pamyua, letâ€™s dance again

A newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic InitiativeAlaska Federation of Natives University of Alaska National Science Foundation Rural School and Community Trust

VOL. 10, ISSUE 3Summer 2005

Pamyua, Let’sDance Again

by Mike Hull

Taiko drummers led the green dragon into theGlobal Village where we watched Japanese chil-

dren bring it under control with their dances. Weknew by watching the ceremony that it was safe towelcome a special visitor. Sandra Kozevnikoff, fromRussian Mission, stepped forward to welcomeWangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner fromKenya, as Maathai made her entry. Sandra and nineYup’ik students greeted her while visiting the Global Village atEXPO 2005 in Aichi, Japan. “The world has a lot to learn fromyou,” Maathai told the Yup’ik group. She went on to thankedthem for keeping their traditions and the wisdom they havegained from nature.

The Russian Mission group arrivedin Japan on March 15. During thenext two weeks they shared theirculture, dance and an educationalprogram with EXPO visitors. As theRussian Mission School principal, Ihad the good fortune to tag along.

Russian Mission School was the

focus of a doctoral study by TakanoTakako, a resident of Japan, who isinstrumental in providing outdooreducational experiences and coordi-nating environmental projects forchildren from many nations. Takako’sinterest in the subsistence-based cur-riculum of Russian Mission led to nine

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Sandra Kozevnikoff welcomes Wangari Matthai, the2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya, to theGlobal Village at EXPO 2005.

ContentsPamyua, Let’s Dance Again ............ 1

ANKN Curriculum Corner .............. 5Holding Our GroundThe Corporate WhaleGeophysical InstituteAlaska Sea Grant

Mentoring Helps Teachers ............. 6

Researching Vitamin C in Plants ..... 8

Youth Reminds Leaders of Chiefs .... 9

Red Cedar of Afognak ................... 10

Ch’eghutsen’ Project .................... 11

Technical Assistance for Schools ... 13

Iñupiaq Immersion ....................... 15

A Tribute to Yupik Elder ............ 16

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

Ray Barnhardt, Co-DirectorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksANKN/AKRSIPO Box 756730Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730(907) 474-1902 phone(907) 474-1957 faxemail: [email protected]

Oscar Kawagley, Co-DirectorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksANKN/AKRSIPO Box 756730Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730(907) 474-5403 phone(907) 474-1957 faxemail: [email protected]

Frank Hill, Co-DirectorAlaska Federation of Natives1577 C Street, Suite 300Anchorage, AK 99501(907) 274-3611 phone(907) 276-7989 faxemail: [email protected]

AlaskaRural SystemicInitiative

Sharing Our Pathways isa publication of the Alaska Rural SystemicInitiative, funded by the National ScienceFoundation Division of Educational SystemicReform in agreement with the Alaska Federationof Natives and the University of Alaska.We welcome your comments and suggestionsand encourage you to submit them to:

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

(907) 474-5086 phone(907) 474-5615 faxhttp://www.ankn.uaf.eduemail: [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Malinda [email protected]

Layout & Design: Paula [email protected]

junior high studentstraveling to Japan in2003 to present theirculture and school pro-gram at an internationalsymposium on the envi-ronment. The students’performance had such animpact on the sympo-sium sponsors theysought to bring RussianMission students to Ja-pan for EXPO 2005, withthe help of Japanese cor-porate sponsors. TheEXPO theme is “Nature’s Wisdom,”and the focus is on exploring ways tobuild sustainable communities. Thisgathering of more than 80 nations and45 international organizations runsfrom March through September andwill host fifteen million visitors.

During the first few days, our stu-

dents presented their dances to cor-porate sponsors, organizers and gov-ernment officials. These were formalceremonies attended by a few hun-dred people, and the students pro-vided the evening’s entertainment.At each performance, it took themjust a few minutes to get the audienceto put aside protocol and join thedancing.

The official opening of the GlobalVillage, the area that hosted us, took

place on March 25. A delegation ofAinu, the indigenous people of Ja-pan, and our Yup’ik students werefirst to welcome visitors. Next thetaiko drummers and a group of highprofile Japanese entertainers took thestage for the first EXPO concert. Snowflurries throughout the day kept many

visitors away, and tem-peratures in the lowthirties thinned the au-dience as the night pro-gressed, but those whoremained started danc-ing to keep warm. Atthe end of the last songby the Japanese per-formers, the audiencestarted chantingpamyua, the Yup’ik de-mand to keep dancing.The band respondedand kept playing. Otherentertainers, includingthe taiko drummers, re-turned to the stage for a

spontaneous jam session. The Yup’ikstudent dancers took the stage as well,and the music went on and on. No oneseemed to notice the cold any more.

The magic continued through theweek as students performed twice aday in the Global Village. With theEXPO open to the public, daily crowdstopped sixty thousand. The Japaneseare proud of their ability to maintaina schedule, even with such numbers.

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Snow flurries fell on the opening ceremonies, but theseTaiko drummers continued to perform.

Each dance presentation ended with audience membersjoining the students to learn Yup’ik dances. This wasthe highlight for the visitors and students.

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

Yet once audiences were introducedto pamyua, the ending time got pushedback further and further. And as visi-tors put on headdresses and took updance fans, they lost all sense of time.

The Japanese press got caught upin this Yup’ik invasion on orderli-ness. A national newspaper journalistspent half-an-hour photographing thestudents then he put down his cameraand asked them to teach him to dance.Our students appeared in local andnational newspapers, and the nationalnews program featured their presen-tation and interviews.

Prior to the trip, students preparedDVD and PowerPoint presentationsthat showed the subsistence activitiesthey participate in through theirschool curriculum. The Yup’iklifestyle presented fascinated the Japa-nese and other visitors. “I think it is socool,” said Wazai, a high school stu-dent from Singapore. “You are able tolive so close to nature, and that issomething unimaginable for many ofus.” Another student from Kyoto toldour students, “We envy the way youlive and the things you do as part ofyour school.”

We also received a cultural educa-tion. We stayed at a traditional Japa-nese guesthouse that has large rooms

covered by tatami matsmade from rice straw.We left our shoes in astorage area near theentrance and wore slip-pers provided by theowners. When enteringa room covered bytatami, we left the slip-pers by the door. Futonsand quilts were pro-vided for sleeping. Ev-ery night we unrolledthese on the tatami andeach morning rolledthem back up and putthem in the closet. Wefound this was a com-fortable way to sleep.

