Yanez of
Southwest City Schools, teacher trainer Esther Ilutsik of Bristol
Bay Campus/Ciulistet Research Group Curriculum Project and Dr.
Jerry Lipka, Associate Professor with University of Alaska. The
fall meeting, in conjunction with their MOA, will be held in Dillingham.
The focus will be on training and sharing different kinds of teaching
methodology with certified Native teachers. The Ciulistet team
will look at a plan for integrating different units they've developed
within the past five years into the classroom.
Frank Hill, first and only Native superintendent
of our vast region, will oversee the MOA for Lake and Peninsula
School District with assistance from Greg Anelon. This district
serves fifteen schools and the three Alaska Native cultural groups-Yup'ik,
Athabascan and Aleut-that border within their geographic location.
Superintendent Hill designated Greg Anelon, a certified Native
teacher, to assist in documenting Yupiaq Ways of Knowing as well
as identifying other certified teachers who can do the job. He
is especially interested in the Ciulistet process after a year
and a half of developing long range plans for the district in which
there is an emphasis on incorporating a strong cultural strand
into their curriculum. The MOA will enhance their mission and although
somewhat behind in getting started they are committed to being
involved.
Charles Kashatok with Lower Kuskokwim School District
administered part of the memorandum of agreement funds involving
the Ciulistet Research Group Curriculum Project at LKSD's 5th Annual
Native Educators Bilingual conference, which he also coordinates.
Charles faxed invitations to other district schools with Yup'ik/Cup'ik
bilingual staff to attend the conference offering to reimburse
travel, lodging and registration cost. Representatives of school
personnel from Bering Straits, LYSD, Yupiit and Iditarod participated,
along with a troop from LKSD. The presenting team of elders and
teachers from the Bristol Bay area conducted their five-hour workshop
in Yup'ik.
"Yup'ik Ways of Knowing" is our region's initiative
this year so congratulations to all our four leaders in carrying
out this challenging responsibility. Quyana!
In closing, I have the privilege to answer to a teasing
cousin who happens to be one of the leaders who knows what I'm
going to say next because I talk so slow in Yup'ik. Well, part
of my ancestors are "Cup'ik" from Qissunamiullret (old village
near Chevak) and "Yup'ik" from Kayalivigmiullret (old village near
Newtok) and Qinarmiullret (old village near Tuntutuliak). Tua-llu,
Cup'ik and Yup'ik are modern terms for the original people and
language of the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Nushagak Delta with a few
coastal villages (Hooper Bay, Chevak and Mekoryuk) speaking the
Cup'ik dialect and all others are Yup'ik dialect.
Tua-i-ngunrituq!
Barbara Liu
Southeast Regional Report
by Andy Hope
The Southeast Native Educators met in Juneau on June
5, 1996 and elected interim officers. Jackie Kookesh of Angoon
and Isabella Brady of Sitka were elected co-chairs. Other officers
include Aaron St. Clair, Rhonda Hickok, Toni Mallott, Ruth Demmert,
Mary Jean Duncan and Phyllis Carlson. The next meeting of the Southeast
Native Educators will take place in Sitka on October 4, 1996.
The State Department of Education and the Alaska
Science Consortium (ASC) sponsored a three-day workshop in late
June to update the Tlingit Chapter for the ASC "Native Uses of
the Seas and Rivers" handbook. The goal of the workshop was to
draft a science unit based on Tlingit knowledge, addressing science
standards (state and national) and using appropriate teaching and
assessment strategies. Teachers from Sitka, Angoon and Kake participated.
The revised chapter will be presented during a Native Science Curriculum
workshop scheduled for October 2-3, 1996 in Sitka. Other workshop
presentations will include a draft of Tlingit Math and Calendar
Curriculum Guides. The workshop will be open to all teachers. Teachers
from the Southeast MOA schools (Chatham and Sitka) are especially
urged to attend.
Aleut Regional Report
by Moses L. Dirks
This summer has been exceptionally busy for me. What
makes it difficult is to know that fishing is going on and I get
to work in an office setting. The Aleut Region is a large, diverse
region with three culturally and traditionally different groups:
the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands, Kodiak Islands and Chugach regions.
As most of us know, the customs, languages, geography and traditions
are a little different, though the Aleutian Islanders could converse
with the Kodiak Islanders.
The activities that I was involved on within the
last two months were time consuming, but interesting. The Alaska
Department of Fish and Game, with facilitators Colleen Matt and
Robin Dublin, conducted an Alaska Project WILD Rural Facilitators
Training on May 30-June 2. Elmer Jackson, Inupiaq Regional Coordinator
and Amy Van Hatten, Athabascan Regional Coordinator and I were
invited to attend this training of facilitators for teachers in
rural schools. We were invited as cultural advisors, and were asked
to provide information about our regions. Valuable input was provided
in the training, especially by the respective regional coordinators.
The facilitators' main objective for this training was to design
Alaska Project WILD workshop formats to suit the unique conditions
of Alaska cultures and village schools. The other objective included
techniques for integrating local traditional knowledge with the
teaching of
Western wildlife biology concepts. We were also fortunate
to have one elder, Mark Jacobs, Jr. from Southeast Alaska, attending
the workshop. He provided valuable information on Southeast Alaska.
Mr. Jacobs was not only well versed in the history of Alaska Natives,
he also proved to be knowledgeable in the area of Native subsistence
and the implementation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (ANILCA).
June 15-22 I attended the World Indigenous Peoples
Conference: Education in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Alaska RSI
staff gave a presentation on the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative.
I attended various workshops provided at the conference.
