In This Issue

Who is this child named WIPCE?

by Ac’arralek Lolly Sheppard Carpluk

Who is this child named WIPCE (pronounced wip-see)? It is the coming together of the youth, youthless (in-betweens) and Elders of the world’s indigenous peoples, according to its founder, Dr. Verna J. Kirkness. The very first World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) was held in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1987. The 1987 conference theme was "Tradition, Change and Survival." Tradition represented by the past and the Elders; Change represented by the present and the youthless and Survival represented by the future and the youth. There were participants from 17 countries, with a total of 1,500 people attending the 1987 WIPCE.

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 like-minded 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.

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.

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" (see sidebar at right). 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.

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

AIHEC, CANHE/Alaska, New Zealand, Australia and Canada representatives established the new World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) in Stoney Park, Alberta. The WINHEC was started with a pledge of NZ$500,000 for the first year. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation will consider a grant of $200,000 for the planning and initial operation activities of WINHEC. The declaration that was signed by WIPCE delegates to establish WINHEC is as follows:

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!

Draft Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Orientation Programs Developed

by Ray Barnhardt

Adraft set of guidelines has been developed addressing issues associated with providing a strong cultural orientation program for educational personnel new to a particular cultural region or community.

The guidelines are organized around various areas of responsibility related to the implementation of cultural orientation programs, including those of communities, administrators, professional educators, tribal colleges and universities, statewide policymakers and sponsors of cultural immersion camps. Native educators from throughout the state contributed to the development of these guidelines through a series of workshops and meetings associated with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative.

The guidance offered is intended to encourage schools to strive to be reflections of their communities by incorporating and building upon the rich cultural traditions and knowledge of the people indigenous to the area. It is hoped that these guidelines will encourage school personnel to more fully engage communities in the social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development of Alaska’s youth. Using these guidelines will expand the knowledge base and range of insights and expertise available to help communities nurture healthy, confident, responsible and well-rounded young adults through a more culturally-responsive educational system.

Along with these guidelines are a set of general recommendations aimed at stipulating the kind of initiatives that need to be taken to achieve the goal of more culturally-responsive schools. State and federal agencies, universities, professional associations, school districts and Native communities are encouraged to sponsor cultural orientation programs and to adopt these guidelines and recommendations to strengthen their cultural responsiveness. In so doing, the educational development of students throughout Alaska will be enriched and the future well-being of the communities being served will be enhanced.

Following is a summary of the eight areas of responsibility around which the draft Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Orientation Programs are organized. The details for each area will be finalized at the statewide Native Educators Conference in February and published in a booklet form. The complete set of draft guidelines including indicators is available on the ANKN web site at www.ankn.uaf.edu.

Draft Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Orientation Programs

1. Culturally-responsive communities, tribes and Native organizations provide a supportive environment to assist new members in learning about local cultural practices and traditions.
2. Culturally-responsive school districts and administrators provide support for cross-cultural orientation programs for district staff and for integrating cultural considerations in all aspects of the educational system.
3. Culturally-responsive educators are responsible for seeking guidance in providing a supportive learning environment that reinforces the educational well-being of the students in their care in a manner consistent with local cultural beliefs, practices and aspirations.
4. Culturally-responsive schools must be fully engaged with the life of the communities they serve and provide ample encouragement, support and resources for all staff to integrate the local cultural and physical environment in their work.
5. State policymakers and educational agencies should provide a supportive policy, program and funding environment that promotes the establishment of cross-cultural orientation opportunities for all personnel associated with schools.
6. Tribal colleges and universities are responsible for partnering with communities and schools to provide every educator with the cultural understandings and educational strategies necessary to nurture all youth to their full intellectual and cultural potential.
7. Cultural immersion camps should provide an authentic and supportive environment in which participants gain first-hand experience interacting with local people while learning the cultural traditions and lifeways of the area.

General Recommendations

The following recommendations are offered to support the effective implementation of the above guidelines for cross-cultural orientation programs.

1. Regional Native educator associations should pursue funding to implement an appropriate cultural orientation program to serve the needs of the school districts (and other organizations) in their respective region, including a cultural immersion camp and follow-up activities during the school year.
2. The Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education should encourage its member institutions to develop an academic support structure for cross-cultural orientation programs in each region, including provisions for academic credit and a system for assessment of cross-cultural expertise.
3. The First Alaskans Institute, in collaboration with CANHE, should sponsor a training program for personnel associated with planning and implementing cross-cultural orientation programs.
4. Local communities and tribal organizations should sponsor local and regional cultural orientation programs as needed to prepare all outside personnel to work effectively with people in ways that are compatible with local cultural ways and respectful of the local heritage.
5. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development should provide incentives and secure continued funding for school districts to incorporate cultural orientation programs into the annual district inservice schedule.
6. School districts should sponsor opportunities for students and teachers to participate regularly in cultural immersion camps with parents, Elders and teachers sharing subsistence activities during each season of the year.
7. The guidelines outlined above should be made an integral part of all professional preparation and cross-cultural orientation programs for educators in Alaska.
8. An annotated bibliography of resource materials that address issues associated with these guidelines will be maintained on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web site (www.ankn.uaf.edu).