Traditional Japanesemeals were served inanother tatami coveredroom. We sat on the floorand ate a variety of foodsfrom many small dishes.I was told that eating 23to 30 different kinds offood a day is considered a healthydiet. We became skilled at using chop-sticks in a short time. Then there wasthe Japanese bath. The guesthousehas one bath for men and one forwomen. Each has a common shower

Charlotte Alexie teaches Amanda, a Singapore student,to perform the friendship dance.

Irene Takumjenuk teaches a young visitor to dance andtwo EXPO workers take time off to follow along.

area where you sit on a plastic stoolwhile you shower. When clean, youjoin friends or strangers in a pool thataccommodates several people. Yousoak in hot water up to your chin, andspend an hour or longer unwinding

The Ainu performed a welcoming ceremony at theofficial opening of the Global Village.



from the day. It did not take long toadjust to this; after the initial experi-ence students would run home to getin the bath. They also raced to trainstations and climbed thousands ofstairs to cram into rush-hour trains.But whether we were commuters orguests, the Japanese were forever ac-commodating, gracious and interestedin us.

There are many colorful and im-pressive presentations from the morethan 125 countries and organizationsat EXPO 2005. Yet the Yup’ik presen-tation was different. The impact ourstudents had on the community thatgrew within the Global Village wasbeyond my comprehension. The stu-dents not only said, “This is who weare,” they offered the opportunity tobecome involved by extending theinvitation: “Come dance with us.”Affection grew between the workersat the neighboring pavilions and ourstudents. Our hosts took on the mis-chief behaviors of their Yup’ik guests,teasing and playing in ways that chal-lenged Japanese protocol.

When I questioned Ohmae Junichi,the principal sponsor for our group,about the dynamics of this relation-ship he responded, “Your studentsplanted some sort of seeds of friend-

Tantiana Changsak explains to visitors at the GlobalVillage how she catches eels at Russian Mission.

The students from Momoyama Junior High in Kyoto and the students fromSingapore gather with the Russian Mission students for a group photo after theirdance lessons.

ship in our community, although thecommunity might be a very virtualone. They are so innocent and puretoward the world. We know thesedays younger generations are so in-fluenced by what they see on screens.Violence, monetary richness, selfish-

ness or opinions basedon any real experiences.Your students are reallyrooted into their ownland, nature and tradi-tion. That is why theyare so deeply welcomedby our villagers who aremostly living in veryartificial world.”

As our last perfor-mance in the Global Vil-lage came to an end,representatives fromeach of the pavilionscame forward to thankthe students for their

contribution to the spirit of EXPO2005. There was an outpouring ofgifts and many exchanged teasing sto-ries about their shared experiencesduring the two weeks. Each group

insisted that we visit their pavilionbefore we departed. Goodbyes werelong and tears were shed as we left theGlobal Village.

Later I began to understand thatwhen the Japanese look to their an-cestors for guidance and wisdom theyrecall rice farmers. Hunters and gath-erers lie in that shadow world of pre-history and myth. To the Japaneseour Yup’ik students represented apeople older than their culturalmemory. Because our students’ livesdo not lie within the scope of humanactivity familiar to the Japanese, ourstudents were like creatures of myth.Their presence reached beyond thatof mere human beings; in Yup’ik be-liefs the people share a kinship withthe bear, the caribou and the othercreatures of the land. By their pres-ence, the students showed the resi-dents of the Global Village that themyth lives now by saying, “Comedance with us.” And for a few days inJapan some of the world came to-gether to learn from each other, andour children taught them well.

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ANKN Curriculum CornerHolding Our Groundhttp://www.ankn.uaf.edu/HoldingOurGround/

Holding Our Ground is a 15-part series of half-hour radio documentaries that features the voicesof Alaska Natives as they struggle for morecontrol over their lives. This series aired duringthe fall of 1985. Jim Sykes recorded the hearingsof the Alaska Native Review Commission (ANRC)on location in Alaska’s remote villages. TheCanadian Judge Thomas R. Berger served ascommissioner for the review and traveled throughout Alaska to find out howAlaska Native people feel about their most basic values and how the 1971 AlaskaNative Claims Settlement Act affects them. Holding Our Ground and JudgeBerger’s book, Village Journey, are the results of the hearings. Land, subsistenceand sovereignty are the main themes that weave the people and their cultures

Alaska Sea GrantResources

Alaska Sea Grant’s 2005 bookstore catalog features130 books, videos, posters and brochures designed toeducate people about Alaska’s marine resources. Our

newest book is Common Edible Seaweeds in the Gulfof Alaska, by Dolly Garza, a Haida-Tlingit Indian andfisheries professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.Garza also wrote Tlingit Moon and Tide TeachingResource, a curriculum guide that brings Native under-standing of science and ecology to the elementaryclassroom; and an instructor manual and student manual,which teach kids skills to help them survive in anemergency.

Our video Sharing the Sea: Alaska’s CDQ Programdescribes the fisheries quota-sharing program, show-

ing footage of the new and old ways in Bering Sea coastalvillages. The book The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands isa richly illustrated volume that tells about the science of theBering Sea and the people who have lived in the region.From elementary grade curriculum guides on marine sci-ence to cutting edge fisheries research books, the AlaskaSea Grant has a wealth of educational materials for allages. The Alaska Sea Grant/Marine Advisory Program, at

the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is part of a nationwide, federal- andstate-supported program dedicated to strengthening the long-term valueof marine resources through research, education and extension.

Geophysical InstituteLibrary

Education materials and resourcesare available at the University ofAlaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Insti-tute Library for K–12 classrooms.Their collection focuses on generalscience, geology, space physics andAlaska Native cultures. Any teachercan check out three items for twoweeks at a time.

For more information, contact:Geophysical Institute LibraryUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks611 Elvey BuildingP.O. Box 757320907-474-7512907-474-7290 [email protected]

The Corporate Whale:ANCSA, The First 10Yearshttp://www.ankn.uaf.edu/TheCorporateWhale/

The title and content of this seriesoffer an analogy between the role ofthe whale in certain Alaska Nativesubsistence lifestyles and the rolesand responsibilities of the corpora-tions created under the Alaska NativeClaims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The10-part series provides audio record-ings and the transcription of the eventsleading to the ANCSA and the mecha-nisms employed to manage the act.Hear how leaders assess the first 10years and future predictions.

together in a timeless continuum.These themes are illustrated through-out the series. This resource includesaudio recordings and transcripts.


