integrating native ways of knowing into the curriculum

VOL. 1, ISSUE 2APRIL 1996

A newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic InitiativeAlaska Federation of Natives University of Alaska National Science Foundation

In This Issue

Integrating Native Ways ofKnowing into the Curriculum

by Ray Barnhardt, Ph.D.

The conceptual foundation for the Alaska Rural SystemicInitiative is based on a book by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley,

Ph.D., titled A Yupiaq World View: A Pathway to Ecology and

Spirit (Waveland Press, 1995). The book is an outgrowth of theresearch Oscar conducted for his doctoral dissertation at theUniversity of British Columbia. In the book, he provides aninsider’s perspective on how the Yupiaq people of SouthwestAlaska have continued to draw upon and adapt old and new waysto make sense of the world around them. Throughout the bookhe provides numerous examples to illustrate the inner workingsof the Yupiaq knowledge system and the ways of knowingassociated with it. He then contrasts this experience with theways of teaching and learning reflected in the school, and finallyoffers suggestions on how the two systems can be broughttogether.

ent way of making sense of the world,the two systems collided. The newsystem, based on a Western view ofthe world, became embodied in theinstitutions (including the schools)that regulated the public life of thecommunities, while the old systemcontinued to survive behind the scenesas a basis for regulating peoples pri-vate lives and maintaining their sub-sistence livelihood. Until recently,these two systems operated largelyindependent of one another, leadingto frequent conflict as the aspirationsof one system appeared to impede theefforts of the other. It is Oscar’s con-

Of particular concern to Oscar arethe ways in which Native people havepracticed their own form of “science”as a way of learning about and adapt-ing to the environment in which theylive. Through extensive observationsand experimentation over an extendedperiod of time, Native people learnedto live in balance with the “ecologicalniche” in which they were situated,

making efficient use of the resourcesavailable in their immediate surround-ings. Out of this experience, they de-veloped a highly functional worldview that integrated the human, natu-ral and spiritual realms of their exist-ence.

However, as this world view andlifestyle came under the influence ofoutside forces governed by a differ-

(continued on next page)

News From ARSI Co-Directors ............... 2

Welcome Moses! ................................... 2

World Indigenous Peoples Conference ... 4

Alaska Native Cultural Integration ........ 5

Elder Participation In “The Spiritof Our Ancestors” ............................. 7

Native Teacher Organizations ................ 8

Sprouting New Ideas and Activities ....... 9

AISES Corner ...................................... 10

Athabascan Regional Report ................ 11

Southeast Regional Report ................... 12

ARSI Contacts ..................................... 13

Inupiaq Regional Report ..................... 13

Yup’ik Regional Report ....................... 14

Academy of Elders .............................. 15

Village Science .................................... 15

2 S H A R I N G O U R P A T H W A Y S

tention, however, that if the two systems are prop-erly understood and appreciated on their ownterms, they can be viewed as complementary toone another, each having something important tocontribute to the quality of life for all Alaskans.

It is to the task of finding ways to bridge theindigenous and Western knowledge systems, sothey can be integrated into a comprehensive ap-proach to education, that the efforts of the AlaskaRural Systemic Initiative are directed. With thehelp of elders, teachers, parents and anyone elseinterested in improving the quality of education inrural Alaska, we will endeavor over the next five years to develop new ideas forlinking Western and indigenous knowledge into an integrated approach toeducation that encompasses both the community and the school. As Oscar hasdone in his book, we will begin this effort by focusing on ways in which scienceand math can be connected to everyday life in the community, utilizing theexpertise of elders and the local environment as educational resources. Wewelcome any and all input from those of you who are engaged in similar efforts.

Watch this newsletter, or check the Alaska Native Knowledge Network Website at http://zorba.uafadm.alaska.edu/ankn for ideas and resources that areapplicable to your cultural region. In the meantime, Oscar’s book is availablethrough your local bookstore, or you can order it from the Alaska Federation ofNatives for $11.00. Write to Alaska Federation of Natives, 1577 C St., Suite 201,Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

News From ARSI Co-DirectorsAngayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

ARSI co-director, Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, has beenvery busy this fall and spring doing many speaking

engagements having to do with the Native world views, Nativelanguages, and changes neededto make mathematics and sci-ence relevant to Native stu-dents. This systemic changeknows no color line and, thus,is inclusive of all students fromall walks of life. He gave a talkto the Northwest Health Cor-poration at Nome, Alaska on“Decolonizing the Mind;

Sharing Our Pathways is a publication ofthe Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, fundedby the National Science Foundation Divisionof Educational Systemic Reform in agreementwith the Alaska Federation of Natives and theUniversity of Alaska.We welcome your comments and sugges-tions and encourage you to submit them to:

The Alaska Native Knowledge NetworkUniversity of Alaska FairbanksHarper BuildingP.O. Box 756730Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730

(907) 474-5086 phone(907) 474-5208 faxhttp://zorba.uafadm.alaska.edu/ankne-mail: [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Lolly CarplukLayout & Design: Paula Elmes

Ray Barnhardt, Co-DirectorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksANKN/ARSIPO Box 756730Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730(907) 474-5086 phone(907) 474-5208 fax

Oscar Kawagley, Co-DirectorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksANKN/ARSIPO Box 756730Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730(907) 474-5403 phone(907) 474-5208 fax

Dorothy Larson, Co-DirectorAlaska Federation of Natives1577 C Street, Suite 201Anchorage, AK 99501(907) 274-3611 phone(907) 276-7989 fax

AlaskaRural SystemicInitiative

(continued from front page)

Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

S H A R I N G O U R P A T H W A Y S 3

Learning from the Past.” December 15, 1995 saw the conclusionof an interactive television course of “Native Ways of Knowing”which was aired statewide. There were many positive statementsmade on its timeliness and content. He is teaching the course byteleconference this spring semester.

different way of knowing. It was alsohis privilege to be a keynote speakerduring the annual Lower KuskokwimSchool District’s bilingual teachers’conference in Bethel, Alaska. He wasthe evening storyteller during theawards potluck sponsored by the con-ference. Both of these sessions weredone in Yupiaq.

Dorothy Larson

The past few months havebeen extremely busy. We

have a full compliment of staff,our regional coordinators po-sitions have all been filled. Join-ing Barbara Liu, Andy Hope,Amy Van Hatten and ElmerJackson is Moses Dirks as theAleut Regional Coordinator.

Recently Dr. Oscar Kawagley and Imet with the board of directors for theAnnenberg Rural Challenge Founda-tion to provide background on theARSI project. We presented conceptsand ideas of how we could mesh theARSI and the Annenberg Rural Chal-lenge (ARC) work to bring about sys-temic reform in a more holistic fashionin rural schools. Nationally, fourteenprojects and organizations were in-vited to participate in the meetingwith the ARC Board in Olive Branch,Mississippi. It was held in a very ruralsetting. While we were there an icestorm kept us captive for several days!It was more isolated than being in oneof the villages where we are preparedfor the elements. Otherwise, it was apositive experience to meet with oth-ers who are working in rural schoolsacross the nation on many differentprojects.

