Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit as a Foundation for ... · PDF fileearth, air, fire, water and spirit. The sacred gifts of each must be under-stood, ... The wind has irregularities

VOL. 1, ISSUE 4September/October 1996

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

(continued on next page)

Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit asa Foundation for Education

by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

Modern science studies that which is visible using manytechnological devises to refine their observations. Theo-

ries are constructed, used, modified or discarded as new informa-tion and findings warrant. The task of modern science has beento simplify Nature, learn of its underlying logic and then use thatlogic to control Nature (Briggs, 1992:14). Indigenous societiesstudy that which is invisible to temper the development oftechnology and guide its association with Nature. The Yupiaqsociety deals with trying to understand the irregularities ofNature which is underlain with patterns of order. Many unseenforces are in action in the elements of the universe.

Inside This IssueAnnenberg Rural Challenge Award ....... 4

Village Science ...................................... 4

Mokakit Conference .............................. 5

Science and Math SupportAvailable from the SMCNWS............. 6

World Indigenous Peoples Conference:Education ......................................... 6

The (Coolangatta) Statement .................. 7

UA Establishes Rural EducatorsPreparation Partnership ..................... 8

Iditarod Area School District E-Mail ...... 9

UAF Native Summit ............................. 10

ANEC Statewide Conference ................. 11

AISES Corner .......................................11

Inupiaq Regional Report ...................... 12

Yup’ik/Cup’ik Regional Report ............. 12

Southeast Regional Report .................... 13

Aleut Regional Report .......................... 14

Athabascan Regional Report ................. 15

Participants at the Cross-CulturalOrientation Program Camp at OldMinto gather on the banks of theTanana River for instruction.

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

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

AlaskaRural SystemicInitiative

To begin to understand these phe-nomena, Yupiaq science educationmust begin with the five elements—earth, air, fire, water and spirit. Thesacred gifts of each must be under-stood, as well as the human activitieswhich contribute to thedespiritualization and reduction ofthese life-giving gifts. In order to beholistic, the activities must includeYupiaq language and culture, lan-guage arts, mathematics, social stud-ies, arts and crafts and sciences. Allmust be interrelated as all of earth isinterrelated. For example, in dealingwith the element air, the teacher couldselect the sacred gift of weather. Andwhat an unpredictable choice! Likemany Yupiaq myths, weather is sovery dynamic, ever changing, and,like the myth, very mystical.

The wind has irregularities of con-stantly varying velocity, humidity,temperature and direction due to to-pography and other factors. There arenonlinear dimensions to clouds, ir-regularities of cloud formations,anomalous cloud luminosity and dif-ferent forms of precipitation at differ-ent levels. There are patterns, howevertenuous, such as the path of a jetstream or fronts to be studied. TheNative students’ visual acuity andmemory for detail could be used toadvantage. There is very little in thisuniverse which is linear, in a grid orin a two-dimensional square or threedimensional cube. The weather’s dy-namic is that the part of its part is partof a part which is a part of anotherpart and so on. The local Native elderscould explain how they were able topredict weather based upon subtlemessages given to them by the suntwenty-four hours before it happened.This involves the language of feelingsof the inner world coupled with thelanguage of reason. Being inclined tothe spiritual, the Native was able tounderstand and accept the unpredict-able permutations of weather. TheNative people had learned certaingeneral predictable patterns of

weather connected to the seasons andmoons. Yet, the Native student couldget acquainted with some more pre-dominate tools of the meteorologistsuch as the thermometer, barometer,anemometer, hydrometer, satellitepictures and other tools to give theelders’ knowledge depth, detail and abroader view. Introducing studentsto the notion of irregularities andanomalies of form and force (chaosand fractals) necessarily introducesthem to holism. The key idea is for thestudents to understand theinterconnectedness of all things in theuniverse.

Of utmost importance in using thefive elements of life to teach science isassuring that the students understandthat the sacred gifts of each is a gift tothe life-giving forces of the livingearth (or Mother Earth). The teachermust be careful to explain what thosegifts are absolutely necessary for lifeon earth to continue. All these fiveelements’ gifts make possible for cre-ation on earth to continue. The Yupiaqhonored and respected these gifts inthe rituals and ceremonies. Take forexample, the Nakaciuq or the “Bless-ing of the Bladders.” The Yupiaqpeople believed that when the seal orsome other sea mammal gave itself tothe hunter, that the spirit of the sealentered its bladder upon giving up itslife. This required that the peopletake care to remove the bladder, in-flate it to dry and save it for the winterBladder Festival to honor the sacredgift of the element, spirit. In this waythe Yupiaq people honored andshowed respect for the gift of theelement earth for giving birth to ani-mals upon which they depended forsurvival as a people.

During the festival, the bladderswere reinflated with life-giving airand hung on poles for the duration ofthe activities. In the qasgiq were placedtwo three-to-four foot stout poles infront of the place of honor for theelders. The honors seating was lo-cated at the rear of the community

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

house. On the flattened upper endwere placed two earthen lamps withwicks which were *then filled withseal oil. The wicks were lighted andthe lamps kept burning during theentire festival. One or two people weregiven the responsibility of keepingthe lamps going. The gift of the ele-ment fire was used to light and givesome warmth to the community house.To purify the air and the participantsin the house, wild parsnips wereburned. Another gift of the elementearth, the parsnip plant was used tocreate purifying smoke with the trans-forming gift of the element fire. Fire,with the gift of air, transformed theseal oil to heat and light.

At the conclusion of the BladderFestival, the bladders were takendown, deflated, and carried to theocean or river where an opening inthe ice had been made. With collec-tive mindfulness of all the Yupiaqparticipants that the spirits of theanimals were happy and satisfied withthe care and careful execution of therequired rituals and ceremonies, andthat they would return and give them-selves to the hunters, the bladderswere returned to the sacred gift of theelement water, the womb of creation.

A multi-disciplinary and -sensorystudy of the elements can be under-taken for the entire school year. Thestudents would begin to understandthat the experience of knowing andmaking the place a friend takes time.The students can be helped to finetune their endosmotic sense-makersthrough carefully planned and ex-ecuted lessons of observation that in-corporate their Yupiaq language offeeling with the language of reason.The ultimate gift is that of the elementspirit. This gift is, through the Yupiaqlanguage, mythology, rituals and cer-emonies, the students are taught the“correct lifeway, a lifeway appropri-ate to place” (Mills, 1990:159).