Mentoring ProgramHelps New Teachers

by Mary Johnsen

Beginning teachers want to make a positive difference in thelives of their students, but sometimes the challenges of

teaching are overwhelming. New teachers often feel frustrated,inadequate and hopeless. A new mentoring program, the AlaskaStatewide Teacher Mentor Project (ASTMP), helps new teachersmake the transition from being a student to being in charge of aclassroom.

As Lorrie Scoles, the ASTMP pro-gram director puts it, “When I was abeginning teacher, I knew what Iwanted my classroom to look like, feellike and sound like, but it just wasn’tcoming together. In many cases I knewwhat was ’right’ but I didn’t knowhow to make it right. Self discovery ispainful!” During her first five years ofteaching, Scoles spent her own timeand money on books, workshops andconferences. Slowly she began to de-velop into the kind of teacher shewanted to be.

Key to her progress was finding amentor teacher to help her ask theright questions and build on whatwas working. “As I became more suc-cessful as a teacher, my students be-came more successful,” Scolesexplained, “I figured out how to cre-ate a community where kids wantedto be, where they felt safe and re-spected. I developed a variety of struc-tures to keep kids challenged andaccountable for their work. It wasn’teasy!”

“That’s why I’m thrilled about thementor project,” said Scoles.“Mentoring helps new teachers ad-vance more quickly in their profes-sion and helps everyone feel betterabout what is happening in the class-room.”

The Alaska Teacher Mentor Projectmodels its program after the nation-ally acclaimed New Teacher Project, aprogram developed in California. Inthis model, mentor teachers are re-leased from their classroom duties sothey can work full time on mentoringand they participate in eight, week-long training programs to learn howto help teachers analyze and improvetheir teaching practices. The goal is todevelop reflective teachers who areresponsive to the diverse cultural,social and linguistic backgrounds ofall students.

The project is in its first year of atwo-year pilot project sponsored bythe Alaska Department of Educationand Early Development (EED) and theUniversity of Alaska. EED plans toevaluate the success of the project onimprovements in student achievementand increases in teacher retention.The department will seek ongoingfunding based on the results.

This year 37 of the 54 Alaska schooldistricts participated in the project.Out of a pool of 150 Alaska teachers,22 mentors were selected for theirexcellence in teaching, interpersonalskills and experience working in ur-ban and rural schools. They have acombined total of 413 years of class-room teaching experience!

Each mentor works with 12 to 19beginning teachers. The mentor meetsregularly in person, on the phone andthrough e-mail with individual teach-ers. Mentor Jan Littlebear explains,“I model lessons for beginning teach-ers, release them for observing otherteachers, bring them resources, assistin the arrangement of a classroom orin securing supplies and resources.Together we collaborate on planning,lessons, instruction and all areas ofthe profession.”

“Jan has done so much to reducemy stress in this first year of teachingin Alaska,” said Ann Anspach, one ofJan’s beginning teachers at Joann A.Alexie Memorial School in the LowerKuskokwim School District. “Shemaintained a sense of humor andhelped me to do the same, even intough times.” Ann is grateful for theopportunity to be mentored. “We havean experienced teacher to model teach-ing strategies. We have someone tobounce ideas off of. We have someoneto help us find resources and answers.Most importantly, we have a friendwho stays in regular contact with us,and who cares about our teachingsuccess and recognizes that we haveto be cared for as whole people, notjust as teachers.”

It has been a challenge for DirectorLorrie Scoles to take the New TeacherCenter mentoring mode that was de-signed in California and make it fitAlaska. One problem is travel inAlaska—weather gets in the way.

New teacher Robyn Lamley and herclass at Chief Ivan Blunka School, NewStuyahok. Photo taken by Mentor CarolVanDerWege.


Another issue is helping new teachersadjust to rural Alaska. For instance,sometimes help in the classroom takesa back seat to helping a beginningteacher with food and housing con-cerns, such as a broken hot waterheater or a frozen pipe.

One central issue, however, ismentoring new teachers about cul-tural differences. “How do you teachsomeone to have an open mind?” asksmentor Eric Waltenbaugh. “I wouldnever presume to teach about AlaskaNative culture. What I can do is helpteachers look inward. Until new teach-ers are able to recognize their owncultural lenses they bring to theirteaching, very little movement can bemade toward adapting their teachingpractice to meet the needs of all theirstudents. If they don’t recognize thatdifferent forms of communication,beliefs, values and attitudes are legiti-mate, they won’t see that modifyingtheir teaching practice to fit thesedifferences will be helpful to both thestudents and themselves.”

“Teachers have expectations re-garding where they think studentsshould be academically, how theythink students should act, what stu-dents should value, the best way todeliver instruction, the most efficientway to give directions, etc.,” saidEric. “It is very easy for a beginningteacher, given the fragility of theirfirst job and their need to feel success-ful, to judge and blame instead ofexamining their own faults,misperceptions and personal beliefs.Having a mentor helps them work outsome of these thoughts and providespositive support for professionalgrowth.”

“For instance,” Eric explains,“New teachers often get caught up inEnglish literacy issues. I have beenworking with a social studies teacherwho was scoring his student’s writtenwork based on English language stan-dards. As part of the mentoring pro-cess, I helped him examine hisstudents’ work, and he began to real-

ize that the concepts he was teachingwere getting across. We were able toidentify a high level of student think-ing that was going on. This teacherwas thrilled, and empowered becausehe had mistaken lack of specific lan-guage skills for lack of thinking. Thisled to a discussion of whether it is fairto grade on something you haven’ttaught. The conclusion we drew wasto teach specific language skills insmall chunks along with the contentand evaluate student work on theseaspects alone.”

Eric tells another story that illus-trates how a mentor can bridge cul-tural differences. He had dinner withseveral teachers that were new to avillage. He learned the teacherswanted to be involved in the commu-nity, but were frustrated since theyweren’t invited to events or to people’shouses. Then he met with the Elders

in the community and asked themwhat their greatest concerns were forthe teachers in their village. The El-ders replied, “The teachers get holedup by themselves, and they need toget more involved in the community.They need to drop by and visit withus, take part in our activities.” Ericbecame a link to a better understand-ing between the teachers and the com-munity. The new teachers learnedthat “dropping by” isn’t rude; it isexpected.