We look forward to the develop-ment and presentation of a proposalto the Annenberg Rural Challenge,


Welcome, Moses!Moses Dirks is originally from Atka in the Aleutians. He

will be working out of Anchorage and can be reachedthrough AFN at (907) 274-3611. His e-mail address [email protected].

Moses was most recently with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as RegionalSubsistence Coordinator and has traveled extensively in the Aleut Region.Moses is one course away from his Master of Arts in Teaching. He has beeninvolved in teaching Aleut language, culture and history in the schools inAnchorage, Unalaska, Aleutians East Borough, False Pass and AleutianRegion. During 1991–92, Moses developed a marine mammal biology kit foruse in the science curriculum in rural Alaska schools under a MurdockScience Project graduate fellowship.

Among other accomplishments, Moses served as co-editor with Dr. KnutBergsland transcribing and translating tapes and legends for Aleut Tales andNarratives into English. He was a language specialist verifying the accuracyof words in the various sub-dialects of the Aleut language for the AleutDictionary Project. Besides being involved in education, Moses has donevideotaping work and operated a closed-circuit television station; served aspostmaster in Atka; and served as mayor for two years in Atka.

In 1988, he received several awards including an Alaska LegislativeCitation, the Alaska Bilingual Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for theNational Bilingual Teacher of the Year.

Moses rounds out our excellent team of regional coordinators who will beinstrumental in the coordination and implementation of the Alaska RuralSystemic Initiative (ARSI) plan. Moses was involved in the Alaska NativeScience Colloquia in Chena Hot Springs, so you will have an opportunity tobecome reacquainted with Moses and welcome him at our consortiummeeting in April at Chena Hot Springs.

He and his wife, Dr. ClaudetteBradley-Kawagley, made a presenta-tion on teaching mathematics andscience using the five elements: earth,air, fire, water and spirit duringthe annual Bilingual/MulticulturalEducation Equity Conference inAnchorage, Alaska. A spruce branchwas used in the object lesson. He and

Dr. Ray Barnhardt made a presenta-tion on the Alaska Rural SystemicInitiative at the same conference. Bothsessions were well attended.

Angayuqaq gave a lecture recentlyto the UAF Department of Philosophyand Humanities on the Yupiaq worldview. It was well received and manyquestions were asked regarding the


(continued from previous page) and across the local, state and nationalarenas. The council is made up ofmembers from different parts of theUnited States and half from the AlaskaNative community. We will have anopportunity to meet members of thecouncil in Chena Hot Springs.

The memorandums of agreementare in place and we are fully into thework of implementing the initiativesof our ARSI project in each region. Anumber of regional meetings, elders’council meetings and meetings withvarious staff and partners have beentaking place in the last several months.You will be hearing from the regionalcoordinators and other project staff intheir reports. Co-directors have beenmaking site visits during the regionalevents which have demonstrated thatthere are many things going on inrural Alaska schools.

We received expressions of inter-est from school districts, Native lead-

ers and community members aboutthe project. Through the good workof our staff and their availability,outreach work and the Sharing OurPathways newsletter, we hope thatwe can provide meaningful informa-tion that will ultimately result in im-proving rural and Native education.

Please use the Alaska NativeKnowledge Network World WideWeb data. It is updated on an on-going basis. This kind of informationwill be very helpful to teachers, com-munity resource people, administra-tors, parents and, most importantly,to students. The data gathering anddocumentation is a key component ofthe ARSI. Technology can be one ofthe important tools for rural schools.

In conclusion, I would like to askyou all to contact anyone of the co-directors for more information or ifyou have questions or comments.

which will not only provide a holisticapproach in rural education, it willinvolve more of our village commu-nity members in schools. TheAnnenberg Rural Challenge canfacilitate and round out the ARSI ef-forts beyond the math/science/tech-nology focus in the integration andblending of indigenous knowledgeand life ways to make education morerelevant. We will keep you posted onthis development.

Our staff is busy in planning forthe upcoming ARSI Alaska Native/Rural Education Consortium meetingin April. It will be exciting to returnto Chena Hot Springs where thisproject was brought from the ideastage to recommendations for the ba-sis of what we are now involved in—the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative.The National Science Foundation pro-vided the funding for the earliercolloquia and continues to be involvedwith our efforts in making positivechanges in the education arena.

On April 15, the National NativeScience Advisory Council, a newlyformed group under the auspices ofthe ARSI, will meet. This council willserve as a vehicle for facilitating theexchange of ideas on Native scienceeducation issues between the ARSIand other Native American peopleand NSF. In this effort, we will befocusing attention on indigenous per-spectives in the generation and utili-zation of scientific knowledge and toinitiate a national Native science edu-cation agenda that shifts the culturalfocus in schools from teaching aboutculture to teaching in the culture.

Our aim is to reorient schools touse the local cultural base as the foun-dation for teaching all subject matter(including the Western-derived cur-riculum) moving from the local to aglobal perspective. Since this has im-plications for many other areas of lifein Native communities, we see thisgroup as an important link between

World Indigenous PeoplesConference on EducationT he fourth tri-annual World Indigenous

Peoples Conference on Education will be held inAlbuquerque, New Mexico June 15–22, 1996. AlaskaNative people are encouraged to attend and share ideaswith indigenous people from Australia, New Zealand,Canada, Russia, Norway, South America and other parts ofthe United States. Information can be obtained throughthe Alaska Native Knowledge Network or by writing to1996 WIPC:E, Galles Building, 1601 Central Northeast,Albuquerque, NM 87131 (503-277-8249). E-mail [email protected] See you there!


Alaska Native Cultural Integrationinto the Curriculum

by Martha Stackhouse

This paper will cover the integration of the Alaska Nativecultures as part of the curriculum within the school systems

K–12 throughout the state. As of today, the Alaska Nativecultural integration had been identified as a need approximatelytwenty years ago and it is time it is implemented. There have beenscores of people who wrote on the subject and many more whohave given lectures about the integration of the Alaska Nativeculture into the school curriculum. It is high time to do some-thing about the actual implementation.