The modern schools are not teach-ing students how to live a life thatfeels right. Rather, the schools are

giving a lot of information to the stu-dents without also showing them howthey can transfer the information intouseful knowledge for making a liv-ing. Another step is to individuallyand collectively as a people see howthe usable knowledge could be trans-formed into wisdom to make a life.The students now look at an innova-tive teacher who refuses to use exist-ing curricula, syllabi, lessons plans,media presentations, photocopied ma-terials and so on, as not really teach-ing. They expect to be given a lot ofinformation and to be entertained.The many machines, modern toolsand the vaunted computers are notenough to teach a lifeway that feelsright. It is more important that we usethe Yupiaq values and culture wellinterspersed with imagination or in-tuition from within and the elementspirit to make the new lifeway thatfeels right.

During the years which this activ-ity is being done, the participants willexplore, plan and implement ways tomake the Alaska Native mythology asa teaching tool for the sciences as wellas the humanities. Within the hu-manities (mythology) are the sciencesand within the sciences are the hu-manities.

Kindergarten through third gradecould possibly talk about the fiveelements generally. This is what earthdoes: it provides homes for people,animals and plants. Air is what youbreathe. Fourth through the sixthgrades can begin to talk about certaingifts that each element gives to earthto make it good and beautiful. Theycan begin to talk about the watercycle and begin to see how it is af-fected by the sun, water, land, air,plants and people. The junior highgrades can begin to talk not only ofthe gifts, but how the activities of thehuman being affects the life support-ing gifts of the five elements. Thehigh school students can begin todiscuss and research the five elements’gifts and how people and pollution

reduce the life supporting role of thegifts. They can expand their knowl-edge of the Yupiaq peoples’ percep-tions and behaviors to the natural andspiritual worlds to keep them sustain-able.

The teachers and teachers-to-bemust be taught that the world is non-linear and that, as a result, sciencewill never understand everythingabout the universe. They must alsorealize and appreciate that in modernscientific and technological endeav-ors, mathematics, science and tech-nology are interrelated as are all other

disciplines. It behooves that scienceeducation and teaching in generalbecome aligned to the common philo-sophical thread, or the “distantmemory,” as it is called by N. ScottMomaday, of the ecological perspec-tive. All peoples of the earth beganfrom this vista, and therefore such aperspective makes it more probableand possible for attaining a new con-sciousness for a sustainable life.

References:Briggs, J. (1992). Fractals the patterns

of chaos. New York: Simon &Schuster.

Mills, S. (1990). In praise of nature.Washington, D. C. and Covelo, CA.:Island Press.

World view

NaturalRealm

SpiritualRealm

Human Realm

SelfComm unal

Mindfulness

un i v e r s e c i r c l e o f l i f e


Annenberg Rural Challenge Awardby Dorothy M. Larson

The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) was notified by theAnnenberg Foundation of the $3 million award of funding

that will augment the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative that theNational Science Foundation awarded to AFN in collaborationwith the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Annenberg Foundation hasfunded over a dozen projects underthe Rural Challenge with efforts tofocus on implementing change in ru-ral education.

The Alaska Rural Challenge projectwill be funded over a four-year pe-riod which will coincide with the lastfour years of the Alaska RSI projectthat is funded for a five-year period.The first year for the Alaska RSI endsin November 1996. Drs. OscarKawagley and Ray Barnhardt of UAFand Dorothy M. Larson of AFN serveas co-directors of both projects.

The Alaska RSI project focuses onscience, math and technology whilethe Alaska Rural Challenge projectwill focus on the social studies andhumanities aspects of educationalchange. The two projects will providea holistic approach and strategy inreform efforts that are culturally ap-propriate and aligned.

The projects are designed andimplemented similarly in each of thecultural regions where they will workon the five initiatives—Oral Tradi-tion as Education, Language/CulturalImmersion Camps, Alaska NativeClaims Settlement Act and the Subsis-tence Economy, Living in Place, Re-claiming Tribal Histories as well asstatewide initiatives which will focuson the Alaska Native Knowledge Net-work and Curriculum Unit. Kawagley,Barnhardt and Larson are very pleasedto make this announcement and willprovide a more in-depth descriptionof the initiatives to be implemented inconjunction with the Alaska RSIproject.

Village Science: DevelopingScience Curriculum

by Alan Dick

The sequence in which we develop science materials is notthe same as the sequence it should be presented to stu-

dents. That is, the creative process seldom has the same se-quence as the learning process. I have found the following to bea helpful pattern.

1. Download. Get your informationon paper. Let the ideas flow. Don’tworry about sequence, spelling,art or any other distraction. Letthe ideas flow. Jot ideas as theycome—in the bath, early morn-ing during a walk, etc.

2. Organize the information. Groupfacts under sensible headings. Putthe information in a logical se-quence. Adjust for the audience(Grades 1–3, 4–6, 7–8, HS.) It helpsto have pictures of students infront of you as you write. Adjustfor the educational objectivesstated in the curriculum.

3. Insert the educational applica-tions: science concepts, socialstudies activities, math problems,language arts activities, etc.

4. Develop student responses giv-ing careful attention to the levelof understanding of the audience.This consists of measuring thestudents’ response to the materi-

als and measuring the degree towhich the educational objectiveswere met.

5. Edit again for content and for-matting. Check spelling, context,flow of words and thoughts. Atthis point other people are veryvaluable. It is quite difficult, ifnot impossible, to edit your ownwork. Correct spelling and ty-pos.

6. Identify yourself. True learningcomes from relationship. Withpictures of students in front ofyou, share those things aboutyourself that you would want toknow about someone writing thistext for you.

7. Arrange the above information.A suggested sequence is:A. Personal information about

yourselfB. TextC. ActivitiesD. Student response (evaluation)


Mokakit to Host Native Education ResearchConference

by Ray Barnhardt

Mokakit is a Native-directed asso-ciation of educators and researchersconcerned with issues in Native edu-cation, first formed at the Universityof British Columbia in 1983 to fosterthe involvement of Native and FirstNations people in all aspects of educa-tion and research. An Alaska Chapterof Mokakit was formed in 1996 withOscar Kawagley serving as the chair.It will serve as the host for the 1997Mokakit Conference. This will be thefirst time the conference will be heldoutside of Canada and we’re expect-ing a lot of Canadian First Nationseducators to attend.