“Making the mentoring programmore culturally responsive is an on-going project,” said Lorrie Scoles.“Collaborating with Native educatorsto develop ways to help beginningteachers reflect on culture—both theculture of their students and theirown—is important work. While wehave begun the dialog, there is stillmuch more work to be done.”

Excerpt: Mentoring the Mentorby Jan Littlebear

First year Yupiit instructor ElenaMiller, with the assistance of a localfish trapping expert named HenryWhite, arranged for her middle schoolstudents to make, set and check fishtraps in the Lower Kuskokwim; andfor her third graders to check for fishtrapped in nets that had been sewnand set under the ice near the school;and finally for the high schoolers tosew the nets, make their own fishtraps, set them and later check theirtraps for fish. All of these wonderfultraditional, cultural experiences weretaking place over the course of sev-eral weeks, ending the first week ofDecember. Enter the mentor! I arrived the week when all three classes weresnowmobiling out to their sites to check the nets and traps for fish. Lucky me,I got to go along for the ride. I watched as the high school students attachedfloater and lead-weight cables to fishing nets, and I went with all three gradelevels onto the frozen tundra to check set fish traps and nets. I traveled toNapakiak to mentor my teachers, and I received the education!

Henry White, local expert, teachesthird-graders from Wm. MillerMemorial School about fish trapping inNapakiak. Photo taken by Mentor JanLittlebear.


Researching Vitamin Cin Native Plants

by Candace Kruger

In 1741 Vitus Bering and his crew landed in North America onan island in Southeast Alaska, where he exchanged goods

with the Native people living there. After setting sail for home,he found that his men where beginning to suffer from scurvy.Scurvy is caused from lack of vitamin C. Some of its symptoms arebleeding gums, loss of teeth, aching joints, muscle depletion andspiraling of the hairs on legs and arms. Bering and most of his mendied from scurvy that year. They died trying to get home fromAlaska, when all they had to do was eat some of Alaska’s nativeplants to survive. Alaska has so much natural vitamin C in itsvegetation.

This year in science class studentswere assigned to do a project andenter it in the school science fair. Mypartner, Erik Grundberg,and I did a project on theamount of vitamin C inthe plants around our vil-lage of Anvik and in Ga-lena, where we attendhigh school. We thoughtthe information we wouldlearn could be useful forfuture reference—in casewe got sick with a cold,we would know whichplants provide the mostvitamin C. According toDr. Jerry Gordon, on thewebsite “How StuffWorks,” studies indicatethat a high dose of vita-min C at the beginning ofa cold reduces its symp-toms in some cases. However, vitaminC does not prevent the common cold.

First we chose the plants to test:cranberries, blueberries, rosehips,stinkweed, fireweed, spruce and yar-

row. Then we made a hypothesis: weguessed that rosehips would have themost vitamin C. We remembered hear-

ing this somewhere, but we were notsure from where.

To perform the test, we followed aprocedure designed by scientists thatuses cornstarch, water and iodine.

We boiled the plants individually andextracted the juices. We mixed aniodine and cornstarch solution, whichwas a dark blue-purple color. Thenwe added the iodine to the juice hop-ing that the iodine would turn clear asit mixed. The faster the solution turnedclear would indicate the more vitaminC in the plant.

Dr. Gordon states that the recom-mended dietary allowance is 60–190milligrams of vitamin C daily to pre-vent a range of ailments. He goes on tosay, “Men should consume more vita-min C than women and individualswho smoke cigarettes are encouragedto consume 35 mg more of vitamin Cthan the average adults. This is due tothe fact that smoking depletes vita-min C levels in the body and is acatalyst for biological processes whichdamage cells.”

Gordon explains that vitamin C isessential because it helps produce col-lagen. Collagen is all over the humanbody. It is in cartilage, the connectivetissue of skin, bones, teeth, ligaments,

the liver, spleen and kid-neys and the separatinglayers in cell systems suchas the nervous system.Americans get an averageof 72 mg a day. Studiesshow that if the body hastoo high of a daily intakeof vitamin C, the worst re-sult would be diarrhea.

To our surprise stink-weed had the most vita-min C, with rose hipscoming in second. Ourteacher, Shane Hughes,said that oranges have littlevitamin C compared tostinkweed, regardless ofthe advertising that orangejuice is high in vitamin C.

Although orange juice may taste a lotbetter, stinkweed is best when youneed vitamin C. You can make a teaout of it.

Candace Kruger and Erik Grundberg examine results of vitaminC experiments.


A speech to 2005 Tanana Chiefs Conference adapted for printby youth delegate Tina Thomas

This is my first year as a youth delegate, but I have alwayscome to these meetings. I have wondered why they never

honored the first chiefs that came to Fairbanks (Alaska) almost 90years ago.

When you walk into the TananaChiefs Building, in the entryway thereis a picture up on the wall. A pictureof the first chiefs and when I look atthat picture I feel pride in my heart, Ifeel proud to be Native.

As I stand up here I have the jittersand I can feel my heart pounding, butI cannot begin to imagine how thechiefs of the Tanana River felt, know-ing that they would be talking to thewhite man about our land for the veryfirst time.

Here are a few words, according tothe archives.

The words from Chief Ivan ofCrossjacket:

“You must remember that I ammaking this statements in the name ofthe Natives, all the Natives that are inthis district here. I am making thisstatements because I consider that allthese Natives that I represent I amsure do not want to be put on a reser-vation. They don’t want to have oneand therefore I am making this state-ment for the Natives I am here torepresent.”

The words from Chief Thomas of WoodRiver:

“I wish to especially state that whenI talk to you now, I wish to show youare touching my heart and at the sametime I wish to touch your heart.”

Judge Wickersham arose and askedthe Indians:

“What do you want the UnitedStates to do for the Indians?”

Chief Charlie of Minto replied:“What can the United States do for

us? Alaska is our home, we do notknow where our people come from,but we are the first people here.”

Words from Chief William of Tanana:“To give them a reservation big

enough for them to live on like theydo at present would mean severalhundred miles and I don’t think thatthe government can afford to givemuch ground.”

Replying to the chiefs, an Alaskaengineer commissioner said:

“As far as I can make out, fromwhat the chiefs have said the Indianswant certain thing, and I want toknow if I have understood it rightly.They want freedom to come and go asthey want to, fishing and hunting,and if they take up their allotments,they don’t want to have to live themperhaps all the time that the law de-mands, but if they do take up allot-ments they will build cabins and callthem their homes. Is that the opinionof the assembled Chiefs?”

Unanimous answer from the Indians:“Yes.”