The teaching of culture can rangefrom the traditional past, legends andstories, first contact with the Westernworld, introduction of foreign dis-eases, starvation and how these prob-lems were eventually solved,influences left by BIA schools andchurch, land claim struggles and thepassage of ANCSA, how the presentregional and village corporations haveplaced an impact in our lives, how anordinary Alaska Native family leads asubsistence way of life and survivesthe impact of the Western world, cul-tural values and biographies of lead-ers and elders for our students to read.Since most ethnic studies are por-trayed as if they were in a past tense,it is very important to also presentourselves as living cultures which weare presently experiencing. Therefore,it is important to include the differentkinds of lifestyles the Alaska Nativesare leading today. Scientific studiesabout wildlife living in our Arcticenvironment need to be brought intothe school curriculum. There has beena tremendous amount of informationgiven by the Alaska Native elders tothe scientists who have conductedtheir studies in our Arctic environ-ment. These topics are only a fractionof what can be incorporated into the

school systems in Alaska.One may ask how this will be imple-

mented. First of all, the Alaska Nativeindividuals who are concerned needto make a commitment and start writ-ing down their cultural experiencesrather than stating time and time againthat this needs to be done. If we alltook the time to write down how wegrew up with our grandparents, par-ents, short biographies of extendedfamilies such as uncles and aunts, ourcultural values, our legends and sto-ries we heard, traditional medicine,expressive art, our experiences in theboarding schools and how we huntand fish for our subsistence needs.Even if these experiences are not pub-lished, they may get a chance someday. If nothing else, they can be a giftto grandchildren. Most of all, sharethem with the students within yourown community. To insure your writ-ing from possible theft, contact theCopyright Office, Library of Congress,Washington D.C. 20559-6000 for in-formation on copyrighting your work.

The ideal scenario would be tohave a team of concerned Alaska Na-tive people from each region gatherinformation about their culture andthe biographies of their elders andleaders. They can transcribe them on

to computers, input them into com-puter programming as part of theirAlaska Native language study, andpublish these writings into books withthe assistance of their school districts.Perhaps the regional corporations canhelp supplement the finances withthe school districts. The biographiesof the elders and leaders can be usedas role models for leadership study.

As indigenous people of Alaska,we have the right to implement ourway of life into our school districts.The majority of our rural schools arepopulated with Alaska Native stu-dents. Our urban schools also haveAlaska Native students and they willgain self esteem through learningabout their culture that has so muchto offer to the Western society. Thestudy can bridge the gap betweencultural differences and generations.Within the school system itself, it canbridge the gap as interdisciplinarycourses. For instance, it can go crosscurricular from social studies andAlaska Native language into science,mathematics, computers and evenEnglish classes. The Alaska Nativestudies can be carried out to otherareas of curricula. This concept willbridge the gap between the non-Na-tive teachers and the Alaska Nativeteachers.

I believe that the school systemsare trying to implement ethnic stud-ies. As mentioned by Joan Metge fromNew Zealand, one needs to be carefulin the implementation of ethnicstudies as indigenous people through-out the world may be kept at the samelatitude as other ethnic groups whohave made recent migrations into ourlands. There are those ethnic cultureswho come from other countries orstates that make statements about theirright to present their cultures as muchas Alaska Natives in our schoolsystems. The whole United States isinto multicultural approaches. It isgood to have multicultural classes so



that we can prepare our students tocommunicate effectively with the restof the world. Our regional corpora-tions are starting to go into interna-tional business with other countriesso it would be an asset for AlaskaNatives to know about other ethnicgroups throughout the world. It isalso true that Alaska is part of theUnited States where there is a big“melting pot” with many differentethnic cultures meshing together.However, the American Indians andAlaskan Natives are the indigenouspeople of the United States and shouldhave special priorities as we have beenunder suppression too long. It is timewe are given the freedom to teach ourown children and the general popula-tion about our culture. We have noother country to protect our culturesand languages.

There are Alaska Native languageclasses which may have been in exist-ence for about twenty years. How-ever, there is a need to record ourlifestyles to go hand in hand with thelanguage studies. I believe the twoshould go together to be used as effec-tive teaching tools. The books shouldbe as appealing to the student as anyother book. They should have lots ofcolorful pictures, with much of the artwork done by Alaska Natives. Thewriting should also be done by AlaskaNatives. In the past, many of the bookswritten about Alaska Natives havebeen written by non-Natives. Themajority of their work might be true,but they are often slightly off balancefrom the truth. A few have been com-pletely off balance. Perhaps what islacking is the fact that cultural valuesare often missing or are not communi-cated very well by the non-Natives.Therefore, it makes sense for AlaskaNatives to write about their lifestylessince they are the ones who grew upwith the cultural values which werelearned from their elders in their com-munities. They are also the ones whocan communicate effectively with the

living elders. Indirect communicationis often used by elders and they maynot be picked up by non-Natives whoare used to speaking directly. For in-stance there are many nonverbal com-munication gestures which may bemissed by those who did not grow uplearning how to recognize them.

If books were to be written aboutAlaska Native lifestyles, I believe itwould greatly enhance the readinglevels of student populations through-out our rural communities. Most stu-dent populations in the villages havereading levels far below the nationalreading level. If the books were morerelevant, they may have more interestin reading. At the same time, theywould pick up the cultural valueswhich have been drastically falling inthe modern world. They can becomeadults with contributions to the worldand become responsible citizens.

Another idea is to have studentswrite about their cultural experiencesand then share them with their peersand younger students. They can writeabout their camping and hunting ex-periences. Their work can be used tosubstitute work that they missed atschool while they were out camping.They need to start building their selfesteem and feel proud about theirculture. Too often we hear our ownelementary children talk about who ispopular in school. They are often thosewho are outspoken and economicallywell off. They are usually those whoare non-Native and are often the oneswho are most likely encouraged bytheir teachers to continue on to col-lege. Because of their popularity, theyare frequently elected into studentcouncil. Our Alaska Native studentsdeserve a chance to acquire these po-sitions. They can acquire them if theyare to realize they can pursue themlike anyone else and set goals for theirfuture at a very young age. They canpractice public speaking. They canread about Native leaders in schooland some may make a connection that,they too, can make a difference.

We cannot ignore the fact thatmany Americans throughout ourcountry are experiencing culturaldeprivation, no matter what race theyrepresent. According to the electronicNative American Talking Circle, thereare young American Indians who arebecoming gang members because offamily breakdowns. Some of them arethird or fourth generation alcoholabusers who may be using other streetdrugs as well as alcohol. These youngNative Americans may not be articu-late in speaking the English language,therefore, not able to land meaningfuljobs. They may not be able to speaktheir own Native language or knowabout their cultural heritage and val-ues, therefore, do not have self es-teem. They turn to street drugs andare placed in jails where they learnhow to become better criminals fromolder inmates. The vicious cycle ofgoing in and out of jail begins at thispoint. There needs to be counselingprovided rather than placing ouryoung people in jail. There needs tobe prevention programs taught to theelementary school children about ef-fects of drug and alcohol addiction.Along with these prevention pro-grams, the Native American tradi-tional values need to be implemented.Cultural pride and dignity can re-place cultural deprivation. Our ownpeople can start counseling those whoare trying to quit drinking and usingstreet drugs. Spiritual healing andsuccess can become more commonthan uncommon.

