Over a 6-year period, a sociolinguistic and sociocultural project was undertaken by Alaska Native expert educators and linguists (aka the Yup'ik Expert Group) from the Yup'ik community in the Lower Kuskokwim School District, Central Alaska. The native experts developed their own culturally sustainable, valid, and reliable Kindergarten through…

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…

During the fall of 1947, the first building for the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL) was constructed, which consisted of a quonset hut retrofitted as a laboratory. Scientists arrived in Barrow (Utqiagvik), Alaska, the northernmost village in the United States, not long after. The remainder of NARL was built two miles outside the village…

This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, was able to identify an approach to teaching rational numbers through measuring from the everyday practices of Yup'ik Eskimo and other elders. "The beginning of everything," as named by a Yup'ik elder, provided deep insights into how practical…

What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Without formal tools, the Yup'ik Eskimos of Alaska used their body as a measuring device and employed ratios extensively in their daily practices. "Math in a Cultural Context" is developing curriculum materials based on Yup'ik Elders use of…

This article shows how Yup'ik cosmology, epistemology, and everyday practice have implications for the teaching of school mathematics. Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) has a long-term collaborative relationship with Yup'ik elders and experienced Yup'ik teachers. Because of this long-term ethnographically-oriented relationship, the authors--both…

Although several academic associations in the United States devote at least some part of their annual conferences to research on American Indians, many scholars of indigenous populations have long felt they lacked an intellectual home, a place where they could gather with large numbers of people who share their interests. A fledgling organization,…

How can indigenous evaluators implement culturally competent models in First Nations communities while ensuring that government grant evaluation requirements are met? Through describing the challenges in one tribal community in the United States, this article will discuss how American Indian/Alaska Native substance abuse prevention programs are…

This article reports how students at Seattle's public Alternative School #1 carved a long lasting connection with the native Haida people of Alaska. These students created a 40-foot canoe with the guidance of Robert Peele, an artist and a descendant of Haida royalty, whose ancestors once carved a 63-foot canoe now on display at the American Museum…

The Alaska Federation of Natives, in cooperation with the University of Alaska, received funding to implement the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI). Over a 5-year period (1995-2000), AKRSI initiatives are systematically documenting the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska Native people and developing educational policies and practices…

The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) was established in 1994 under the auspices of the Alaska Native/Rural Education Consortium, representing over 50 organizations impacting education in rural Alaska. AKRSI's institutional homebase and support structure are provided by the Alaska Federation of Natives in cooperation with the University of…

In this article, the author talks about the decline of fluent Alaskan Haida speakers. She features her mother's story as an example of why the Haida language is "on the brink." English language fluency as a tool for Indigenous survival is common to Native peoples, as is the desire to see languages flourish again. Alaskan Haidas…

To examine the role of arctic science in U.S. primary and secondary education, 58 teachers, researchers, and curriculum specialists met in a workshop in April 1997 in New Orleans. The workshop sought to provide a forum for development of K-12 educational materials investigating the Arctic and to bring current research activities into K-12…

This book demonstrates that an indigenous teachers' group has the potential to transform the culture of schooling. Personal narratives by Yup'ik Eskimo teachers speak directly to issues of equity and school transformation. Their struggles represent the beginning of a slow process by a group of Yup'ik teachers (Ciulistet) and university colleagues…