The words of Paul Williams:“Therefore, I wish you to take this

in mind, that about this reservation, Ithink it is a fake.”

With those powerful words said, Ithink that with the opening of theTCC convention, we should also honorour first chiefs, because without them

we would not be strong, sovereignand self-sufficient. And I will be hon-ored to thank the chiefs who were socourageous and brave, for in thosedays it was very hard to stand up tothe white man.

The following Indians were presentat the said council:

Chief Joe of SakchaketChief John of ChenaMy great, great grandfather Chief

Thomas of Wood RiverJulius Pilot of NenanaChief Charlie of MintoChief Alexander of TolovanaTitus Alexander of TolovanaChief Ivan of Cross jacketAlexander William, of Ft. GibbonWilliam of Ft. GibbonAlbert of Ft. GibbonJacob Starr of Ft. GibbonJohny Folger of Ft. GibbonPaul Willams of Ft. GibbonTo these men: Basee cho (thank

you).

Youth Reminds Leaders of Past Chiefs

Tina Thomas is from Toghotili (Nenana),Alaska located on the Tanana River andthe Parks Highway in Interior Alaska.She is Bedzeyhti Xut’ana, which meansthe Caribou Clan. Her grandmother isNorma George and her grandfather isCharlie Thomas.

Charles Sheldon collection, accessionnumber 75-146-03, Archives, Alaskaand Polar Regions Department,Rasmuson Library, University ofAlaska Fairbanks.

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

by Alisha Drabek

In August 2004, the Native Village of Afognak Tribal Council(NVA) produced a children’s book titled Red Cedar of Afognak: A

Driftwood Journey. The book was created through a collaborationbetween Elders, Western scientists, tribal members, tribal artistsand writers.

The book’s production, in fact,tells a unique story itself of how di-verse groups can come together toproduce a text based on oral tradition,with rich cultural information, in part-nership with Western science. Rootedin our Native ways of knowing, thebook is intended to be a model for

sharing traditional storytelling thatincorporates scientific knowledge,with the purpose of educating ouryouth in a place-based way.

The Red Cedar of Afognak was writ-ten primarily for elementary andmiddle school classroom usage, as wellas within a cultural camp context. Infact, the book project grew out of the

tribe’s Dig Afognak: Elders’ Campwhere Alutiiq Elders and culture-bear-ers have gathered each summer for aweek to share their knowledge ofAlutiiq language, history and culturaltraditions.

One of the Elders who attendedthis camp was John Pestrikoff, “JP,”

now of Port Lions but originallyfrom Afognak. JP shared a storyhis Elders told him about a drift-wood log washed a mile inlandbehind the old Afognak village.His Elders told him it was thrownthere during a tsunami centu-ries before. He raised questionsabout the long history of tsuna-mis in the region and their im-pact on the tribe.

Among the camp participantswere geologist Dr. Gary Carverand archaeobotanist Dr. KarenAdams. Dr. Carver’s core sampleresearch on Afognak validatedElders’ stories of previous tsu-namis. In turn, Dr. Adams ex-plored the origin of driftwoodvarieties and the currents on

which they traveled to arrive onAfognak’s shores. She also studiedthe many uses of driftwood by theAlutiiq, who 1,000 years ago did nothave trees. Dr. Adams saw JP’s storyas an excellent opportunity to dem-onstrate just what the tribe’s culturalcamps were trying to prove—scienceconcepts can be taught effectively

through traditional Native knowl-edge. Perhaps better said, Nativeknowledge is scientific.

One of the main benefits of thebook project was that combining twoworld perspectives—Western scienceand our Native ways of knowing—ismutually validating. The chief out-comes of combining the two is that forNative students it helps build self-esteem in having their Elders’ wis-dom acknowledged, and makesdifficult concepts easier to grasp asthey are made relevant to personaland cultural experiences.

By acknowledging our Elders’knowledge we can further honor theirimportance in our lives as being ourfirst teachers. Scientific conceptstaught in school are inherently presentin traditional Native knowledge sys-tems. Often, though, students areunaware of the deep environmentalknowledge long-existent within theirculture and families.

After Dr. Karen Adams returnedhome to Tucson, Arizona, she wrotethe tribe with an outline of her ideasfor this book project. The tribal coun-cil and staff pursued the project, com-bining additional oral history researchthey had conducted with Elders.

At the time, I served as tribaladministrator for NVA. With mybackground in creative writing Ideveloped the outline into a fullstory. Working with Elders and theAlutiiq Museum, Alutiiq language

The Making of Red Cedarof Afognak

Left to right: Alisha Drabek, Red Cedar ofAfognak co-author; John “JP” Pestrikoff, aPort Lions Elder; and Gloria Selby, artistand illustrator share a hug at the Port LionsCelebration of Culture gathering to honor thebook’s publication.


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

vocabulary was further incorporatedinto the project, as well as graphics todemonstrate science concepts. Localtribal artist Gloria Selby was broughtin on the project after the written textwas completed. She created originalwatercolor artwork to accompany thestory.

In addition to the production ofthe book, the Native Village ofAfognak has created a companioncurriculum unit. The curriculum out-lines the potential teaching opportu-nities that the book supports. Theyalso have created a week-long culturecamp to explore the story and itsconcepts with youth, Elders and Na-tive educators.

The book has received two Honor-ing Alaska’s Indigenous Literature

(HAIL) awards. In February 2004 JPPestrikoff was given a HAIL awardfor his role as the contributing cul-ture-bearer to the book. Then, in Feb-ruary 2005, I received a HAIL awardas the tribal author of the book.

Copies of the book are availabledirectly from the Native Village ofAfognak for $14.00. Contact the Na-tive Village of Afognak at 907-486-6357 or email [email protected].

Alisha Drabek is an assistant profes-sor of English at Kodiak College, amember of the Native Educators of theAlutiiq Region (NEAR) and an Alutiiqlanguage apprentice through the AlutiiqMuseum. She is an Afognak tribal mem-ber and co-author of The Red Cedar ofAfognak.


Use of Relevant MaterialsStrengthens Ch’eghutsen’ Project

by Hanna Carter, Cheryl Mayo-Kriska, Sarah McConnell, Paula McQuestion and Cecelia Nation

The Ch’eghutsen’ Project is a family-driven, culturally-appropriate and strength-based behavioral health service

for children, families and communities. The project philosophyis founded on “ch’eghutsen’,” an Athabascan belief from thevillage of Minto, Alaska that has a broad meaning that includes“children are precious.” To fulfill this mission, the project inte-grates cultural traditions, guidance from Elders, mental healthtraining and university credentialing. Culturally-relevant mate-rials shared by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN)are used in the project. These materials have a significant impacton the Ch’eghutsen’s training program, which influences thedelivery of our services to children, family and communities.