As Native leaders we need to makea choice to develop Native American/Alaska Native curriculum materialsto teach our children. Such a task cangreatly enhance young minds to thinkof their cultural values as an asset,rather than a hindrance. The NativeAmerican/Alaska Native cultural heri-tage has something to offer to thepluralistic society throughout theworld. In the Arctic Slope and North-west Alaska, we have developed a listof Inupiaq values. To a young Alaska

(continued from previous page)


Native, a list may have little or noeffect unless they are explained inwritten form. Examples need to bewritten and thought provoking ques-tions need to be asked at the end ofeach lesson. These can generate dis-cussion groups. They may provide avehicle to do problem solving simula-tion questions.

There are many traditional com-munity ceremonial dances which arestill being practiced today. There aresome that are starting to be revivedagain after many years of absence. Inthe North Slope Borough, we haverevived Kivgiq, a Messenger Feast, orsometimes referred to as the TradeFair. It was first mentioned by theelders in the late 1970’s during theElders’ Conference. Little by little,information about the feast was gath-ered and was finally revived in 1988.In my research about Kivgiq, I foundthat it existed all up and down thecoast of Alaska from the north to south-west Yup’ik region. We need to startwriting about these ceremonies be-fore the elders who are most knowl-edgeable about them pass away. Therewere some elders who had not wit-nessed Kivgiq but had heard theirparents reminisce about the great gath-ering of the people and described it indetail to them.

After writing about the culture,there can be a few questions made atthe end for reading comprehension.They can be short answer essay ques-tions for the most part but there shouldalso be two or three questions wherethey have to write whole paragraphsfor each question. Too often, ourAlaska Native children write frag-mented sentences and the only waythey will overcome this phobia forwriting is to keep practicing. Para-graph answers should also be includedin the tests. Most teachers usuallyhave true or false questions, multiplechoice and matching to save time incorrecting them. It would be more fairfor the student to also include at leasta couple of essay questions as part of

Elder Participation In “The SpiritOf Our Ancestors”

by Alice W. Stonecipher

Denakkanaaga, the Organization of Interior Native Elders,has started a cultural preservation project entitled “The

Spirit Of Our Ancestors.” This project seeks to involve theelders of the region in transmitting their cultural knowledgeto the next generation, which is their traditional role. This willbe done in several different ways.

world. Most of the information forthis guide will be compiled directlyfrom the elders, and will employ avillage specific approach.

And finally, Denakkanaaga willwork to set up an Interior-wideinformation network, with contactpeople in each of the forty-threevillages that Denakkanaaga serves.These contact people will communi-cate directly with the elders ofeach village and coordinate theirparticipation.

In conclusion, the elders werethe guiding force behind “The SpiritOf Our Ancestors” project and willcontinue to be the focus of thisproject.

First of all, a cultural review boardis in the beginning process of beingformed. When functional, this boardwould have a dual purpose. It wouldset policy guidelines for the use ofcultural resources (books and tradi-tional stories) in the region. It wouldalso work to ensure that elders in theregion would not be taken advan-tage of by outsiders attempting toexploit them for their knowledge.

Secondly, Denakkanaaga willcompile a guide on Athabascan laws,customs and values. This guide willserve as a jumping off point to trainyouth in traditional ways. It willalso help to ensure that traditionalideals are not lost in the modern

the exam. Another point is to havefinal exams at the end of each semes-ter. They are usually implemented inthe urban schools but are virtuallynonexistent in the rural schools. Whenthe rural students go to college, theyexperience test phobia when theyrealize they have to take semesterexams.

In closing, I want to reiterate thatAlaska Native studies be placed in ourschool curricula throughout our state.It is time we are recognized as a livingpeople who have something to offerthe society. In spite of the fact thatwe, as Alaska Natives, are becoming a

minority within our own lands, weneed to make a stance to make ourbeliefs and values known throughteaching our young about our histori-cal past. These need to be included inthe Alaska Native language studieswhich are presently being taught.Furthermore, there needs to be a con-scious effort to support the curricu-lum development in Alaska NativeStudies by ensuring financial supportfrom those who can provide it.


At a later date, the association rep-resentative, Tim Samson, shared theconcerns of the association memberswith the Board of Education of LowerKuskokwim School District. The BOEapproved the intent of the associationas its impact will indirectly and posi-tively impact the students’ perfor-mance. Since that meeting, the LKSDboard includes some money in thedistrict budget to sponsor an educa-tion conference by and for the Nativeteachers of Lower Kuskokwim.

The recent Fifth Annual LKSDBilingual Conference, held for the firsttime in Bethel, brought nearly 150participants that included twenty-four elders from Lower Kuskokwimand Southwest school districts. Theprevious conferences were held in theSt. Mary’s Conference Center as fea-sible facilities were hard to find inBethel. The Yup’ik Cultural Centerserved its purpose very well. Futureconferences may be expected to beheld in Bethel. Bering Straits, Yupiit,Dillingham, Southwest Regional andLower Yukon sent participants to thisyear’s conference. The event memo-rable to most of the participants wasthe demonstration of the process ofallowing the elders to share theirknowledge to a group of teachers whowrote down all of the ideas spoken orsuggested by the elders as a group.This activity fit the “Process ofDeveloping Cultural Curriculum”taught by Anita Chisholm of the Uni-versity of Oklahoma.

The added features for this year’sconference included the awards pot-luck in place of a catered banquet,invitation of first and second placewinners of Yup’ik category of therecent high school speech contest andYup’ik Immersion kindergarten class

to perform Eskimo dances as well ashaving the principal and parents shareabout the program. The overall evalu-ations currently compiled indicate aneed for more opportunities of inputby our elders at the next LKSD bilin-gual conference. This conference willmost likely be scheduled for the sec-ond week of March, 1997. We hope tocontinue to utilize our elders as re-sources and Native educators as pro-fessional people to develop acurriculum that includes our Nativeculture. See you at the conference inMarch, 1997.

Association of InteriorNative Educators

by Eleanor Laughlin

The idea of having an associationthat would represent the Interior

Native teachers became a reality formany of the Native teachers who par-ticipated in various leadership con-ferences in the Native Administratorsfor Rural Alaska (NARA) program.

During the 1994 Association ofInterior Native Educators (AINE)Conference, the topic of the associa-tion was presented to the participants.Our hats are off to Joe Slats, VirginiaNed and Thelma Saunders for ap-proaching the Interior-Aleutians Cam-pus’ Interior Education Council to seekinitial support for the formation of theassociation.