The purpose of the Mokakit Con-ference is to provide an opportunityfor people engaged in educational re-search impacting Native people tocome together and learn from eachother’s work, and to explore ways tostrengthen the links between educa-tion and the cultural well-being ofindigenous people.

The Mokakit Conference will beheld in conjunction with the annualAlaska Bilingual/Multicultural Edu-cation and Equity Conference(BMEEC) as co-hosts, with the last dayof Mokakit overlapping with theBMEEC. The first two days of theMokakit Conference will be organizedinto concurrent presentations andsymposia to provide an opportunityfor presenters to describe the workthey are doing and identify issues of

mutual concern. Anyone interestedin contributing to the conference as apresenter is encouraged to submit aproposal to the address listed below.Special consideration will be given toresearch issues associated with thedocumentation of indigenous knowl-edge systems and the implications ofindigenous knowledge, ways of know-ing and world views of the way we doeducation. Research issues and sym-posia topics may include, but are notlimited to the following:• Elders as the bearers of traditional

knowledge and culture• Camp environments for cultural

and spiritual learning• International Declaration of Indig-

enous People’s Education Rights• Incorporation of traditional knowl-

edge into educational practices• Indigenous and Western scientific

traditions• Designing culturally appropriate

curriculum• Indigenous leadership and re-

source development• Education for community and eco-

nomic development and Nativeself-determination

• Educational institutions as reposi-tories and transmitters of culture

• Revitalization of indigenous lan-guages

• Alternative approaches to stan-dards for accreditation and quali-fications

• Governance, funding and manage-ment of indigenous institutions

• Role of research in understandingcultural identity

• Support services for Native andFirst Nations students

• Indigenous teacher education pro-grams and initiatives

• Tribal colleges and indigenoushigher education institutions

• Culturally appropriate institu-tional environments and facilitiesIn addition to the research presen-

tations, various cultural events, dis-plays and field trips will be availableincluding an opportunity to visit Na-tive education programs in the An-chorage area. All interestedindividuals, programs and institutionsare invited to submit proposals forworkshops, panels or speakers on anyof the above topics, or others that maybe appropriate for the theme of theconference. Sessions may be one andone-half or three hours in length. Pro-posals should include the title, length,names of presenters and a brief de-scription of the topic. Workshop pro-posals should be submitted to the addressbelow by December 15, 1996.

InformationFor a registration packet and fur-

ther information, contact OscarKawagley or Ray Barnhardt:

Alaska Native Knowledge NetworkHarper BuildingUniversity of AlaskaP.O. Box 756730Fairbanks, AK 99775

Phone: 907-474-5403 or 474-6431Fax: 907-474-5451.E-mail: [email protected] [email protected].

The Alaska Chapter of Mokakit, a Native educational re-search association, will be hosting the 1997 Mokakit Confer-

ence in Anchorage, Alaska February 10–12, 1997, in conjunctionwith the annual Bilingual/Multicultural Education and EquityConference February 12–14. The theme for the conference will be“Native Pathways to Education.”


Science and Math Support Available from the SMCNWSby Stephanie Hoag

As the Alaska state coordinator forthe consortium, I am interested infinding ways to help the participantsin the Alaska Rural Systemic Initia-tive meet their goals. Last spring, wegave travel grants to help educatorsparticipate in many training activitiesfor rural, locally relevant science edu-cation. These included the Old MintoCamp, Project WILD, the 4-H Fisher-ies Project, and the Alaska PacificUniversity’s summer science programfor rural teachers.

We are working on creating a mail-ing list to contact math and scienceeducators directly about free and in-expensive classroom materials, train-ing opportunities, grants available andmany other resources. We’ll use e-mail as the primary means of dissemi-nating information, but would like toencourage anyone interested to signup—even if they don’t use e-mail yet!

To sign up for the mailing list, youmay contact me using the informationgiven below, or sign up via the World-Wide Web at http://www.col-ed.org.(Look for SMCNWS and “become apartner”.) In addition to signing up toreceive information, please contactme if you want to tell other educatorsabout great math and science resourcesyou have found.

Another project underway is aninventory of all of the “informal” sci-ence and math education providers inAlaska. This includes museums, youth

programs, government agencies, andother organizations that have scienceexhibits, hands-on kits to distribute,classroom materials, speakers and ex-perts to talk to classes, math- and

science-related activities for youngpeople and other types of programs.We’ll be distributing a directory laterthis year. Meanwhile, please feel freeto contact me for information aboutinformal science and math providers,or to tell me about any organizationsor programs I might have missed!

You may contact me by phone,fax, mail or e-mail as follows:

Stephanie HoagAlaska Coordinator, SMCNWS119 Seward #4Juneau, Alaska 99801Phone: 907-463-4829Fax: 907-463-3446E-mail: [email protected]

The Science and Math Consortium for Northwest Schools(SMCNWS) is an organization that has been funded to:

l. Identify, inventory and disseminate resources for scienceand math education.

2. Provide technical assistance and training in support ofstate and local initiatives (such as Alaska RSI!) for qualityscience and math content, curriculum improvement andteacher enhancement.

World Indigenous PeoplesConference: Education

by Moses L. Dirks

The World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education metthis year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 15–22, 1996.

The purpose of the conference was to involve indigenous peoplesin the development of their own institutions and programs aimedat meeting the unique educational needs of Native, First Nationsand Aboriginal peoples. Also, it was intended to provide anopportunity for people engaged in such educational initiatives tocome together and learn from each other’s experiences and toexplore ways to strengthen the links between education and thecultural well-being of indigenous peoples.

The theme of the conference was“The Answers Are Within Us.’’ It wasevident that answers could be foundfrom the elders and young people thatwere in attendance. The conferencewas one of the most exciting and edu-cational events that I have ever at-

tended. It provided a week-long pro-gram of workshops, cultural events,displays and some opportunities totake organized excursions to variousAmerican Indian settings in the area.

We also got to meet with variousindigenous groups worldwide.


Groups represented were Maoripeople from New Zealand, Aborigi-nes from Australia, Native Hawaiiansfrom Hawaii, American Indians and afairly large Alaskan group.