July was an exceptionally busy month for me. It started
off with contacting Aleut village entities in the Aleut Region
to schedule and sponsor elders for the 2nd Annual Elders Conference
to be held this year at Unalaska in conjunction with the Celebration
and Rededication of the Holy Ascension Orthodox Cathedral. The
proposed meeting dates are September 12-17. Elders from the Aleutian
and Pribilof Islands are expected to attend this event. During
the meetings, elders will have the opportunity to voice their concerns
about regional, social or educational issues. The first annual
meeting of the regional elders under the Alaska RSI will be conducted
during this time.
Also, during July, I started looking for a sea mammal
science kit that I started some time ago when I was still at Alaska
Pacific University (APU). Apparently it was being used by the Alaska
Science Center at APU. The sea mammal science kit was designed
in hopes of integrating local knowledge together with Western science.
The science center coordinator at APU mentioned to me that since
they will be closing the center, if I wished to have the kit to
work with, I could do that. This kit is not complete, so I will
be periodically working on it to incorporate additional ideas.
If anyone would like to assist in the development of the kit on
integrating indigenous science knowledge, please contact me at
any time.
Lastly, I would be more than happy to hear from any
of you if you have any questions or concerns surrounding the Aleut
region, Alaska RSI project. My telephone number is (907) 274-3611
or fax (907) 276-7989 from 8-4:40 p.m.
Athabascan Regional Report
by Amy Van Hatten
In May, I was invited to attend the "Project WILD" educational
program planning workshop at Hatcher Pass with teachers from rural
Alaska. I reminded the coordinator and participants that I had
only my personal experience to go on, and could not speak on behalf
of other Athabascan people. Two other regions were represented
by Elmer Jackson, the Inupiaq regional coordinator and Moses Dirks,
the Aleut regional coordinator. I consider it a common courtesy
for any organization or individual to make direct contact with
appropriate Native groups when it comes to documenting Native traditions,
life styles and ways of teaching, as the Department of Fish and
Game did for these workshops.
This summer I attended the Denakkanaaga Elders conference,
the Cross-Cultural Teacher Orientation Program and the Academy
of Elders (the latter two were held at Old Minto.) All of these
events were motivational for me as far as my duties as a regional
coordinator responsible for data collection, ideas for developing
a roster of traditional ways of knowing and documenting self-regulating
processes on which indigenous people have relied on for many generations.
Elders share their way of life with prestige, depth and resonance.
They speak with courtesy and respect to the land, animals and of
objects which make up the respected areas they still live in. Some
of their insights are from memory and some from still being able
to enjoy the richness of staying in a fish camp.
Many speak with reverence of the everyday activities
in their local environment during different seasons, with hopes
of passing on that indigenous knowledge to the younger generation
and their educators. At the same time mentioning that they are
not trying to impose their will over non-indigenous people, but
they see and understand why our Native children are confused about
their own identity, interest in school, sense of belonging, sense
of community or other relationships to their homelands.
During the two camps, it was with much satisfaction
on my part to watch numerous rural Native teachers, elders, university
staff, school administrators, guests from foreign countries and
other consortium members light up with excitement as they demonstrated
their new skills in making something with their own hands. Many
of the Native educators couldn't wait to return to their village
to teach what they had learned.
At the camp site many skills were accomplished and
learned through the gathering of birch bark, spruce roots, willow
and willow bark, medicinal plants, cutting and smoking fish, learning
Native songs, dancing, Native spirituality, respect for the land
and all that it offers to us in order to survive, storytelling,
how to use a sweat lodge for healing, how to regain physical stamina
during long trips and what foods to take for a lasting energy level,
how to read and predict the weather, the many uses of birch trees
( last count was up to thirty-two items), how to camp in the wilderness,
how to conserve heat in the tent by using spruce branches on the
floor, how to make a "cache", safe ways to store food, discovering
new methods of teaching math while knitting geometric designs or
flower patterns on yarn socks, how to utilize the entire moose,
how to make varied sizes of birch bark baskets and how to make
a fish net shuttle along with another instrumental piece to making
a real fishnet and using manufactured twine or hand woven willow
bark spun into twine for the net.
The list is endless. It's like when you've gone through
a growth process and can't wait to share all you have experienced
first hand. Through the teacher's and students' elation, it became
mine too, and it was like I was discovering these Native ways of
knowing for the first time while some were learning it all over
again, but with a feeling of doing it better the next time.
Together as indigenous people and educators who learned
the western ways of learning and doing things, our hopes are to
develop our own educational aids and integrate the western ways
of learning with Native ways while letting the Native ways be.
Many others speak of indigenous activities in the past tense instead
of the present tense. Personally I relate that perception to their
not having any personal experience of immersing themselves in the
natural environment. As the old saying goes, "It's never too late
to learn."
Alaska RSI Contacts
The Alaska RSI Regional Coordinators are located
in five regions within the state of Alaska. They are listed below
to help you identify the correct contact.
Amy Van Hatten
Athabascan Regional Coordinator
University of Alaska Fairbanks
ANKN/Alaska RSI
PO Box 756730
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730
(907) 474-0275 phone
E-mail: fyav@aurora.alaska.edu
Elmer Jackson
Inupiaq Regional Coordinator
PO Box 134
Kiana, Alaska 99749
e-mail: fnej@aurora.alaska.edu
Andy Hope
Southeast Regional Coordinator
University of Alaska Southeast
School of Business/PR
11120 Glacier Highway
Juneau, Alaska 99801
(907) 465-6362
E-mail: fnah@aurora.alaska.edu
Barbara Liu
Yup'ik Regional Coordinator
Box 2262
Bethel, Alaska 99559
(907) 543-3457
E-mail: fnbl@aurora.alaska.edu
Moses Dirks
Aleutians Regional Coordinator
Alaska Federation of Natives
1577 C Street, Suite 201
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
(907) 274-3611
E-mail: fhmd@aurora.alaska.edu
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