Comments and suggestions for the improvement of these draft guidelines are welcome and may be submitted to ANKN at the web site address listed below. Further information on issues related to the implementation of these guidelines, as well as copies of the guidelines when they are completed, may be obtained from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (http://www.ankn.uaf.edu).

Native Leaders/Master Teachers

by Bernice B. Tetpon

Beginning in April 2002, the Native Educator Associations in the five language/cultural regions collected applications and selected one lead/master teacher for each region. All of these highly motivated teachers are curriculum developers and culture bearers in addition to having reputations as long-standing and highly respected educators.

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@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.

ANSES Corner (formerly AISES Corner)

by Claudette Engblom Bradley

For the seventh summer Fairbanks Science Camp was held at Howard Luke’s Gaalee’ya Spirit Camp in July. Funds for the camp were provided jo

intly by the College of Rural Alaska and the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. The camp had 15 rural middle school students from Arctic Village, Nulato, Minto, Manley Hot Springs and Kiana. The students learned traditional skills and crafts from Elders and Alaska Native teachers. They did science projects and developed display boards for their projects. They enjoyed many recreational activities including the daily chores required by all students in the camp.

The Elders were Howard Luke, Elizabeth Fleagle, Margaret Tritt, Bertha Moses, Johnson Moses and Kenneth Frank (elder-in-training). The certified teachers were Judy Madros, eighth-grade teacher in Nulato; Caroline Tritt-Frank, (K—1) Immersion Program teacher in Arctic Village; Rita O’Brien, former science teacher in Ryan Middle School and Fort Yukon; Todd Kelsey, a former chemistry teacher and a current IBM employee and Claudette Engblom Bradley, UAF mathematics educator. The camp also had four resident advisors who lived with the students in their tents, helped them complete their daily chores and assisted them during recreational experiences and field trips. The resident advisors were David Palmer, Julie Parshall, Arlo Veetus and Crystal Frank.

Elizabeth Fleagle from Alatna, Manley Hot Springs and Fairbanks taught the students values and how to sew beads. They made scissors holders and medicine bags with beaded neck chains. Elizabeth’s class is very popular among the students and staff.

Margaret Tritt from Arctic Village and Fairbanks helped the students clean caribou hides and make babiche. Babiche is sinew. The students used it to make rabbit snares and braid ties for their small dog packs. Margaret helped the students set their snares and sew their dog packs. Dog packs were used to carry essential camping equipment during long travels across the tundra.

Bertha Moses and Caroline Tritt-Frank helped the student make fish nets with weights and floaters. The students carved the shuttle and measuring gauge in their session with Kenneth Frank and Johnson Moses. They carried their shuttle and measuring gauges to Bertha and Caroline’s session. Johnson and Kenneth helped the students make the weights and floaters for their nets as well. The students also learned about carving wood from Johnson and Kenneth. They sewed small nets in the eight-day sessions and were able to take their work home when the camp was over.

Kenneth and Johnson had the students make survival gear. They taught them how to start a fire without a match. The survival gear was made of caribou bones. The gear included a caribou bone knife, a caribou bone fish hook and a caribou bone arrowhead.

Rita O’Brien helped the students make birch bark baskets. She showed them where and how to gather the birch bark and roots for the basket making.

Todd Kelsey flew to Fairbanks to joins the camp for a week from IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. Todd made the arrangements with IBM to donate six laptop computers and one color printer to the camp. He stayed in the camp to insure the computers are used appropriately and provided the students with instruction on how to use the printer and computers along with some lessons in chemistry and mathematics. This year he co-taught his classes with Judy Madros from Nulato.

The students will further develop their projects at their school and enter them in local science fairs this fall. We look forward to seeing them at the statewide ANSES fair in February.

Revisiting Action-Oriented, Multi-Reality Research

by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

Alaska Native people have often thought of the white man as having capabilities that go far beyond our own abilities as creators and inventors, forgetting to consider some of the long-term side-effects of our infatuation with the Euro-centric ways. That feeling of awe and wonder is fast changing as we see our world deteriorate, driving us to action for a change in consciousness and returning to our own eco-centric worldview.