The workshops were very infor-mative and there was a sharing ofsimilar struggles we, as indigenouspeople, face as we live our lives in ourcommunities. I was also intrigued bythe fact that the problems faced by theother indigenous people were verysimilar and the frustrations that theyface are being addressed in much thesame ways. There is progress beingmade in leaps and bounds by theindigenous peoples of the world inthe areas of elementary, secondaryand postsecondary education. Therespective groups were presentingpositive things about indigenouspeoples getting more opportunities inschools. Indigenous ecological knowl-edge is not only being used more andmore by the indigenous people but itis being used to teach other indig-enous people also. Indigenous materi-als and historical texts are also beingimplemented in the curriculum.

Alaska was represented well. Par-ticipating in the cultural events thatWIPC:E sponsored were Tlingit,Aleut, Inupiat, Athabascan and Yup’ikpeople. We all had good fun and justbeing with all the people who werethere was exciting. Gifts were alsoshared by the people who attended.

The Alaska Rural Systemic Initia-tive had its own booth and made apresentation. Many thanks go to Dor-othy M. Larson, Ray Barnhardt, OscarKawagley, John Pingayak, BernieAlvanna-Stimple, Paul Mountain,Bernice Tetpon and Lolly Carpluk forhelping man the booth. At the boothwe provided information on theAlaska RSI program and sold quite afew of Oscar’s books.

Whenever you get a chance toattend a World Indigenous PeoplesConference on Education, I wouldhighly recommend it.

The (Coolangatta) Statement onIndigenous Rights in Education

by Paul Mountain

The purpose of this document is to begin the drafting ofan international instrument on indigenous peoples’

education rights.

The document was prepared by a task force who met in Coolangatta,New South Wales, Australia between September 24 and October 1, 1993.Their primary purpose at this meeting was to establish a document fordiscussion and refinement by all indigenous participants at the 1993 WorldIndigenous Peoples’ Conference: Education that was held in Wollongong,NSW, Australia the following December.

The task force which was established at that time believes that for allindigenous nations to be represented in an international instrument onindigenous peoples’ education rights, time must be spent on debating thenature, purpose and contents of such an instrument.

The statement lists several issues of indigenous peoples’ rights toeducation. A fundamental statement is, number one, that indigenouspeople have the right to be indigenous; that includes the freedom todetermine who is indigenous, what that means and how education relatesto indigenous cultures. Another statement is that land gives life to languageand culture. Feelings and thoughts of indigenous peoples toward the landforms the very basis of their cultural identity.

The conclusion for the statement at this time is:

We, the indigenous people of the world, assert ourinherent right to self-determination in all matters.Self-determination is about making informedchoices and decisions. It is about creating appro-priate structures for the transmission of culture,knowledge and wisdom for the benefit of each ofour respective cultures. Education for our commu-nities and each individual is central to the preser-vation of our cultures and for the development ofthe skills and expertise we need in order to be avital part of the twenty-first century.

Paul Mountain and Bernice Joseph hosted a discussion of Alaska Nativeconcerns for the international instrument during the Association of InteriorNative Educators’ Third Annual Conference on August 8 and 9, 1996 inFairbanks, Alaska. There will also be a discussion on this at the AlaskaNative Education Council Conference scheduled for October 14 and 15,1996 in Anchorage, Alaska. Input from these and subsequent presentationswill be presented to the general body of the World Indigenous Peoples’Conference: Education which will be held in Hawaii in 1999. It is our hopethat this will ensure that Alaska has adequate representation in the draftingof this important international instrument.

For further information contact Paul Mountain at (907) 279-2700 (w).


UA Establishes Rural Educators PreparationPartnership

At their June 1996 meeting the University of Alaska Board ofRegents authorized establishment of the Rural Educators

Preparation Center. UA President Jerome Komisar recommendedthis action following a year of work by the Rural EducatorsPreparation Partnership committee (REPP).

Komisar announced formation ofthe REPP committee at the Associa-tion of Interior Native Educators 1995conference, and asked the committeethree questions: how to improve ruralstudents’ access to UA’s teacher edu-cation programs, how to improve UA’sin-service assistance to rural districts,and how UA should respond to theAlaska Department of Education TaskForce on Certification as it consideredalternative means of certification. Healso asked for their ongoing oversightof UA’s implementation of their rec-ommendations, and the REPP meet-ings will continue next year. UAFChancellor Joan Wadlow chairs thegroup of five UA and nine publicrepresentatives, four of which areAlaska Natives and most of whomhave extensive experience with ruralAlaska education.

At monthly meetings betweenDecember, 1995 and the followingMay, the REPP soon identified therural school child as the “client” fortheir discussions. In reaching the ini-tial conclusions and recommendations,the REPP members used existing in-formation and collected new ideasfrom a broad range of people involvedin strengthening education. Reportson rural and Native education fromstate and national sources were exam-ined as were recent reports from ex-ternal evaluators and models ofeffective university-school partner-ships elsewhere in the country. Basedon these recommendations and on

their belief that children learn bestfrom teachers who reflect the stu-dents’ culture and values, REPP clari-fied that increasing the number ofoutstanding administrators and teach-ers who are Alaska Native in the state’sschools was their highest priorityoutcome.

REPP discussions returned manytimes to several major values criticalto student and teacher success. REPPmembers agreed that when incorpo-rated into education programs, thesevalues effectively promote relevanceto communities and student success:• program administration must be

modeled on partnering and sharedgovernance;

• communities are critical educa-tional resources and must be in-volved in curriculum developmentand instruction and through theschool boards, in-staff hiring;

• Alaska’s school curricula must in-clude Native languages and cul-ture;

• pre-service and new educators re-quire mentoring by outstanding,practicing professionals in manyvaried real-life field placements;

• instruction must incorporate di-verse learning styles as well ascurrent and future educationaltechnologies; and

• high academic quality must bemaintained to ensure teacher andstudent mastery of standards per-tinent to program goals.The REPP committee discussed

many other issues. Unlike the criticalvalues listed above however, they didnot particularly seek or achieve con-sensus on:• where or how programs should be

delivered, as it depends on thestudent and community situationand the program content;

• whether preparation for certifica-tion should be independent fromearning academic degrees; and

• how the University would drawon existing, system-wide resourcesto meet partnership commitments.Based on review of many letters,

documents, verbal presentations anddiscussions—both formal and infor-mal—with interested individuals andgroups outside the REPP members,and on extensive discussion and docu-ments drafts, the REPP recommendedthat UA establish a center for devel-opment of partnerships and innova-tive delivery of education programsincorporating REPP values. The cen-ter is associated with the UAF campusand the director reports to ChancellorWadlow. Recruitment for the centerdirector is in process. Success in thedirector’s position requires under-standing and commitment to REPP

Cecilia Martz offers public testimonybefore the Rural Educators PreparationPartnership Panel in AnchorageFebruary 9, 1996. Thelma Saunderslistens in the background.


