Each August, Sugpiaq Elders, community members, and educators gather in Cape Alitak to host Akhiok Kids Camp, a week-long culture camp that provides a space for local Sugpiaq youth to learn and carry forward traditional lifeways and promotes youth's self-esteem, identity, and healthy choices. This article traces the legacy of the camp and outlines…

The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) has a long-standing commitment to protecting the cultural and linguistic traditions of Native American students. Towards strengthening these outcomes, they are initiating the development of the National Native Cultural Standards for Education project. To provide background support for future phases…

For a long time it was felt that the Tanana Native high school student needed a course of study in "cross-cultural" education emphasizing the Athabascan culture. Therefore, a course of study was developed to aid teachers of Athabascan high school students. The course was primarily to: (1) develop an awareness and appreciation of the…

This paper describes storyknifing activities practiced by a small group of young girls in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the Kuskokwim River in Alaska. Storyknifing is a form of play in which girls tell stories to one another, while making drawings and designs in mud or snow. The girls will sit in a circle for hours at a time, taking turns telling…

There are virtually no social studies materials on Alaska Native cultures available throughout the state which are prepared in a suitable form for elementary level students. Federally funded programs emphasizing Native culture fall into 2 general categories: (1) arts and crafts programs and (2) high school culture-history courses. However, a…

Very few studies have specifically addressed the formation of self-concept in the Alaska Native, or how the relationship between culture and education ultimately impacts its development. Most often, this phenomenon is mentioned in passing and is contained within the context of a larger study (e.g., an ethnography). While the discussion of the…

This guide represents a synthesis of input from many sources, both Alaskan and national. The critical components of a social studies education (knowledge, democratic beliefs and values, and skills) are incorporated throughout the guide which also features the concepts of justice, equality, responsibility, rule of law, freedom, diversity, privacy,…

During the 1969-70 school year, a follow-up program was conducted for participants of the summer 1969 institute on Teaching Alaskan Native Youth. On-site seminars and individual conferences were conducted with 20 teachers and aides (serving in 16 rural Alaskan communities in which the predominant first language is Yupik, Inupik, or Athabascan) to…

The Alaska Educational Program for Intercultural Communication (AEPIC) brought together teachers to share their practical methods of incorporating community-oriented, multicultural components into their daily teaching schedule. Designed as regional in nature to allow for a sharper focus on the area's Athabascan culture, the workshop was attended…

During the past 8 to 10 years education at Sheldon Jackson College (SJC) has shifted to a theme of culture and careers. This paper describes current SJC programs, as well as some that are being considered. The Culture and Native Study Programs, funded in 1968, began with the teaching of the Tlingit Language. As a result, the First Tlingit Language…

The Cup'ik people are a group of Yup'ik Eskimos who live in southwest Alaska. This curriculum aims to enhance Cup'ik students' interest in their own culture by making that culture a part of their daily activities; to teach students to practice the traditional Cup'ik respect for elders, fellow students, and others in the community; and to teach…

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) promotes systemic educational reform based in the culture and philosophy of the Alaska Native world view. AKRSI's first 5-year funding cycle ended in August 2000, and AKRSI was funded for a second 5 years beginning in November 2000. AKRSI activities are…

As interest in Alaska studies increases, a number of Alaska school districts have begun to develop materials specific to the cultures of their students. Designed specifically for Alaska districts, this curriculum development guide addresses the content and format of multicultural curriculum and the process of incorporation into a district's…

The author compares and contrasts student, parent, and teacher attitudes toward schooling, community loyalty, ethnic identity, vision of the future and ideal individual and school roles in Nulato, a village in Alaska's Yukon-Koyukuk School District. (BS)

Guidelines are presented that address issues in the documentation, representation, and utilization of Alaska Natives' traditional cultural knowledge. This guidance is intended to encourage the incorporation of indigenous knowledge and teaching practices in schools by minimizing the potential for misuse and misunderstanding. The guidelines provide…