The purpose of AINE is to act as avoice for Interior Native educatorsand to be an advocate of Native edu-cational issues. The goals include pro-moting higher education degrees forteachers, promoting Native hire byInterior school districts, bringing outNative education concerns and lob-bying for or against legislationthat will affect the quality of Nativeeducation.

Native Teacher Organizations Lead the WayAssociation of Native Educators of LowerKuskokwim by Charles T. Kashatok

T he annual meeting of theAssociation of Native Educators

of Lower Kuskokwim (ANELK) wason March 5, 1996 with forty-six peoplepresent that included two guests whocame to attend the local school districtbilingual conference from outside theschool district and eleven elders fromsome of our district schools. Thesepeople came to Bethel to attend theLKSD sponsored bilingual conferenceat the Yupiat Piciryarait CulturalCenter in Bethel on March 6, 7, and 8,1996.

The business portion of the meet-ing included the review of associationbylaws, Career Ladder program,Association Scholarship Fund, alter-native certification requirementsthrough Kuskokwim Campus, ANELKnewsletter and elections. Election re-sults for the association executive of-ficers include the following: John O.Mark, president; Walter Tirchick,vice-president; Charles Kashatok, sec-retary/treasurer; and Levi Hoover andDavid Charlie, members.

The association formed during aspecial meeting at a teacher inservicein the fall of 1987 at Quinhagak. Themeeting, initiated by Tim Samson andother Native certified teachers fromwithin the school district, broughtconcerns that include a need for asupport system to increase the num-ber of certified Native teachers withinthe district. Other concerns pertainedto the performance of Native studentswithin the local schools. The groupdecided to form an association to tryto help each other as fellow workersand parents in improving the schoolcurriculum, school performance ofstudents and continued support andincrease the number of Native teach-ers within the school district.


AINE Board of DirectorsThe following Native educators

were elected to serve on the AINEBoard: Eleanor Laughlin, chairperson;Carol Lee Gho, vice-chairperson;Martha Demientieff, treasurer;Virginia Ned, secretary; and RonManook, Cora Mcquire and ThelmaSaunders, members . The AINE Boardheld its first audioconference onAugust 17. Since this is the initialstart up for the association, it wasdecided that the Board will holdmonthly audioconferences.

The Ciulistet Groupby Esther Ilutsik

The Ciulistet Research Group wasestablished in 1986 under the di-

rection of Esther Ilutsik and Dr. JerryLipka. Our initial efforts were prima-rily to address and support the needsof the Yup’ik certified Native teach-ers within the Bristol Bay area. In theprocess of validating their teachingstyle and seeking to include morelocal knowledge into the curriculum,we discovered the importance of in-cluding our elders in the process toget a unique Yup’ik/Western modelof teaching. Thus, our research group,since 1991, includes elders within ourregion. The villages that have beenactive participants include:Dillingham, Aleknagik, Manokotak,Togiak, Koliganek and New Stuyahok.

Ciulistet Research WorkshopsAvailable Fall 1996

We now have five units that havebeen developed and field tested in theclassrooms. These units were estab-lished from knowledge that our el-ders shared with us at our meetings.The five units are: Yup’ik Counting,Yup’ik Patterns, Sonar Boards (basedon traditional Yup’ik legends) andWeather and the Heartbeat. We alsoare establishing lessons for Yup’ikmeasurement. Many of these unitscan easily be adapted into themes. If

Sprouting New Ideas andActivities by Nastasia Wahlberg

In Quinhagak, a Kuingnerrarmiut Yugtaat Elitnaurarkait(Yup’ik Life Skills) curriculum has been developed where

indigenous knowledge is integrated with ecology, biology andphysical education courses. Lessons are offered in life webs,food chains and traditional fishing methods. The studentsdissect and identify external and internal parts both in Yup’ikand English. This develops proficiency in learning scienceusing both Indigenous and Western lens. Then when they aredone, the students, according to old customs, give the fish topeople who need it, preferably the elders. In P.E., Yup’ikdancing is taught with the assistance of the elders and stu-dents receive two semester credits.

development). You may contact EstherA. Ilutsik, UAF Bristol Bay Campus,(907) 842-5901 or write to her at: P.O.Box 188, Dillingham, Alaska 99576.You can also contact Dr. Jerry Lipkaat UAF Fairbanks Campus, (907)474-6439.

According to David Charlie, whohelped develop the curriculum, theelders and the students came to-gether and brainstormed topic areasfor the units to be offered over afour-year sequential cycle. What isinteresting about this process is thatthe elders, along with classroomteachers, assessed the student’sknowledge of the acquired skills thatwere achieved. Traditional means ofvisual assessment by elders could beheld, while teachers fulfilled theirassessment requirements using statestandards.

A similar effort has been under-way in the Bristol Bay area. TheCiulistet Yup’ik math and scienceresearch project, now in its fourth

year, gathers Yup’ik teachers to-gether with the elders in remotevillages. The elders use Yup’ik pro-tocols whereby each individualshares their knowledge based onpast elder’s teachings and from theirexperiences. The collective knowl-edge is rendered until everyone hascome to one mind. Weather predic-tions, moon and sun cycles, landand water passage routes, oral sto-ries from mythical to historical, parkaand storyknife symbols, and Yup’ikmath, ecological and biological fac-tors are all discussed. The Yup’ikteachers then apply this knowledgeby developing curriculum ideas thatare presented to the elders for theircritique using the same approach.

you are interested in any of thesesessions, let us know and we will sendyou a materials list for the session youare interested in. We can also offercollege credit for those who are inter-ested through the Bristol Bay campus.This class will most likely be a 300-level course (methods and curriculum

1 0 S H A R I N G O U R P A T H W A Y S

AISES Cornerby Claudette Bradley-Kawagley

from AISES (UAF chapter).Students at Ilisagvik College are

presently establishing an IlisagvikAISES college chapter. The twelvestudents who came to watch Dr. Bra-dley-Kawagley’s presentation wereinterested in the video and spoke ofplans to go to the AISES Region IConference in Washington. ARSIhighly supports the establishment ofIlisagvik College AISES chapter, andhopes they will have a smooth andsteadfast beginning.

Claudette Bradley-Kawagley at-tended the planning meeting for theAthabascan Region in Fairbanks,March 4–5. She gave a talk on AISESwith videotape and color transpar-encies. Elders had the opportunityto ask questions and offer advice onestablishing chapters in the Interiorof Alaska. Claudette gave a thirdAISES presentation in Kotzebue thefirst week in April.

Claudette Bradley-Kawagley,ARSI AISES Coordinator

Claudette is a member of theSchaghticoke Tribe whose reserva-tion is located in Kent, Connecticut.She was raised in Stratford,Connecticut with her parents andtwo brothers.