Iditarod Area School DistrictUtilizes E-Mail

by Bob Kuhn

Five years ago when I started using our school district’selectronic mail (e-mail) system, I was not too taken with the

idea of this impersonal method of communicating. Somethingwould be lost without the face to face contact, or even the soundof a voice over the phone. But this is an old story, one I’m suremost of you have heard many times.

test by sending math problems to stu-dents throughout the district and re-ceives solutions via the same method.Students who have moved to anothervillage in the district can keep intouch with friends on a regular basis.The uses are limited only by the imagi-nation.

It must be noted that there aredrawbacks to a district e-mail system.First, is the expense. Our messages aretransferred over long-distance phonelines, so there are those costs. Wehave our system set up to send mes-sages at night to take advantage of thelower costs. Second, are the poorphone lines in rural Alaska. Due tolines and equipment that is antiquated,connections are sometimes lost. Thiscan be very frustrating. These are thetwo major negatives that we have hadto deal with.

Electronic mail has changed theway we do business in the IditarodArea School District. And it has beena change for the better. I can’t imaginegoing to work one day and not havingit. You might as well take away myblackboard. Setting this system up inyour district is not difficult. All ittakes is time, commitment, and some-one with the minor skill and energynecessary to set it up. I would behappy to assist in anyway I can.

Happy E-Mailing,

Bob KuhnIditarod Area School DistrictMcGrath, AK907-524-3232 ext. [email protected]

Somewhere in the past few years,I began to see beyond the argumentof, “where is the human factor incommunicating.” I have come to seethat rather than decreasing this hu-man factor, the use of e-mail in ourdistrict has brought our staff and stu-dents closer together. Being as largein area as our school district is, havingthe capability of communicating withpeers 200 miles away has allowed staffmembers and students to work to-gether as if they were in the samebuilding. Staff and students alike arebeginning to see that a district-widee-mail system can enhance not onlythe instruction in the classroom, it canalso help teachers in remote villagesfeel less isolated.

The Iditarod Area School Districthas been using the software packageQuickMail for about five years now.This is our choice but there are nu-merous others. We chose QuickMailfor a number of reasons, not least ofwhich is its very user friendly inter-face. Functions such as sending, re-

ceiving, and grouping e-mail mes-sages and documents from one personanywhere in our district to anyoneelse within our district can be donewith nothing more complicated thanthe click of a mouse. All teachers andoffice staff members have desktopaccess to QuickMail and we are in theprocess of giving this same access toour students.

Staff members use QuickMail toshare unit ideas, obtain informationfrom the district office, locate materi-als that have moved around the dis-trict and just to keep in touch. Thedistrict office uses QuickMail to com-municate with school office person-nel. This allows for the easy transferalof attendance reports, food reportsand all of the other bits of paperworkthat flow within a school district.

The most exciting use of a districte-mail system is the way it can be usedby students. One student uses it togather material from other studentsfor the district newsletter she pub-lishes. One teacher runs a math con-

Center values and effective function-ing in rural communities and in K–12and higher education systems, as wellas other attributes and skills.

For further information about theREPP committee or a list of the

members, please call Ann Secrest, of-fice coordinator for ChancellorWadlow at 474-7112, or April Crosby,assistant to President Komisar, at474-5922.

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

1996 Native SummitRural Student Services announces plans for another historic

summit of Alaska Natives at the University of AlaskaFairbanks

Summit Goal:To revisit the 1994 recommendations and develop a plan for implementation.

Reason:To gather statewide input that will result in positive changes by Alaska

Natives in postsecondary education.

Who will participate:ALL interested individuals including people associated with tribal adminis-

tration, postsecondary education, scholarship foundations, rural education,Alaska Native programs and alumni.

Recommendations from the 1994 RSS Native Summit• Mentorship program for Alaska Native students, staff and faculty• All students take one course on Alaska Native cultures as part of the core

curriculum• Mandatory interview process and orientation for educators upon hire• No cuts to College of Rural Alaska, rural campuses or distance delivery

programs• Incentives for faculty and programs to work effectively with Native students• Develop a dissertation support fund on Alaska Native or related issues• Institute an Alaska Native experts guide of both traditional and contempo-

rary citations• Establish UAF as a statewide center for Alaska Native research and studies• Utilize small residence halls as transitional houses for students who desire a

Native environment and support• Accountability of programs for secondary schools preparing students to be

more academically prepared for college level courses

Telephone(907) 474-7871 FAX: (907) 474-6619 E-mail: [email protected]

UAF Native SummitNov. 14–15, 1996

R ural students

I nitiating

S uccess in

E ducation

“A plan for the21st century”

Dr. Shirley Holloway, Com-missioner of Education for theState of Alaska, has agreed toattend and participate in the Na-tive Summit. She will lead a dis-cussion on “Accountability forPublic Education.” This discus-sion is based on recommenda-tions that were a result of the1994 Native Summit at UAF.

Rural Student Services is inthe preliminary planning stagesof the event. The agenda willinclude audioconferencing to thefive rural campuses as well asother rural communities. It ishoped that the rural voice willbecome a major focus of thisevent.

Two UAF departments haveagreed to focus course workaround the event. Alaska NativeStudies and Rural Developmentwill take an active role in theplanning and follow-up of theNative Summit.

Any questions or requests forinformation can be directed toJoAnn Ducharme, Director ofRural Student Services, UAF,(907) 474-7871.

Welcome back teachersand students—Best wishesfor a successful 1996–97

school year!