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?

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

As our schools start another year I would like to send a heartfelt thanks to the many faculty, administrators, staff, parents and students who have worked tirelessly to provide and take-part in a first-class education. Thank-you or, in the first language of Southeast Alaska, gunalcheesh.

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.

Iñupiaq Region
Thirteenth Inuit Studies Conference

by Branson Tungiyan

On July 31, 2002 I traveled from Nome to attend the 13th Inuit Studies Conference that was held at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. The conference was organized by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Alaska Native and Rural Development. The theme for the conference was "Voices from Indigenous Communities: Research, Reality & Reconciliation".

The conference kicked off with Dr. Gordon Pullar, the ISC Chair and Lucille Davis, a Sugpiaq Elder, lighting a traditional seal oil lamp and offering an opening prayer. The welcoming remarks were given by Chief Paul Theodore from the Knik tribe; Lee Stephen, the CEO of the Native Village of Ekutna; Chancellor Marshall Lind from UAF and Provost James Chapman from UAA. Aqqaluk Lynge, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, gave the keynote address entitled "Science For and Together with Indigenous Peoples."

Each of the three days had a keynote speaker who gave interesting presentations. Jose Kusagak, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada, was Friday’s keynote speaker; George Ahmaogak, mayor of the North Slope Borough, Barrow was Saturday’s speaker.

We also had luncheon speakers. Thursday’s speaker was Father Michael Oleksa, dean of St. Innocents Cathedral, Russian Orthodox Diocese of Alaska. He always gives the best presentations and made everyone laugh throughout his speech. Friday’s luncheon speaker was Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley of UAF.

There were some very interesting sessions throughout the three day conference. I attended workshops on "Issues in the Arctic," "Traditional Knowledge," "Language Policy and Usage," "Memory and History" and "Inuit Spirituality, Values and Culture" as well as a roundtable discussion on "Comparative Inuit, Yup’ik and Aleut Linguistics." I also participated in an AKRSI session on "Integrating Indigenous Knowledge, Ways of Knowing and World Views into the Educational System." These were all interesting sessions in which issues and concerns were discussed on the international level and with an Inuit perspective. The facilitators and presenters did an outstanding job with their sessions. The conference reminded me of the Alaska Federation of Natives conventions that we have in Anchorage, but on the global Inuit level.

Two Elder’s, Lela Oman of Nome and Lucille Davis of Kodiak, were fabulous in giving their views of the conference sessions. I enjoyed the part where Lela Oman said that she knew how to say "thank you" in 12 languages, but the best one comes from St. Lawrence Island–Igamsiqanaghhalek! Thank you Lela, as I am from Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. The final Elder wrap-up was the most enjoyable as they gave their views in a wonderful fashion. My only wish is that there could have been more Elders from various places such as Greenland and Canada.

To me, the interesting part of this conference was meeting the different Inuit and other indigenous people from Canada, Greenland, France, Germany and New Zealand. The issues discussed–whether it be education, language, health, environment, or organizational structures–were very well presented, though time was too short. We all seem to have so much in common with many of the same issues that we are concerned about.

Finally, we couldn’t complain about the weather. Those were the most beautiful days and helped make the conference that much more interesting and enjoyable. It was just GREAT! I appreciate the effort that was made in planning for the 13th Inuit Studies Conference. The organizers did an outstanding job of making it a success. I felt honored to have been with the group of Inuit who were in attendance. Thank You!

[The staff of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative extends our sincere thank you and appreciation to Branson for his contributions as the Iñupiaq Regional Coordinator over the past two years. He has decided to move back to St. Lawrence Island this fall to work with his people, so we will miss his wit and wisdom at our meetings, but we wish him all the best as he takes on new challenges in his life. Igamsiqanaghhalek for your commitment to education Branson!]

Youth Empowerment: Traditional Values & Contemporary Leadership

by Cathy Rexford

April 17—19, 2002, Barrow Alaska. 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.

Athabascan Region
2002 Alaska Indigenous People’s Academy

by Linda Evans

The week-long Arctic Village Elders Academy, sponsored by Project AIPA, was held on the East Fork of the Chandalar River at a traditional campsite that has been used by the Gwich’in people for thousands of years. The mountains of the Brooks Range surrounded the camp and the quiet waters of the river flowed by peacefully. What an awesome learning environment!