Claudette holds an educationdoctorate from Harvard School ofEducation, and a bachelor’s andmaster’s degree in mathematics fromthe University of Connecticut. Shespecializes in computer and math-ematics instruction and in AlaskaNative and American issues. Herteaching experience includes sevenyears of distance-delivery mathemat-ics and education courses with theUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks,advising in the Cross-Cultural

American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)national headquarters held the AISES 12th Annual Lead-

ership Conference at Cheyenne Mountain Conference Resort inColorado Springs, Colorado, March 28–31, 1996. Over 100leaders from AISES college chapters around the country andCanada attended. Students participated in leadership work-shops, spiritual ceremonies and talked with elders and AISESleaders from the national headquarters.

Students attending from UAFAISES Chapter were:

• Sasha Atuk, Fairbanks, math-ematics education major

• Ambrose Towarak, Unalakleet,civil engineering majorAISES Region I (Pacific North-

west) held a conference in Pullman,Washington, March 28–30. CollegeAISES students came from Montana,Idaho, Washington, Oregon andAlaska. These students learned howtraditional ways influence today’stechnology; visited WashingtonState University, networked with Na-tive students and professionals andattended spiritual ceremonies. Stu-dents attending UAF AISES Chapterwere:

• Mark Blair, Kotzebue, anthropol-ogy major

• John Henry, Stebbins, electricalengineering major

• Kim O’Connor, Nome, health edu-cation majorDuring the UAF AISES meeting

in Fairbanks, February 22, ProfessorDimitrios Hatzignaiou gave a pre-sentation on “Opportunities and Ca-reers in Petroleum Engineering.” Heexplained the role of petroleum en-gineering in Prudhoe Bay and theprocess of drilling oil both on landand under the sea. The AISES stu-dents asked many questions and ap-preciated Dr. Hatzignaiou’s diagrams

and samples of petroleum sand pel-lets. The guest speakerfor the March7 meeting was Bob Ritchie of AlaskaBiological Research.

The first regional Inupiat Elders’Council Conference was held Febru-ary 5–7 at Ilisagvik College, Barrow,Alaska. Claudette Bradley-Kawagleypresented an overview of AISES show-ing the AISES video, “A New Begin-ning” and color transparencies ofactivities of AISES students in theUAF chapter. Through the AlaskaRural Systemic Initiative, AISES Chap-ters will be established in villages forhigh school, middle and elementarystudents. The grade levels will bedetermined by the school and com-munity. The Inupiat Elders’ Councilwill advise the school districts andschools in the establishing and man-agement of village chapters. Inupiatelders expressed concern that thechapters in the North Slope, BeringStraits, and NANA regions reflect theInupiat culture and life ways. Thisconcern is compatible with AISES andits mission.

Allison Warden is an AISES UAFChapter member from Kaktovik. Sheattended the Inupiat Elders Counciland was a valuable participant in themeeting. She invited twelve IlisagvikCollege students to attend the AISESpresentation for the Elders’ Council.Allison served as their ambassador (continued on next page)

S H A R I N G O U R P A T H W A Y S 1 1

Athabascan Regional Reportby Amy Van Hatten

Education Development (X-CED)program in Yukon Flats and AlaskaGateway Regions and classroom in-struction in the AISES pre-collegesummer camps in Montana StateUniversity, Caltech, Stanford Uni-versity, and Oklahoma State Uni-versity. Her research andpublications address the develop-ment of culturally appropriate cur-riculum for Alaska Native andAmerican Indian students.

Claudette has been a member ofAISES for twelve years beginningin 1984 as a graduate student atHarvard. She taught mathematics

and LOGO computing language inthe first AISES pre-college summercamp at Montana State University,1988, and has continued teaching inAISES camps during the past eightsummers. After completing her doc-torate in 1987, Claudette was hired asan assistant professor of education atUAF in 1989. She started the UAFAISES chapter in the fall of 1989with the help of Rural Student Ser-vices and became the faculty advisorfor the UAF chapter. Claudette re-ceived a Sequoyah Fellowship fromAISES in 1992.


All is On LoanOh, only for so short a while you

have loaned us to each other,because we take form in your act

of drawing us,And we take life in your painting us,and we breathe in your singing us.

But only for so short a whilehave you loaned us to each other.

—Source unknown

This is an ancient Aztec Indian prayer that reflects on thepreciousness of life and the fleetingness of it. As the Aztecs

thank the Creator for their life and breath, and their drawings,they acknowledge that they are only on loan to each other for ashort while. (Praying Our Good-byes, Joyce Rupp)

In early January an uncle of minewas hospitalized. His last wish was toreturn to his village along the YukonRiver in order to finish building hishouse. Cancer took his life at the ageof eighty-five years old. At the end ofMarch he would have celebrated his

sixty-fifth wedding anniversary withmy paternal aunt. Oh, only for soshort a while have you loaned us toeach other . . .

As I write this article, I keep inmind how important the ARSI projectis. I want to cry out “this is an emer-

gency!” I want to figure out a wayNOW to attract more people from myregion to become proactive with ourinitiatives. I would like to see morethan the same people involved withelder programs and projects. I am notdiscounting their efforts, I am thank-ful for it. But there are diverse skillsand knowledge that could help uswith identifying available resourcesand to take this as an opportunity fora renewed educational system reform.

The bilingual/multicultural con-ference in Bethel was very informa-tive for me, since this was the firsttime I attended. I was excited to seemany smart and devoted Native teach-ers that shared with us in so manyworkshops they were hard to choosefrom. The ones I attended were re-lated to curriculum development, mul-timedia documentation projects (likethe Koyukuk village project in its firstyear) and other workshops that sharedstories, dancing and singing, alongwith language programs in the LowerKuskokwim areas. I was so proud ofthe teachers, teacher aides, curricu-lum developers, school board mem-bers and university professionals whoappeared excited about ruraleducation.

My next trip was to Vancouver,B.C. as one of the state team members.I shared a room with an elder womanfrom Chalkyitsik named MinnieSalmon. She retired from the YukonFlats school district as a languageteacher for the past twenty-one years.Now she is the community wellnesscoordinator. A very nice person. Wehad a great time meeting people andsharing with them what we knew asNative educators and participants inRay Barnhardt’s and Oscar Kawagley’sworkshops. What a team! I attendedthe Canadian Indian Teacher Educa-tion Program (CITEP) conference be-cause in February 1997, I will helpcoordinate the Mokakit conference inAnchorage.



March 4–5 was my regional meet-ing. The first day was informationalinput and identifying tasks from MOAmembers. This was for the benefit ofthe elders who were representativesof the Elders’ Council.