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

10th AnnualANEC StatewideConferenceThe Tenth Annual Alaska

Native Education Coun-cil (ANEC) Statewide Confer-ence will be held at the EganConvention Center on October14 and 15, 1996.

The conference theme is “Commu-nity Involvement Equals Quality Edu-cation.” Conference participants mayuse AFN Convention special rates fortravel and accommodations. Most par-ticipants attend the Alaska Federa-tion of Natives Convention thatfollows this education conference.ANEC conference activities includereview of AFN resolutions that per-tain to education of Alaska Natives,forums to hear and voice educationalissues with Alaska Department of Edu-cation, Board of Education, Commis-sioner of Education, Alaska RuralSystemic Initiative and school super-intendents. Other activities includeelection of ANEC executive boardmembers, presentation of awards forNative educators, elders, parents, stu-dents and education programs. Formore information about this educa-tion conference, contact Charles T.Kashatok at (907) 543-4853 or LuannePelagio at (907) 272-3399.

AISES CornerAmerican Indian Science and Engineering Society

School is starting for 1996–97 and AISES secondaryand elementary chapters will be starting in the schools

of North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic, Bering Straitsand Nome Public Schools. School districts in InteriorAlaska will begin planning the introduction of new AISESchapters. Students will plan Village Science Applicationprojects to enter in district and regional science fairs.

AISES in Alaska has a busycalendar:

The AISES Chapter Liaisonteachers will meet in Kotzebue,September 6–8, 1996. The teach-ers will represent the North SlopeBorough, Northwest Arctic,Bering Straits and Nome PublicSchools school districts. They willmeet with two Alaska Rural Sys-temic Initiative (Alaska RSI) di-rectors, the Alaska RSI/AISEScoordinator, the Inupiaq regionalcoordinator and three Village Sci-ence Application coordinators.AISES Chapter activities, VillageScience Application projects andscience fair criteria at state andnational levels will be topics fordiscussion. Plans for the ArcticRegional Science Fair will be fi-nalized.

Alaska RSI is sponsoring anArctic Regional Science Fair some-time during the end of Novemberor the beginning of December1996. Students (K–12) in NorthSlope Borough, Northwest Arc-tic, Bering Straits and Nome Pub-lic Schools will be invited to enterand participate in all activities.

The best projects from the fairwill be entered in the AISES Na-tional Fair in Albuquerque, NewMexico April 3–5, 1997.

UAF/AISES students are pre-paring to raise funds for travelmoney to attend the AISES Na-tional Conference in Salt Lake City,Utah, November 14–17, 1996.Some Alaska RSI staff and villageteachers are planning to attendthe AISES National Conference,also.

AISES Region I includes AISEScollege and university chaptersin Montana, Idaho, Washington,Wyoming, Oregon, Canada andAlaska. The UAF Chapter of AISESis planning to host the Region Iconference on the UAF Campus inconjunction with the Festival ofNative Arts, March 6–8, 1997.

If you need more informationor would like to be included inany of the events listed above,contact Claudette Bradley-Kawagley, Associate Professor,University of Alaska Fairbanks,P.O. Box 756720, Fairbanks,Alaska 99775.


Inupiaq Regional Reportby Elmer Jackson

to-day chores such as packing water,gathering wood and keeping the camparea clean.

Moose hunting season is now openand the caribou are returning to theKobuk area, so we went boating andhunting for game. The campers alsohad fun activities and were able tocarve, draw and paint in their freetime.

The Kiana Traditional Council andthe Kiana Elders Council thank thevolunteers and workers for makingthe Inupiat Illitqusrait Summer Campa success. Hopefully, we will haveteachers, scientists and Alaska RSIpeople in future camping sessions.Hint, hint . . . .

The Kiana Elders Council is sponsoring the 1996 InupiatIllitqusrait Summer Camp for the youth in Kiana. Youth,

ages eight through ten, held their camp session July 29–31 andAugust 1; a total of nineteen students attended the first campsession. Youth, ages eleven through thirteen, held their campsession on August 5–8; a total of sixteen students attended thissession. A camp session was held on August 12–15 for agesfourteen on up. A cook, a fishing person and an assistant werehired. We have had nine people—mostly young—volunteertheir time to help out during the camp sessions.

Yup’ik/Cup’ik Regional Reportby Barbara Liu

The Yup’ik/Cup’ik regional report will focus on the memo-randum of agreement (MOA) activities that have been started

in area schools through the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative.Between January and May 1996, MOAs were negotiated withKuskokwim Campus, Bristol Bay Campus (BBC), Lake and Penin-sula School District and Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD).The allotted funds support these educational agencies’ efforts tocollaborate with our initiative, Yup’ik/Cup’ik Ways of Knowing.

Four Native professionals areimplementing activities in their areasthat are directly or indirectly relatedto the Alaska RSI. Cecilia Martz, aCup’ik associate professor atKuskokwim campus, is interviewingelders and plans to go statewide withan audioconference course called“Yup’ik/Cup’ik Practices in Philoso-phy and Religion” (ANS 275, fall se-

mester). This class fulfills themulticultural requirement for newteachers. Another class ProfessorMartz will offer is on “Alaska NativeLanguage and Culture” (ANS 320,spring semester) using television andaudio conference to present thiscourse. Students can enroll wherethere are transponders for Live Netsuch as LKSD, LYSD, Yupiit and Bristol

Bay. She is also doing cross-culturalcommunication workshops andinservices throughout the school year.