Our teachers were Trimble Gilbert, Maggie Roberts, Florence Newman and Elder-in-training, Kenneth Frank. They were natural teachers in their traditional environment. Each has so much traditional knowledge and they were happy to share. The theme for the camp was caribou. We learned about the caribou and traditional subsistence living in this area. Some of the topics covered included: caribou skins, dry meat bags, dog packs, babiche, tools made from the lower leg of the caribou, games made from the caribou knuckles and hooves, snowshoe lacing using babiche, building a fish trap with willows, fishing with a net, cutting and drying whitefish, sucker, pike, and lush, traditional cooking over the campfire, some Gwich’in games, setting snares made with babiche, traditional uses of plants and roots in the area and some traditional stories told by the Elders. The participants made a list of the learning activities the group participated in and came up with a total of fifty-nine different activities in that short period of time. Besides working on caribou skins, the only other part of the caribou we worked with was the lower leg, including the hoof. All the tools and games we made came from that one part of the caribou. It was amazing how much knowledge the Elders have. Imagine what we could have done with a whole caribou if our camp lasted two or three weeks!

During the time we spent at camp learning from the Elders, some of the traditional values taught were:

• take care of yourself
• use the resources wisely
• don’t be wasteful
• share with others
• work cooperatively with others–teamwork
• humor

Staying at camp and working with the Elders helped me realize how intelligent our ancestors were to use the natural resources of the land to survive. Now I am a part of that learning process and have the responsibility to pass my knowledge on to our young people.

Part of the process of attending the Elders’ Academy is to develop curriculum units from the indigenous knowledge learned from the Elders. I am proud of the teachers and their hard work. Project AIPA will have eight curriculum units to implement in the schools by the end of October:

• Living in the Chandalar Countryby Kathleen Meckel (language arts and social studies unit for level 2, grades 3—5)
• Huslia Plant Project by Gertie Esmailka (integrated unit on local plants for level 2,grades 3—5)
• Caribouby Twila Strom(integrated unit on caribou for level 2, grades 3—5)
• We are the Gwich’in by Debra VanDyke (language arts and social studies unit for level 4, grades 9—12)
• Gwich’in Games by Cora Maguire (language arts and social studies unit on games for level 3, grades 6—8)
• Subsistence Fishing on the Chandalar by Linda Evans (integrated unit using a traditional story for level 1, grades K—2)

The resource materials developed from the camp experience will include:

• a resource book with pictures of the Arctic Village Camp by Carol Lee Gho,
• a handbook for setting up a cultural camp by Linda Green and Virginia Ned,
• a poster showing the uses of caribou and
• a poster showing the seasonal activities in the Gwich’in area.

I encourage school districts, administrators, school boards and local schools to get involved in making a camp experience available for your students and teachers. The experience will enhance your educational program immensely and make education fun for everyone involved.

AIPA Culture Camp

by Linda Green

On June 2, 2002 I attended the Project AIPA Culture Camp in Arctic Village. The seven-day camp was located 45 minutes by boat from Arctic Village. Nine teachers from the Yukon Flats, Fairbanks NSBSD and Yukon-Koyukuk and myself arrived at the camp in three boats. The Elders from Arctic Village were Trimble Gilbert, Maggie Roberts and Florence Newman. Our camp cook, Margaret Tritt, soon became part of the Elders teaching teachers. Other camp personnel included a video cameramen and three camp helpers, which were 14-year-old boys from Arctic Village.

We arrived on Sunday and began setting up the tents that would be our homes for the week. As we finished, we got acquainted with each other. The camp theme was "Caribou". Monday morning started with breakfast and a gathering led with a prayer from one of the Elders, followed by a review of the agenda. After that we took three caribou skins to the lake, about an eighth of a mile away from the camp, to be soaked for approximately 24 hours before working on them. As we did this the Elders went over each part of the caribou. Then we started working with the leggings. Under the direction of the Elders, we made two different toys and a tanning tool. As the teachers finished their projects they went to another area and started cutting white fish that were caught in the net that day. After dinner we were very tired from working all day so we all slept very nicely.

Tuesday began with breakfast and a prayer and the Elders started telling stories about how the Gwich’in people were totally dependent on the caribou herd. There were always camps around the herd. There were no nets, so people built fish traps and used spears made from willows. Bows were made from caribou skin and arrows were made from the antlers. Flints were used to make the arrowhead. It wasn’t important to have a clock because each day was filled with trying to survive. People walked more, because that was the only mode of transportation. We went over uses of the caribou skin, stomach and bones. Each use was intertwined with a traditional value. In the evening the teachers went over different strategies to use in integrating what we were learning into school curriculum and standards.

