WHOUY SZE KUINALTH
"Teaching Our Many Grandchildren"

 

 

 

Our Natural Resources

STATE STANDARDS  Geography E. A student should understand and be able to evaluate how humans and physical environments interact. F. A student should be able to use geography to understand the world by interpreting the past, knowing the present, and preparing for the future. Government and Citizenship G. A student should understand the impact of economic choices and participate effectively in the local, state, national, and global economies. CULTURAL STANDARDS E. Culturally-knowledgeable students demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the relationships and processes of interaction of all elements in the world around them.

© Bill Hess Freddy Nicolai Jr. and Shawn Sanford cutting moose nose at Batzulnetas. OBJECTIVES Students will: 1. learn key terms used to describe and discuss ecosystems: natural resources, renewable and nonrenewable resources, species, threatened species, endangered species, ecosystem and extinction. 2. discover how humans are altering natural resources. 3. determine what obligation we have to protect the environment.

Lesson  GRADES K -12 Activities: Students list or draw pictures of the renewable and nonrenewable resources they have used or consumed in the past 24 hours. Classify each as: a) essential for survival, b) necessary for maintenance of their present lifestyle or c) a luxury. Collect the pictures/list and make a bar graph. Read "Grandfather's Wisdom" (a lesson in survival and the importance of natural resources in our lives). "Grandfather's Wisdom", a tale in the book, According to Grandfather written by Audrey Loftus, tells about a family's struggle to survive their capsizing on the Yukon River and losing all of their belongings except for two knives and a hatchet. Their grandfather's subsistence skills and ties to the land enabled them to survive. Discuss the different resources used by their grandfather. List the various products (ecosystems) that were utilized. Make a poster or book depicting the story as it happened. You could incorporate the message of preserving the land by taking care of the land to ensure that our descendants will be able to survive on the land as our ancestors did. Talk to Elders about local traditional ties to the land.

Derrick Neal, John Nicolai, Freddy Nicolai, and Daniel Nicolai learn how to make baskets from Molly Galbreath.

 
Mariah Craig drying salmon strips for winter storage at Batzulnetas.

 

 

Chistochina student, Shayne Crow Ghost.	3.	Resource Paths Materials: Enough clay or homemade 'play dough' for each student to create several small objects; three small boxes labeled BURY, BURN and DUMP/LITTER. Give each student a portion of the clay from a container labeled "earth", and instruct them to use the clay to make models of things that they like to use. Ask students to place their finished product in one of the 3 boxes. Ask: After we burn, bury or throw away something that we like to use, what will happen to it? Repeat several times to show how our use of raw materials (clay, or salt and flour, in this case) uses up the earth's supply of resources. Continue until the clay or 'play dough' is all used up. Lead a discussion focusing on what happens after we burn, bury and dump our litter. Discuss what happens when all the materials are gone. Can we get back what has been thrown away? What will happen if we keep taking materials from the earth? What will happen when we run out? Suggest that instead of throwing the clay away, we reuse it. If we did this with all our garbage, very little would be taken to the landfill and we would not have to take as much from the earth. Ask students for their ideas for alternatives to "burn, bury, dump". Then ask how much time and energy it would take to reuse or recycle.
	4.	Research and report on a species currently on the endangered, threatened, or extinct list from the State of Alaska (Local Fish and Game or Wildlife Refuge personnel can also help).
	Discussion Ideas: Give examples of and discuss ecosystems and species. Do you regularly use products made from nonrenewable resources for which there is an alternative made from a renewable resource? Are there any luxury items (nonrenewable) you could omit, without a major change in your lifestyle? What are some examples of unwise resources used in your Village? What can be done to change this use? What are the consequences of unwise resource use?

Courtesy of Barb Dalke
Mentasta, Alaska

	Dedication MSTC Mission Statement Introduction Prelude In A Sacred Manner, by Wilson Justin Learn & Serve Focus Groups
	ELDERS DENAEY (PEOPLE) Interview of Elders Clans of Chistochina & Mentasta Why Are We Here? Who We Are		NANINEH (LAND) Our Way of Life Mapping the Village What A Waste Raw Materials Our Natural Resources Weather/Climate
	TUU (WATER) Water, Water Our Watershed		C'AAN (FOOD) Where Does Our Food Come From? Gathering, Traditions and Nutrition of our Food Keeping Ourselves Healthy A Student Led Health Fair
	Assessment & Performance Evaluation Rubrics Learn & Serve Program Sources, Resources Thank You

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