Fairbanks Native Association(FNA), Tanana Chiefs Conference(TCC) and the University of AlaskaFairbanks (UAF) collaborate on this

“System of Care” project funded bythe federal Substance Abuse and Men-tal Health Services Administration. ACircles of Care grant, which brought

together Native people from InteriorAlaska, guided the development ofthe project’s vision, training and ser-vice components.

Project planners identified train-ing as an essential component for sev-eral reasons. They hoped to developculturally competent and credentialedchildren’s mental health providers toserve Fairbanks and the surroundingInterior villages of Nenana, StevensVillage, Huslia, Allakaket, Nulato andKoyukuk. They hoped to decreaseturnover by hiring and training localresidents in these communities. Todecrease potential burnout of thesemental health workers, they wouldparticipate in intensive skill-basedtraining in order to face the chal-lenges related to children experienc-ing a serious disharmony at home,school or in the community.

The Ch’eghutsen’ Project plannershoped to stimulate changes in thebehavioral health service system bytraining and encouraging Alaska Na-tives to earn credentials that preparethem to thrive in behavioral healthleadership and supervisory positions.Most of all, the planners wanted theirefforts to result in culturally-appro-priate mental health services thatwould better meet the needs of Alaska


The Ch’eghutsen’ Project says“Thank you!” to the AlaskaNative Knowledge Networkfor your generosity andcollaboration in “sharing yourpathways” with us.


Native children and their families inInterior Alaska.

Staff positions created within theCh’eghutsen’ Project included carecoordinators, a family advocateand a youth coordinator. Ch’eghutsen’staff first worked through the UARural Human Services Certificate Pro-gram (RHS) for training; then theypursued the associate of applied sci-ences degree in Human Service. Weare thankful for the positive relation-ships with these programs. Each aca-demic program helped us meet studentand project needs with flexibility,responsiveness and cultural respect.The Ch’eghutsen’ training programpartnered with RHS and the HumanServices program to develop new UAFcourses and adapt existing ones, whichintegrated cultural appropriatenesswhile maintaining academic rigor. Inthe development and adaptation ofcourses, the ANKN materials havebeen highly important.

The Ch’eghutsen’ staff, who arestudents, identified cultural relevanceas the essential power of the trainingprogram. Courses integrate commu-nity cultural traditions with main-stream knowledge, which in turn, arevalued by community members. Com-munity support is critical to the suc-cess of our students. Communitiesshare in the investment a studentmakes when they send an active hu-man resource to town for weeks oftraining, allowing time to study, dohomework and attend teleconferenceclasses. In turn, Ch’eghutsen studentsgive back to the community by shar-ing ANKN materials, using these ma-terials to stimulate communitydiscussion, spark collaboration withlocal schools and celebrate thestrengths of their culture.

Here are a few brief examples ofhow we have used ANKN materials:

My Own Trail authored by HowardLuke, was one of our main textbooksfor a Ch’eghutsen’ adapted course onrural counseling. As part of our stud-

ies we made a day trip to Howard’sGaalee’ya Spirit Camp on the TananaRiver. Howard Luke and ElizabethFleagle were our Elder mentors for theweeklong class, bringing the book tolife. Course assignments includedkeeping a daily journal that had a“trail” theme, an essay describing the

student’s “own trail” to becoming acounselor and an essay reflecting com-munity interviews about local descrip-tions and expectations of a counselor.

The ANKN cultural values postersand cultural standards books werekey resources for the Ch’eghutsen’developed course “Alaska NativeHealing in Human Services,” taughtby Kenneth Frank and a terrific Elderteam that included Howard Luke fromthe Chena-Fairbanks area, LincolnTritt from Arctic Village, CatherineAttla from Huslia, Pauline Peter fromNulato and Ida Ross who is originally

from Kobuk, Alaska. Students usedthese materials to explore personaland community values, discover localdormant values and develop ways toapply cultural values and standardsto their work with children and fami-lies. The excellent resources of theAlaska Native Language Center werealso critical to the success of thiscourse, as students learned more abouttraditional stories and the applica-tions of those stories.

Harold Napoleon’s Yuuyaraq: TheWay of the Human Being was a pri-mary text in the curriculum. It is nowa book our care coordinators recom-mend and talk about withCh’eghutsen’ clients to help themunderstand the powerful effects ofintergenerational trauma and to sharehope with those experiencing chal-lenging times. As one care coordina-tor describes it, “I explain to themabout how our people used the oldway of teaching and since we havelost those ways, we don’t have any-thing to fall back on. We don’t under-stand the Western way of healing andit will not work for us. We have to goback to our Native ways of healing,which is off the land, nature and sea-sons of living ... We can learn frombooks like Harold Napoleon’s, because


Left to right: Eliza Ned, Allakaket; Cecelia Nation, Fairbanks; Mary Pilot,Koyukuk; Mona Perdue Jones, Fairbanks; and Sophie Ellen Peters, Huslia.

“ We don’t understand theWestern way of healing and itwill not work for us. We have togo back to our Native ways ofhealing ...”


we as Native people all have similarbeliefs and customs.”

The Gospel According to Peter Johnis another book that makes an impactbeyond the classroom. Informationfrom the book is shared with clientsand the book is made available toencourage healing that makes sensewithin the culture. A care coordina-tor said, “I suggest that (clients) jour-nal their thoughts and ideas and lifeexperiences in order to heal and putthings down on paper just like thesefamous authors have done. It couldbe a source of healing for them andthey could be authors like Harold andPeter.”

Another participant in theCh’eghutsen’ training program said,“These are very critical strengthen-ing reading materials for me and myclassmates. I would recommendsources such as these for them to get anew meaning for our old way of lifethat has pretty much disappeared fromour modern day life.” There is a truehealing quality in the materials avail-able through ANKN.

Ch’eghutsen’ now has thirteenAlaska Native students from Fairbanksand Interior villages who have par-ticipated in our training program.They began their studies in the fall of2002. Six will receive their AAS de-gree in Human Service in May 2005.Four others only need three more cred-its to complete their degree. Othersindividuals are working towards theirbachelor’s and master’s degrees. Twohave chosen to attend UAF fulltimeand are making excellent progresstoward psychologydegrees.