Esther Ilutsik, of Bristol Bay Cam-pus/Ciulistet Research Group Curricu-lum Project oversees the agreementwith BBC and plans to host a fallmeeting to demonstrate the process ofcollecting indigenous knowledge fromelders. The Ciulistet Research Grouphas developed a method of collectingindigenous knowledge that has beenvery effective. The group is composedof elders, teachers and university pro-fessionals, sometimes including stu-dents within each of the village sitesthey work with. The group meets twotimes during the school year consult-ing with elders on specific topics,including evaluation, integration andmethod. The Ciulistet Research Groupshared this process of collecting in-digenous knowledge in conjunctionwith the LKSD 5th Annual BilingualEducation conference titled “Yup’ikWorld View II” from March 6–8, 1996

Camp activities included prepar-ing and setting a net for salmon, build-ing fish racks and cutting and hangingfish to dry. Other activities included

survival skills, gun safety, target prac-tice, hiking, storytelling, games, berrypicking and prevention activities. Thestudents were also involved in day-


Southeast Regional Reportby Andy Hope

The Southeast Native Educators met in Juneau on June 5,1996 and elected interim officers. Jackie Kookesh of Angoon

and Isabella Brady of Sitka were elected co-chairs. Other officersinclude Aaron St. Clair, Rhonda Hickok, Toni Mallott, RuthDemmert, Mary Jean Duncan and Phyllis Carlson. The nextmeeting of the Southeast Native Educators will take place in Sitkaon October 4, 1996.

in Bethel. Their afternoon presenta-tion provided a mini-version of theirusual three-day, two-night intensivemeeting. The Ciulistet Research Grouppresenters were elders HenryAlakayak, Sr. and Anuska Nanalookof Manuquutaq, Lena Ilutsik andAdam Caiggluk of Alaqnaqiq, MaryK. Active of Tuyuryaq, two certifiedteachers Sassa Peterson and Ina Whiteboth of Dillingham City Schools, bi-lingual specialist Evelyn Yanez ofSouthwest City Schools, teachertrainer Esther Ilutsik of Bristol BayCampus/Ciulistet Research GroupCurriculum Project and Dr. JerryLipka, Associate Professor with Uni-versity of Alaska. The fall meeting, inconjunction with their MOA, will beheld in Dillingham. The focus will beon training and sharing different kindsof teaching methodology with certi-fied Native teachers. The Ciulistet teamwill look at a plan for integratingdifferent units they’ve developedwithin the past five years into theclassroom.

Frank Hill, first and only Nativesuperintendent of our vast region,will oversee the MOA for Lake andPeninsula School District with assis-tance from Greg Anelon. This districtserves fifteen schools and the threeAlaska Native cultural groups—Yup’ik, Athabascan and Aleut—thatborder within their geographic loca-tion. Superintendent Hill designatedGreg Anelon, a certified Nativeteacher, to assist in documentingYupiaq Ways of Knowing as well asidentifying other certified teacherswho can do the job. He is especiallyinterested in the Ciulistet process af-ter a year and a half of developinglong range plans for the district inwhich there is an emphasis on incor-porating a strong cultural strand intotheir curriculum. The MOA will en-hance their mission and althoughsomewhat behind in getting startedthey are committed to being involved.

Charles Kashatok with Lower

Kuskokwim School District adminis-tered part of the memorandum ofagreement funds involving theCiulistet Research Group CurriculumProject at LKSD’s 5th Annual NativeEducators Bilingual conference, whichhe also coordinates. Charles faxed in-vitations to other district schools withYup’ik/Cup’ik bilingual staff to at-tend the conference offering to reim-burse travel, lodging and registrationcost. Representatives of school per-sonnel from Bering Straits, LYSD,Yupiit and Iditarod participated, alongwith a troop from LKSD. The present-ing team of elders and teachers fromthe Bristol Bay area conducted theirfive-hour workshop in Yup’ik.

“Yup’ik Ways of Knowing” is ourregion’s initiative this year so con-gratulations to all our four leaders incarrying out this challenging respon-

sibility. Quyana!In closing, I have the privilege to

answer to a teasing cousin who hap-pens to be one of the leaders whoknows what I’m going to say nextbecause I talk so slow in Yup’ik. Well,part of my ancestors are “Cup’ik”from Qissunamiullret (old village nearChevak) and “Yup’ik” fromKayalivigmiullret (old village nearNewtok) and Qinarmiullret (old vil-lage near Tuntutuliak). Tua-llu, Cup’ikand Yup’ik are modern terms for theoriginal people and language of theYukon, Kuskokwim and NushagakDelta with a few coastal villages(Hooper Bay, Chevak and Mekoryuk)speaking the Cup’ik dialect and allothers are Yup’ik dialect.

Tua-i-ngunrituq!Barbara Liu

The State Department of Educa-tion and the Alaska Science Consor-tium (ASC) sponsored a three-dayworkshop in late June to update theTlingit Chapter for the ASC “NativeUses of the Seas and Rivers” hand-book. The goal of the workshop wasto draft a science unit based on Tlingitknowledge, addressing science stan-dards (state and national) and usingappropriate teaching and assessmentstrategies. Teachers from Sitka,

Angoon and Kake participated. Therevised chapter will be presentedduring a Native Science Curriculumworkshop scheduled for October 2–3,1996 in Sitka. Other workshop pre-sentations will include a draft ofTlingit Math and Calendar Curricu-lum Guides. The workshop will beopen to all teachers. Teachers fromthe Southeast MOA schools (Chathamand Sitka) are especially urged toattend.


Conservation Act (ANILCA).June 15–22 I attended the World

Indigenous Peoples Conference: Edu-cation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.The Alaska RSI staff gave a presenta-tion on the Alaska Rural SystemicInitiative. I attended various work-shops provided at the conference.

July was an exceptionally busymonth for me. It started off with con-tacting Aleut village entities in theAleut Region to schedule and sponsorelders for the 2nd Annual Elders Con-ference to be held this year at Unalaskain conjunction with the Celebrationand Rededication of the Holy Ascen-sion Orthodox Cathedral. The pro-posed meeting dates are September12–17. Elders from the Aleutian and

Pribilof Islands are expected to attendthis event. During the meetings, el-ders will have the opportunity to voicetheir concerns about regional, socialor educational issues. The first annualmeeting of the regional elders underthe Alaska RSI will be conducted dur-ing this time.

Also, during July, I started look-ing for a sea mammal science kit thatI started some time ago when I wasstill at Alaska Pacific University (APU).Apparently it was being used by theAlaska Science Center at APU. The seamammal science kit was designed inhopes of integrating local knowledgetogether with Western science. Thescience center coordinator at APUmentioned to me that since they willbe closing the center, if I wished tohave the kit to work with, I could dothat. This kit is not complete, so I willbe periodically working on it to incor-porate additional ideas. If anyonewould like to assist in the develop-ment of the kit on integrating indig-enous science knowledge, pleasecontact me at any time.

Lastly, I would be more than happyto hear from any of you if you haveany questions or concerns surround-ing the Aleut region, Alaska RSIproject. My telephone number is (907)274-3611 or fax (907) 276-7989 from8–4:40 p.m.