Those with MOAs and others whowere present at my meeting were rep-resentatives of the following depart-ments: U.S. Fish & Wildlife; AlaskaNative Human and Rural Develop-ment Program, University of AlaskaFairbanks (UAF); four elders from theInterior region, Denakkanaaga, Insti-tute of Alaska Native Arts, TananaChiefs Conference (TCC) Education;Interior-Aleutians Campus, ARSI staff;College of Liberal Arts, UAF; DoyonFoundation; Yukon-Koyukuk School

District, and Rural Education.The second day was a brainstorm-

ing session with the elders and a fewof us. I recorded a whole tablet full ofdirectives, suggestions, concerns,questions to ponder and other perti-nent information for later use. I stillneed to make time to type it all up soI can distribute it to the elders forreview before we meet again in April.

In early March, I had the opportu-nity to attend the LKSD bilingual con-ference in Bethel. AGAIN, I felt soproud of Alaska Native people in theeducational role. The conference wasin Yup’ik only. We had little one waytransistor receivers to hear theEnglish translations. It was so cooland awesome to see the curriculumdevelopment process in action.

The most recent presentation I didwas for the annual Tanana ChiefsConference. I was invited to give anoverview of the ARSI project as partof an educational panel. It was somuch fun to do that. Of course work-ing with people like Eleanor Laughlin,Reva Shircel and Beth Leonard addimportant ingredients too. It was akick. I love my job!

You may contact me at (907) 474-5086 or write to Amy Van Hatten,University of Alaska Fairbanks,ANKN/ARSI, P.O. Box 756730, Fair-banks, Alaska 99775-6730.

Until we meet again, happy trailsto you and your family.

Best wishes, Amy.

Southeast Regional Reportby Andy Hope

The Sitka School Board approvedthe MOA to participate in the ARSIproject at their regular meeting onMarch 4. I traveled to Sitka for meet-ings on March 25 and 26, prior to theTlingit Clan Conference. I encouragedthe Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the SitkaNative Education Program, Dog PointFish Camp, Sheldon Jackson College

and the Sitka UAS campus to partici-pate in the ARSI project with the SitkaSchool District. Each of these entitieswere represented at the Tlingit ClanConference.

The Southeast ARSI office will beproviding assistance to SealaskaHeritage Foundation in the presenta-tion of a multicultural education

course, “Learning About SoutheastAlaska Cultures Through NativeVoices” during the 1996 Summer Uni-versity of Alaska Southeast. The acad-emy is scheduled for June 3–7, 1996and will coincide with the biannualSealaska Celebration dance festival.

Will the Time Ever Come? A TlingitSource Book will be published by thisfall by Raven’s Bones Press, with dis-tribution by the University of Wash-ington Press. The book will containmaterials from the Tlingit Clan Con-ference and will also provide materialfor the Alaska Native KnowledgeNetwork.


I have been busy organizing a regional Elders’ Council meetingand a regional Native curriculum planning meeting, both of

which were held in conjunction with the Third Conference ofTlingit Tribes and Clans in Ketchikan and Saxman, March 28–30,1996. The Elders’ Council included the following members:Arnold Booth, Metlakatla; Chuck Natkong, Hydaburg; GilTruitt, Sitka; Lydia George, Angoon; Joe Hotch, Klukwan. TheSoutheast Elders council elected Arnold Booth from its member-ship as a representative to the Alaska Native Rural EducationConsortium.


Inupiaq Regional Reportby Elmer Jackson

In December, 1995 at the first meeting of the ARSI retreat,Kathy Itta made a suggestion that we meet in Barrow during

the Kivgiq Celebration. The celebration began on Monday,February 5 and ended on Friday, February 9. As the celebrationbegan, I could sense the excitement within me. As many as nineInupiaq dance groups participated. There were two dance groupsfrom the Russian Far East.

On Wednesday, February 7, thefirst regional Inupiat Elders’ Councilwas held at Ilisagvik College. Co-Director Dorothy Larson, AISES Co-ordinator Claudette Bradley-Kawagleyand Kathy Itta gave presentations. Inattendance from the Bering Straitsregion were Elders Clarence andMildred Irrigoo, Leora Kenick, RoseKoezuna and Cecelia Maktuayuk.From the NANA region, I attendedalong with Elders Sarah Evak, MayBernhardt, Tommy Douglas andRachel Craig. In attendance from theNorth Slope region were Kathy Itta,Fanny Aqpik, Arlene Glenn, EmilyWilson, Ronald Brower and EldersTerza Hopson, Henry Kanayurak,Kenneth Toovak and RaymondPaneak.

Elder Tommy Douglas opened themeeting with a prayer. Ilisagvik Col-lege president, Dr. Edna MacLean,welcomed the participants to Barrow.Co-Director Dorothy Larson gave apresentation of the ARSI project.Claudette Bradley-Kawagley, AISESCoordinator, Cross-Cultural EducationDevelopment Program of Fairbanks,also gave a presentation on AISES.Ron Brower, vice-president of theInuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC)spoke on the responsibility of ourelders. He stated that the elders needto be involved in the planning of whatis going to be taught to our children,especially in the sciences. He also

spoke on the principles and elementsof ICC.

The following are comments madeby the participating elders:

It was stated that the elders wantto see the Alaska Rural Systemic Ini-tiative go in the right direction. We,as Inupiat, are not to forget our Inupiatway of life. Inupiat people are veryspiritual . . . and that is important tonurture our spiritual being. Theystated that prayer should be a part ofthe school system. Rachel Craig,NWABSD Inupiat Ilitqusiat coordi-nator and president of the ICC Elders’Council spoke on the responsibility ofour elders. She stated that we need togive specific jobs on what they aregoing to teach in the schools. If they(elders) are given specific jobs, theywill have time to think and preparewhat they are going to teach. (Morecomments were made, I was not ableto record everything they said.)

Claudette Bradley-Kawagley andI will travel to Kotzebue and Nometo meet with school personnel April1–3; Bernadette Alvanna-Stimple andClaudette will travel to UnalakleetApril 4–6. They will return to Nometo meet with administrators and schoolpersonnel.

The MOAs between the Universityof Alaska and the school districts inthe North Slope, Northwest ArcticBorough and the Bering Straits havebeen agreed upon.

ARSI ContactsThe ARSI Regional Coordina-tors are located in fiveregions within the state ofAlaska. They are listed belowto help you identify the cor-rect contact.

