Orientation

I am lucky to be working for a district that provided a week long orientation for all new teachers in June. The district flew us all up to Akiachak--the largest village in the district where the district office is located--where we were not only able to see where we will be living and teaching, but also be taught a multicultural studies class that is required to renew an Alaska teaching license. 

Orientation was exciting, overwhelming and invaluable to my ability to prepare for living in the village. There were 11 new teachers to the district who took part in orientation, 4 of us will be teaching in Tuluksak. When the 4 of us arrived in Tuluksak we met our village mentors, elders Ruth and Mo. Ruth and Mo are extremely kind and knowledgeable people who have lived in the village all their lives and raised many children there. They gave us a tour of the village that included the post office, clinic, bingo hall and jail. Ruth told me about the different subsistence seasons that occur in the village and how it might affect the students who are in my class (i.e. in the fall the boys leave on a moose hunt, in the spring the girls are out gathering eggs.) 

At orientation we learned about the challenges of making Westernized education applicable to the lives of the people in the village. A comment I heard that will immensely impact my teaching methods was that my high school students have seen their family members maybe or maybe not graduate high school and it maybe or maybe not made their lives better. There are very few jobs in the village, which is difficult because it means young people who want to pursue an occupation often need to leave the village in order to do so. It also means that some who stay in the village become involved in substance abuse because they feel there is not much for them here. This is very distressing to their families and the elders because it equates success with leaving the village. There is hope in recent years that education will be able to become more culturally relevant, that the barriers created by No Child Left Behind will be combated by Native sovereignty, and that opportunities for young people in the village will grow. I'm excited to be a part of this slow but steady transition.

About the School

The Tuluksak School is a K-12 school of about 100 students. The Tuluksak School is a part of the Yupiit School District along with the Akiak and Akiachak Schools. The three schools are all located on the Kuskokwim River about 10-15 miles apart from each other. Tuluksak is the furthest upstream from the town of Bethel. 

The Tuluksak School

The Yupiit School District was established in 1985 and replaced the BIA and boarding schools that had previously operated in the area. The boarding schools required students leave their families and villages and attend school many miles away.  It has been challenge for the district to establish trusting relationships with the villagers and to find a way for non-Yupik teachers to teach Yupik students relevantly and effectively. 

About the Area

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is one of the largest river deltas in the world--larger than the Mississippi- and is roughly the size of the state of Louisiana. The delta has approximately 25,000 residents; 85% are Alaskan Native Yupik and Athabaskan peoples. Much of the region is tundra, although areas near the rivers are forested. The area is protected under the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge and is home to moose, brown bears, wolves, wolverines, and many more critters. 

Residents of the region live in the town of Bethel or one of 49 villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. Many live traditional subsistence lifestyles of hunting, fishing and gathering.There are virtually no roads in the region and travel is done by bush plane, four wheeler, skiff (boat) or snow-go (snowmobile). The town of Bethel (below) has a population of about 6000 and is the transportation hub for all the villages on the delta.

Bethel, AK (taken on my first ride in a bush plane!)

 Tuluksak, Alaska is a native village located at the confluence of the Tuluksak and Kuskokwim Rivers. The village is home to ~400 people, almost entirely Yupik. The Tuluksak School functions as a community center for the village. The village also has a Post Office, clinic, native store and bingo hall. 

The (bustling) Tuluksak Airport

Tuluksak Post Office

Tuluksak from above

Tuluksak and Kuskokwim Rivers

***Some stats taken from Wikipedia :)***