Aleut Regional Reportby Moses L. Dirks

This summer has been exceptionally busy for me. Whatmakes it difficult is to know that fishing is going on and I get

to work in an office setting. The Aleut Region is a large, diverseregion with three culturally and traditionally different groups:the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands, Kodiak Islands and Chugach re-gions. As most of us know, the customs, languages, geographyand traditions are a little different, though the Aleutian Islanderscould converse with the Kodiak Islanders.

The activities that I was involvedon within the last two months weretime consuming, but interesting. TheAlaska Department of Fish and Game,with facilitators Colleen Matt andRobin Dublin, conducted an AlaskaProject WILD Rural Facilitators Train-ing on May 30–June 2. Elmer Jack-son, Inupiaq Regional Coordinatorand Amy Van Hatten, AthabascanRegional Coordinator and I were in-vited to attend this training of facili-tators for teachers in rural schools.We were invited as cultural advisors,and were asked to provide informa-tion about our regions. Valuable in-put was provided in the training,especially by the respective regionalcoordinators. The facilitators’ mainobjective for this training was to de-sign Alaska Project WILD workshopformats to suit the unique conditionsof Alaska cultures and village schools.The other objective included tech-niques for integrating local traditionalknowledge with the teaching ofWestern wildlife biology concepts.We were also fortunate to have oneelder, Mark Jacobs, Jr. from South-east Alaska, attending the workshop.He provided valuable information onSoutheast Alaska. Mr. Jacobs was notonly well versed in the history ofAlaska Natives, he also proved to beknowledgeable in the area of Nativesubsistence and the implementationof the Alaska National Interest Lands

For more information contact Jack Kruse, Conference chair or MaryKillorin, Conference coordinator:

phone: (907) 786-7724fax: (907) 786-7739e-mail: [email protected]://www.uaa.alaska.edu/iser/aaas.htm

Inst. of Social and Economic ResearchUniversity of Alaska Anchorage3211 Providence DriveAnchorage, Alaska 99508

46th Annual Arctic Science ConferenceAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, Arctic Division

“Shaping an Unpredictable Future: Science and Communities”

September 19–21, 1996 • Westin Alyeska Prince Hotel • Girdwood, Alaska


Athabascan Regional Reportby Amy Van Hatten

In May, I was invited to attend the “Project WILD” educationalprogram planning workshop at Hatcher Pass with teachers

from rural Alaska. I reminded the coordinator and participantsthat I had only my personal experience to go on, and could notspeak on behalf of other Athabascan people. Two other regionswere represented by Elmer Jackson, the Inupiaq regional coordi-nator and Moses Dirks, the Aleut regional coordinator. I considerit a common courtesy for any organization or individual to makedirect contact with appropriate Native groups when it comes todocumenting Native traditions, life styles and ways of teaching,as the Department of Fish and Game did for these workshops.

This summer I attended theDenakkanaaga Elders conference, theCross-Cultural Teacher OrientationProgram and the Academy of Elders(the latter two were held at Old Minto.)All of these events were motivationalfor me as far as my duties as a regionalcoordinator responsible for data col-lection, ideas for developing a rosterof traditional ways of knowing anddocumenting self-regulating processeson which indigenous people have re-lied on for many generations. Eldersshare their way of life with prestige,depth and resonance. They speak withcourtesy and respect to the land, ani-mals and of objects which make upthe respected areas they still live in.Some of their insights are from memoryand some from still being able to en-joy the richness of staying in a fishcamp.

Many speak with reverence of theeveryday activities in their local envi-ronment during different seasons,with hopes of passing on that indig-enous knowledge to the younger gen-eration and their educators. At thesame time mentioning that they arenot trying to impose their will overnon-indigenous people, but they seeand understand why our Native chil-

dren are confused about their ownidentity, interest in school, sense ofbelonging, sense of community orother relationships to their homelands.

During the two camps, it was withmuch satisfaction on my part to watchnumerous rural Native teachers, el-ders, university staff, school adminis-trators, guests from foreign countriesand other consortium members lightup with excitement as they demon-strated their new skills in makingsomething with their own hands.Many of the Native educators couldn’twait to return to their village to teachwhat they had learned.

At the camp site many skills wereaccomplished and learned through thegathering of birch bark, spruce roots,willow and willow bark, medicinalplants, cutting and smoking fish,learning Native songs, dancing, Na-tive spirituality, respect for the landand all that it offers to us in order tosurvive, storytelling, how to use asweat lodge for healing, how to regainphysical stamina during long tripsand what foods to take for a lastingenergy level, how to read and predictthe weather, the many uses of birchtrees ( last count was up to thirty-twoitems), how to camp in the wilder-

ness, how to conserve heat in the tentby using spruce branches on the floor,how to make a “cache”, safe ways tostore food, discovering new methodsof teaching math while knitting geo-metric designs or flower patterns onyarn socks, how to utilize the entiremoose, how to make varied sizes ofbirch bark baskets and how to make afish net shuttle along with anotherinstrumental piece to making a realfishnet and using manufactured twineor hand woven willow bark spun intotwine for the net.

The list is endless. It’s like whenyou’ve gone through a growth pro-cess and can’t wait to share all youhave experienced first hand. Throughthe teacher’s and students’ elation, itbecame mine too, and it was like I wasdiscovering these Native ways ofknowing for the first time while somewere learning it all over again, butwith a feeling of doing it better thenext time.

Together as indigenous people andeducators who learned the westernways of learning and doing things,our hopes are to develop our owneducational aids and integrate thewestern ways of learning with Nativeways while letting the Native waysbe. Many others speak of indigenousactivities in the past tense instead ofthe present tense. Personally I relatethat perception to their not havingany personal experience of immers-ing themselves in the natural envi-ronment. As the old saying goes, “It’snever too late to learn.”

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

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Fairbanks AKPermit No. 2

Alaska RSI ContactsAmy Van HattenAthabascan Regional CoordinatorUniversity of Alaska FairbanksAlaska RSI/ANKNPO Box 756730Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730(907) 474-5086e-mail: [email protected]

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

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

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

Barbara LiuYup’ik Regional CoordinatorBox 2262Bethel, Alaska 99559(907) 543-3457e-mail: [email protected]

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