Thank you to the Elders and com-munity members who have supportedour training program in so many ways.Thank you to the Alaska NativeKnowledge Network for making somany helpful, culturally-relevant ma-terials available. We appreciate yoursupport. It has been important in ourlearning journey.

Technical Assistancefor Schools in Alaska

by Ray Barnhardt

The following article contains excerpts from the final reportof the Northwest Regional Advisory Committee submitted

to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on March 31, 2005.

When Congress passed the Educa-tion Sciences Reform Act of 2002,they directed the U.S. DOE to estab-lish 20 technical assistance centers tohelp regional, state and local educa-tional agencies and schools implementthe No Child Left Behind goals andprograms, and apply the use of scien-tifically valid teaching methods andassessment tools in:• core academic subjects of math-

ematics, science and reading orlanguage arts;

• English language acquisition; and• education technology.

The centers will also be respon-sible for:• facilitating communication be-

tween education experts, schoolofficials, teachers, parents andlibrarians;

• disseminating information toschools, educators, parents andpolicymakers for improving aca-demic achievement, closingachievement gaps and encourag-ing and sustaining school improve-ment; and

• developing teacher and schoolleader in-service and pre-servicetraining models that illustrate bestpractices in the use of technologyin different content areas.They will coordinate with the re-

gional education labs, the NationalCenter for Education Evaluation andRegional Assistance, the Office of theSecretary of Education, state serviceagencies and other technical assis-tance providers in the region.

DOE appointed a committee to pro-vide input from the Northwest re-gion, which includes the states ofAlaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon andWashington. Karen Rehfeld, fromEarly Education and Development,Marilyn Davidson a Kodiak principaland Ray Barnhardt from the Univer-sity of Alaska Fairbanks were theAlaska representatives on the North-west Regional Advisory Committee(NW RAC). Input to the committeewas sought from educators and thegeneral public throughout the state,including a two-day educational needsassessment forum held in Anchoragein January that brought together allthe technical assistance providersserving Alaska schools. The AlaskanFederation of Natives and the South-east Regional Resource Center co-sponsored the forum, which includedrepresentatives from the regional Na-tive educator associations.

Educational ChallengesWithin the Region

NW RAC identified needs anddeveloped recommendations in fourpriority areas: leadership, language-culture-diversity, closing the achieve-ment gap and effective use oftechnology. In the area of leadership,technical assistance in using researchthat improves school leadership holdstremendous potential to help schoolsbolster student academic performance,particularly for low-income and



minority students.The second area for technical as-

sistance is to address issues associatedwith language, culture and diversityamong our students. There is a grow-ing body of evidence that indicatesthe way language and culture are ad-dressed in the education system canhave a significant impact on the per-formance of students, and especiallythose from particular cultural com-munities. Culturally-responsive cur-ricula and teaching practices that aretailored to the diverse populationsrequires a shift in emphasis from theone-size-fits-all composite approachthat has been typical of past responsesto “diversity” in the schools.

A third area to be addressed has todo with assisting schools in develop-ing strategies to engage the entirecommunity and establish a two-waydialogue for facilitating the achieve-ment of all students. Technical assis-tance efforts should be focused oneducating and supporting teachersand building administrators in usingbest practices in engaging parents asproductive partners and in definingmeaningful roles for parents.

Finally, technical assistance needsto provide support for the effectiveuse of technology in a school setting.The use of technology can also ex-pand the reach of technical assistancecenters. It can help administrators andteachers create databases to analyze

student performance data to informinstructional decisions and effect in-structional improvements for theregion’s diverse student populations.In school districts where release timefor teachers is difficult to obtain, theuse of web-based technologies canimprove their access to center ser-vices. Technology permits greateraccess by participants and its con-tinuous availability enables access tocontent for even the most hard-to-reach educators. Whether a functionof geography, resource restrictions,time or knowledge, local constraintsin addressing the challenge of devel-oping or identifying effective re-search-based practices to close theachievement gap can be impactedthrough knowledgeable applicationsof technology.

While the needs for technical as-sistance in the Northwest region aresimilar to those of the rest of thecountry, the delivery of technical as-sistance is made more challenging bythe region’s geographic vastness andsubsequent population isolation.These factors, unique to the North-west (including Alaska), make it diffi-cult to create a coordinated systemicprofessional development model tobuild local capacity to address theacademic needs of the region’s di-verse student population. The needfor well-trained and qualified educa-tors and effective schools within theNorthwest Region must become a pri-ority if achievement gap disparitiesare to be reduced.

Other RecommendationsThe United States DOE will be so-

liciting proposals from technical as-sistance providers outlining how theywill address the needs identifiedabove. In addition to a region-widetechnical assistance center, the NWRAC also recommended that a secondtechnical assistance center continueto be based in Alaska to specificallydeal with issues involving Alaskan

Native and American Indian studentsthroughout the Northwest region(with a satellite office in Montana.)

Priorities for this center wouldinclude:• developing and identifying cul-

turally-appropriate research-basedmaterials for curriculum, learningand assessment relevant to par-ticular diverse populations inorder to close the achievement gapand provide access to higher levellearning opportunities for allstudents;

• developing culturally-appropriatecurriculum materials, teaching andassessment practices for AmericanIndians and Alaskan Nativestudents;

• identifying and disseminatingresearch-based practices that ad-dress the unique challenges asso-ciated with low socioeconomicconditions;

• identifying and developing strate-gies for engaging families and com-munities in partnership withschools to support success for all;and

• developing and preparing a highlyeffective workforce for the cultur-ally diverse, multi-graded, high-poverty and rural schools of theregion.The U.S. DOE Request for Propos-

als is targeted for release in May 2005.Proposals will be submitted by earlysummer and the new technical assis-tance centers are expected to be openthis fall. For further information aboutthe NW RAC process or recommenda-tions, contact:

Ray Barnhardt([email protected])

Karen Rehfeld([email protected])or

Marilyn Davidson([email protected])

The full report of NW RAC is avail-able online at:

http://www.rac-ed.org/


Alaska RSI RegionalContactsAndy Hope—Southeast

[email protected] Schneier, Olga Pestrikoff,

Moses Dirks—Alutiiq/Unangax̂[email protected]

John Angaiak—Yup’ik/Cup’[email protected]

Katie Bourdon, Iñupiaq [email protected]

Athabascan Region vacant


Iñupiaq Immersion Students LearnLanguage and Culture

by Martha Stackhouse

The Iñupiaq immersion classes at the Ipalook ElementarySchool in Barrow are busy learning the language and culture

this year. There are classes for three- and four-year-old childrenand kindergarten and first-grade immersion classes.