Amy Van HattenAthabascan Regional CoordinatorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksARSI/ANKNPO Box 756730Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730(907) 474-5086 phonee-mail: [email protected]

Elmer JacksonInupiaq Regional CoordinatorPO Box 134Kiana, Alaska 99749e-mail: [email protected]

Andy HopeSoutheast Regional CoordinatorUniversity of Alaska SoutheastSchool of Business/PR11120 Glacier HighwayJuneau, Alaska 99801(907) 465-6362e-mail: [email protected]

Barbara LiuYup’ik Regional CoordinatorBox 2262Bethel, Alaska 99559e-mail: [email protected]

Moses DirksAleutians Regional CoordinatorAlaska Federation of Natives1577 C Street, Suite 201Anchorage, Alaska 99501(907) 274-3611e-mail: [email protected]


Yup’ik Regional Reportby Barbara Liu

Since the end of January, I have mailed all inquiry letters todifferent agencies. I have made contacts with just about all

twelve school district superintendents, who were helpful ingiving me individual names to contact on elders’ documentation.These are the names of all the school districts I’ve contacted:Bering Straits, Lower Yukon, St. Mary’s, Qissunamuit, LowerKuskokwim, Yupiit, Kuspuk, Iditarod, Southwest, DillinghamCity, Bristol Bay Borough and Lake and Peninsula. LowerKuskokwim school district held their annual bilingual confer-ence March 6–8, in Bethel. It was good to see representatives ona short notice from the following school districts: Bering Straits,Lower Yukon, Yupiit and Southwest. It was also good to be rightat home with my co-directors and co-workers that attended.

nect on the map sharing stories. AndySharp, an elder representative fromQuinhagak, described traveling byfoot through the mountain valleys.Yup’ik place names not on a

An activity that was the mostmemorable for me was with the eldersand facilitated by the Ciulistet teamfrom Dillingham. The topic set thestage for the two subregions to con-

topographical map of Alaska were lo-cated and terminology written downon chart paper. The facilitators em-phasized the importance of recordingeverything because they use the con-tent at a later time to study it with theelders or in making specific lessonsfrom it. Some excellent mathematicaland scientific inquiry began but endedall too soon due to time constraints.Jerry Lipka, with the Yup’ik Mathand Science Project and UAF Schoolof Education associate professor andEsther Ilutsik, Bristol Bay Researchand Pedagogy coordinator andCiulistet Yup’ik Teachers’ groupleader were present and mentioned asthe inspirational leaders for startingthe Ciulistet group. Team work waswell displayed. I have shared only asmall portion of the conference whereI observed regional collaboration. Theactivity provided great ideas on howto work with regional elders. As springapproaches, I look forward to observ-ing another Ciulistet field study at acamp site.

During the month of March andApril, regional activities included butwere not limited to the following:Bethel Camai Dance Festival,Bethel Elders Conference and YukonKuskokwim Health Corporation Tribaland Medicine Conference, also held inBethel. Community potlatches arebeing hosted in Marshall andSt. Mary’s inviting area villages.Kuspuk’s Elders’ Conference will beheld in Sleetmute. I hope to activelyparticipate in some. Until next time,thank you for your time. Best regardsto our readers.

Tuainguricugnarquq!Barbara “Makill” Liu

Regional Coordinator Roles• Work with Regional Elders Council• Conduct village cultural inventory

• What do people want their children to learn?• What resources are available for this?

• Coordinate all activities associated with regional activities• Participate in statewide planning• Assist in development of a regional atlas• Prepare monthly newsletter column• Represent region at statewide/regional meetings• Assist with ARSI data gathering• Implement an individual project• Bring fish strips to meetings


Academy of Elders/Native Teachers Cultural Campby Eleanor Laughlin

The Association of Interior Native Educator’s (AINE) Boardof Directors held a pre-planning meeting with a group of

Interior Athabascan elders on March 13 and 14. The groupplanned for the Academy of Elders/Native Teachers culturalcamp. The event is being sponsored by AINE and InteriorAleutians Campus. The academy will have seven elders andfourteen certified Native teachers gathering for ten days at theMinto Cultural Heritage and Education Camp in the old village ofMinto. The elders will instruct the certified teachers on Nativeways of knowing. The teachers (students) will be enrolled in athree-credit upper division or graduate course that will requirethem to begin developing indigenous curriculum that they willbe able to use in their individual classrooms. The event will beaudio and video taped and a CD-ROM will be made for classroomuse.

The following elders have beenselected as the instructors for the Acad-emy of Elders: David Salmon ofChalkyitsik, Catherine Attla of Huslia,Poldine Carlo of Fairbanks, Neil andGeraldine Charlie of Minto andJohnson and Bertha Moses ofAllakaket. AINE is in the process ofrecruiting Native teachers. The goal isto recruit active Native teachers fromthe various regional and city schoolswithin the Interior of Alaska, includ-ing Fairbanks.

The Academy of Elders/NativeTeachers will be held on July 27through August 7. Immediately fol-lowing the academy, AINE will holdits third annual conference in Fair-banks on August 8 and 9.

Village Scienceby Alan Dick

This is the time of year when students and teachers getinvolved in local and state science fairs. Many hours are

invested in developing the projects for display. Through theyears there have been many interesting projects presented inlocal fairs, but there needs to be a better process for the flow ofideas from one place to another so we can all learn from eachothers’ efforts. Even project entries that do not succeed oftenhave excellent ideas to illustrate.

Scientists flock to Alaska for ourunique situations. Our opportuni-ties are enviable and our studentscan and should be taking awards innational competitions, or better yet,should be developing a sense of ex-citement as they look at their localenvironments with a fresh viewpoint

and curiosity. We don’t necessarilyneed more answers, but need to dis-cover the appropriate questions. Mostof all, we need to learn from eachother, especially in such a rich anddiverse state as ours.

How about if we start making videotapes of the projects that students

prepare for the local science fairs?While good quality videos would benice, even a poor product is betterthan none. A narrative by the cam-era person would help to overcomequestions that arise from less thanprofessional camera technique. Theflow of ideas is what we need tofoster.

If people are interested, I wouldbe willing to gather tapes from any-one willing to share, and edit themand make a final collection that wouldbe available for exchange. I am suremany exciting things are happen-ing, but as usual they are occurringin isolation. If you (teacher or stu-dents) are able to put together a videoof the science fair in your school andare willing to share the results, pleasesend it to me at P.O. Box 162,McGrath, Alaska 99627. I will makesure you get a copy of the final col-lection in return.

University of Alaska FairbanksAlaska Native Knowledge Network/ARSIPO Box 756730Fairbnaks AK 99775-6730

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Fairbanks AKPermit No. 2

ANKN on the World Wide Web!The Alaska Native Knowledge Network is happy to provideyou with up-to-the-minute information on current projects,resources, and other information pertaining to the AlaskaRural Systemic Initiative. Just open up your Web browser andtype in our URL: http://zorba.uafadm.alaska.edu/ankn.

Take a peek and then share your ideas and opinions with us.You can respond directly from the page or send an e-mail [email protected]. Thank you!

integrating native ways of knowing into the curriculum

Documents