Wednesday we rose and had breakfast and a prayer. Then we started working on the skins that we had put into the water on Monday. It was 80 degrees out when we hung the skins on a tree and started cutting the hair off with sharp knives. Others were scraping the skins that had the hair already removed. After dinner we made babiche from previously prepared skin, as well as fish hooks from the bones. We also playing string games the Elders showed us.

Thursday we continued fleshing and cutting hair off of the eight skins we had. That evening we discussed values students should know–things such as who they are and where they came from. Each morning should be started with a prayer for strength. Teachers also talked about the units they would write, how each would be different from the standard curriculum, the importance of teaching from a traditional perspective and how this learning could be brought into the classroom. Units should be started with a story by an Elder and last a minimum of two weeks. Another idea was to start a unit explaining the seasons. We ended with Joel Tritt, second tribal chief of Arctic Village, talking to the group about learning and how it is important for students to learn about the old ways in order to survive.

Friday we began to cut the caribou skin for a sack. Patterns were made and the skin was sewn with sinew from the caribou. Since some were finished before others, so they went to the fish cutting table or made more things from the caribou hooves. We also included a field trip five miles up the river to an ancient caribou fence. Most of the group went, though some stayed behind and spent the day making snowshoes with the babiche from the caribou. Upon their return, the group expressed a deep spiritual experience in walking around and looking at the remains of the old caribou fence and the slaughter house. They talked about how clean the environment was and that very little was disturbed. They also talked about the way the fence was made so that caribou would go in and because of the mountain on one side, they would be trapped.

Saturday we finished our projects and started packing up the camp. We left on Sunday and spent the night in Arctic Village in order to catch the mail plane to Fairbanks Monday. The teachers spent two days in Fairbanks writing and working on the units that they developed in camp, which needed to be completed by July 31 so they could be showcased at the AINE conference that weekend.

I brought eight draft copies of the units made from the camp to present in a workshop at the Sixth World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education that was held near Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the Nakoda Nation Reserve from August 3—10. I also displayed videos made from the culture camps, along with camp booklets with lots of digital photos. Florence Newman, an Elder at the Arctic Village camp, also attended the conference. Her presentation, along with the booklets and videos, gave the workshop participants a strong, positive feeling about the culture camps sponsored by the Alaska Indigenous Peoples Academy and the Association of Interior Native Educators. Further information and curriculum resources are available on the AINE and ANKN web sites.

Fall Course Offerings for Educators in Rural Alaska

by Ray Barnhardt

Just as the new school year brings new learning opportunities to students, it also bring new learning opportunities for teachers and those seeking to become teachers. This fall rural teachers and aspiring teachers will have a variety of distance education courses to choose from as they seek ways to upgrade their skills, renew their teaching license, pursue graduate studies or meet the state’s Alaska Studies and Multicultural Education requirements.

All Alaskan teachers holding a provisional teaching license are required to complete a three-credit course in Alaska Studies and a three-credit course in Multicultural Education within the first two years of teaching to qualify for a standard Type A certificate. Following is a list of some of the courses available through the Center for Distance Education that may be of interest to rural educators.

Alaska Studies: ANTH 242, Native Cultures of Alaska; GEOG 302, Geography of Alaska; HIST 115, Alaska, Land and Its People; HIST 461, History of Alaska.

Multicultural Education: CCS/ED 610, Education and Cultural Processes; CCS/ED 611, Culture, Cognition and Knowledge Acquisition; ED 616, Education and Socio-Economic Change; ED 631, Small School Curriculum Design; ED 660, Educational Administration in Cultural Perspective.

Cross-Cultural Studies: CCS 601, Documenting Indigenous Knowledge Systems; CCS 608, Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

Enrollment in the above courses may be arranged through the nearest UAF rural campus or by contacting the Center for Distance Education at 474-5353 or distance@uaf.edu or by going to the CDE web site at http://www.dist-ed.uaf.edu. Those rural residents who are interested in pursuing a program to earn a teaching credential or a B.A. should contact the rural education faculty member at the nearest rural campus, or the Rural Educator Preparation Partnership office at 474-5589. Teacher education programs and courses are available for students with or without a baccalaureate degree. Anyone interested in pursuing a graduate degree by distance education should contact the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at 474-1902 or ffrjb@uaf.edu.

Welcome to the 2002—2003 school year!

Alaska RSI Contacts

is a publication of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Educational Systemic Reform in agreement with the Alaska Federation of Natives and the University of Alaska.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0086194. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

We welcome your comments and suggestions and encourage you to submit them to:

The Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Old University Park School, Room 158
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756730
Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730

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