When school started in the fall, wetook a field trip to the tundra to pickplants. We picked yellow daisies, li-chen, willows, tundra leaves and tallred grass that grows along the creek.We got to chase a lemming. Everyyear we go on a field trip to the beachbut polar bears roamed the beach thisyear so we canceled the trip.

During the holidays, we went tothe senior center to sing Christmascarols. The students liked going there;some had an amau or “great grand-parent” in the audience. After sing-ing, they would go to their amau andgive him or her a big hug. The seniorcitizens enjoyed seeing the childrenin their building.

We performed for the combinedNorth Slope and Northwest ArcticBoroughs’ Economic Summit, whichhappened prior to the Kivgiq festivi-ties. The students welcomed the audi-ence in Iñupiaq, sang songs thendanced sayuutit or “motion dances,”while one of the students drummed.

In the future, we plan to go to theIñupiaq Heritage Center Museum tolook at artifacts and hunting tools. Inthe past few months, our childrenhave witnessed whaling preparationsin their own homes and in the homesof their relatives.The whaling seasonis always looked forward to withanticipation.

The children are learning to countin Iñupiaq. They can count by 10s upto 100. They are learning the Kaktovik

numeral system. The students do wellin math; maybe using the Kaktoviknumeral system gives them the chanceto exercise their minds and to concen-trate.

Our children are learning Iñupiaqdespite the limits with the mandatedNo Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) welimit Iñupiaq language learning to 50percent. Nevertheless, students arelearning Iñupiaq. Our teaching tech-niques include using Total PhysicalResponse. For instance, if a teacherasks a student to close the door, thestudent has to say they are walking tothe door and that he or she is closingthe door while doing the command.When it is snack time, students knowthat they will not get juice or crackersunless they ask for it in Iñupiaq. Whenstudents say they are done with theirwork and ask to play in Iñupiaq thenthey get to play.

In January we held a North SlopeEducation Summit. Two people fromNew Zealand, Hinekahukura TutiAranui and Roimata Wipiki, were theguest speakers. They met with thelanguage teachers, community mem-

bers and Elders. On the first day theygave the historical background abouttheir indigenous people and the im-pact that contact had in their country,culture and language. In the 1980sthey realized their language was atrisk. They started teaching theirgrandchildren in their garages. Theyapplied for grants and eventuallymoved into larger buildings. As theirefforts continued, the public schoolsgave the hard-to-handle Maori chil-dren to the private Maori schools.These children achieved success bygraduating from high school. Manywent on to attend universities. Thesense of belonging and self-esteemmoved them to a higher level. Thegovernment noticed the success ofthe private Maori schools and beganto fund the schools. Today Maori lan-guage is taught through the univer-sity level.

The next day Tuti and Roimataseparated the Iñupiaq language teach-ers while Jana Harcharek from theNorth Slope Borough School Districtmet with the community. Each groupcame up with strategies to keep ourIñupiaq language alive. Tuti let theteachers vent and then asked us todream of a perfect Iñupiaq languageschool as if we were the administra-tors and in charge of the changes.We decided that a private IñupiaqImmersion school would be best.

We would like to thank theMaori Elders for coming to ourcold climate to help us put ourpriorities into perspective.


The children are learning tocount in Iñupiaq. They can countby 10s up to 100. They arelearning the Kaktovik numeralsystem.


University of Alaska FairbanksAlaska Native Knowledge Network/Alaska RSIPO Box 756730Fairbanks AK 99775-6730

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Fairbanks AKPermit No. 2

A Tribute to aYup’ik Elder

by Esther Ilutsik

As a young girl, Helen Toyukakremembers sitting in the grass

near the abandoned village ofKulukak, which was wiped out during the 1930’s flu epidemic.She faces Qayassig or Walrus Island, in Southwestern Alaska’sBristol Bay region, and watches a group of older children sittingin a circle with an Elder. The Elder is juggling grass woven ballsand chanting “Qayassiq kan’a, Imutuq kan’ai ... ” in the Yup’iklanguage. The chant ends and she continues to juggle until shemakes a mistake. A child takes the Elder’s place in the game untileach one has had a chance at this rhythmic play.

I would like to recognize ElderHelen “Mauvaq” Toyukak ofManokotak for her contributions anddedication to the documentation oftraditional Yup’ik knowledge. Helenwillingly and unselfishly shared herknowledge about grass baskets, the

raiding of mouse food caches and thetraditional fancy squirrel parka. Theknowledge base that she shared isused by many of our Bristol Bay areateachers and instructors in the class-room and at the university. Quyanacakneq!

With No Child Left Behind, we canno longer teach total Iñupiaq immer-sion. At best, we teach 50 percentIñupiaq and 50 percent English. En-glish is required because they wantour schools to meet the AdequateYearly Progress (AYP), which is mea-sured by testing in English. There-fore, English is being pushed in theUnited States. If we are to start aprivate Iñupiaq Immersion school, wewould no longer be tied to NCLB.

It may be helpful for parents toknow that students taking Iñupiaqimmersion classes often do better intesting in their middle- and high-school years. They may not do wellduring their elementary school yearsdue to not knowing English well.However, they grasp English rapidlyand later will do as well as peers whohave not taken immersion classes. Infact, most of them exceed beyondtheir peers. This year former Iñupiaqimmersion students won in the middleschool math competition, science fairsand the Bilingual Multicultural Edu-cation and Equity Conference writingcompetition. Their self-esteem is ap-parent and they are setting high ex-pectations for themselves.

We talked about children learningthe language from the time they arebabies. The community people vowedto start teaching Iñupiaq to their chil-dren and grandchildren as much aspossible. The young parents, who mayunderstand Iñupiaq but not speak it,committed to taking Saturday classesto learn Iñupiaq.

The daycare center has shut downdue to budget cuts. We discussed thepossibility of reopening it and teach-ing only in Iñupiaq. This may be thestarting place. Eventually it couldexpand. The Paisavut Working Com-mittee, which is a group of Iñupiaqlanguage teachers, has started meet-ing with the Paisavut (Our Heritage)leaders to help make this dream areality.


pamyua, letâ€™s dance again

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