When I say "I shouldn't be here" I don't mean myself personally. I mean that I believe the structure of schooling like the one I am a product of has no place in the indigenous cultures of rural Alaska. The children here need a place where they can learn skills that are applicable to life in the village, general life skills and cultural knowledge that they can teach to future generations.
The "curriculum" mandated by the district and state is both inaccessible and irrelevant to my students. I say "curriculum" with quotes because my curriculum consists of shelves of textbooks written 5 or 6 grade levels above where my students are at as readers, and vague Alaska History/Government standards.
When I was in high school my peers and I loved to make the arguments "when are we ever going to use calculus?" or "when are we ever going to use world history?" These questions are valid for students here who are likely going to remain in the village for most of their lives. Skills like carpentry, small engine repair, welding, cooking, family science and sewing would be extremely applicable and beneficial for them. Unfortunately there are currently no shop or home economics teachers at my school because "white is right" education says that core academic content is more important.
There are students that may go out and get some kind of post-secondary schooling or have jobs outside the village, but they are not the majority. Preparing students for those kinds of futures is also equating "success" with leaving the village which is a dangerous idea to encourage as it has already resulted in loss of Yupik culture and could, I fear, result in the extinction of the village in just a few generations.
I am currently reading a book called "Conflicting Landscapes: American Schooling/Alaska Natives" which was written to try to document some of what I've described, but the authors are able to do it more eloquently, so I'd like to share an excerpt here. This is what one author realized on Kodiak Island in the 1970s:
"What I was about to witness, however, was the forced secularization of Alaskan Native society. At first I understood this only as a local tension between the purveyors of secular modernism and the local traditional people. But gradually I came to see this struggle as global, a planetary process in which the ancient, spiritual worldview would be suppressed and overwhelmed by a global, literate and highly sophisticated technological society. The instrument by which the latter imposed itself on the former would be the public school. The destruction of the old by the new would be done in the name of "Education."
Having recognized this, I try to facilitate some damage control in my classroom. I try to give my students opportunities to teach me about the area and I do my best to localize content I am mandated to teach. In Sociology we look at subsistence practices of other indigenous groups around the world. In Government we look at where hunting regulations come from and have talked a lot about the meaning of the word "sovereignty." There is a limit to my ability to make my classes relevant though because I am an outsider. Unfortunately, many of my students are unaware of vital parts of their own histories because many of their parents were in the "boarding school generation" where they were taught that their culture and language were wrong and schools tried to systematically eliminate culture. There are only a few elders left in the village who possess some of these stories and skills and when they are gone so is that part of the culture.
All that being said, I have recognized that I am a part of a very detrimental cultural interface, but I am still really enjoying my time with my students. They continue to impress me with their natural knowledge, and their brave and caring spirits. It's grouse season now and I had one student come up to me today on her four wheeler with her siblings to proudly show me the grouse she had shot :)
Village Life II
We've had water pretty consistently the last few weeks which has been really nice. I'm still adjusting to the pace and expectations of the village, but I enjoy it.
Mail/Transportation
Yesterday I went to the Post Office, but it was closed. Not because it was outside of their operating hours, just because whoever was working got bored and decided to close early. You have to plan ahead for everything in the village, but at the same time you can't really count on anything :) As the weather changes, the reliability of different services will become even more spotty. Last Monday, the teachers were supposed to fly to Akiachak for a district-wide inservice, but planes were grounded due to weather, so instead we had an inservice via video conference. When I order things from Amazon, sometimes they arrive quickly, and sometimes they are held in Bethel until there is enough stuff for the hovercraft (yes, HOVERCRAFT) to make a trip upriver. The idea that a hovercraft delivers mail to a village that mostly doesn't have running water is a dichotomy that still astounds me.
The Permanent Fund
Many people here rely on different kinds of government assistance to take care of their families. One source of income unique to Alaska that is outside of the "government assistance" category is the Alaska Permanent Fund. This is a big chunk of money that was invested after oil was discovered on the North Slope. The fund is managed by a special corporation that is regulated by Alaska's state constitution. Every year, every Alaskan (who has been a resident of the state for at least 2 years) receives a sizable check from the fund. The amount of this dividend varies from year to year. The amount of this year's dividend will be announced by Governor Walker tomorrow but is speculated to be over $2,000. For large families, this can equate to a very sizable amount of money. One teacher at my school said that when the dividends come, "all hell breaks loose."
Alcohol (again)
Bootleggers anticipate the dividends coming to the village and prepare appropriately. Bootleggers get booze in Bethel and then bring it up river, usually by boat. "Rich and Rare" is the drink of choice in the village. A small bottle that might cost $10-$15 in the lower 48 can be bootlegged for upwards of $100 in the village where alcohol is illegal. The effects of alcoholism can be heard at night in the village, and seen the next day at school on the faces of kids that didn't have a place to sleep the night before because their parents were drinking. Unfortunately, some of my high schoolers not only partake in drinking but have been exposed to the profitability of bootlegging.
Seasons
With Alaska being on the frontline of climate change, its hard to compare climates between here and home, but I'd say Tuluksak is about a month ahead of Brimson. Trees are losing their leaves and mornings are frosty. Here are more photos of my walks around the village:
This is the area right behind the school. Left: leaning basketball hoop, center: upright jungle gym, right: toppled jungle gym that was pushed over by someone, or a group of someones, over the summer
The fallen jungle gym.....
This sign leans up against the side of my house marking the "high water mark" and "recommended building elevation." I have yet to ask anyone about it, because I figure I won't like any answer I get....thankfully the river has been low lately
The old cemetery, there is another one on the other side of the village
On the weekends, Birkie and I like to walk out the airport. Its about a 40 minute walk from my house. I carry some defensive tools while walking. We have seen lots of signs of different critters but thankfully have yet to have a live encounter with any
The "curriculum" mandated by the district and state is both inaccessible and irrelevant to my students. I say "curriculum" with quotes because my curriculum consists of shelves of textbooks written 5 or 6 grade levels above where my students are at as readers, and vague Alaska History/Government standards.
When I was in high school my peers and I loved to make the arguments "when are we ever going to use calculus?" or "when are we ever going to use world history?" These questions are valid for students here who are likely going to remain in the village for most of their lives. Skills like carpentry, small engine repair, welding, cooking, family science and sewing would be extremely applicable and beneficial for them. Unfortunately there are currently no shop or home economics teachers at my school because "white is right" education says that core academic content is more important.
There are students that may go out and get some kind of post-secondary schooling or have jobs outside the village, but they are not the majority. Preparing students for those kinds of futures is also equating "success" with leaving the village which is a dangerous idea to encourage as it has already resulted in loss of Yupik culture and could, I fear, result in the extinction of the village in just a few generations.
I am currently reading a book called "Conflicting Landscapes: American Schooling/Alaska Natives" which was written to try to document some of what I've described, but the authors are able to do it more eloquently, so I'd like to share an excerpt here. This is what one author realized on Kodiak Island in the 1970s:
"What I was about to witness, however, was the forced secularization of Alaskan Native society. At first I understood this only as a local tension between the purveyors of secular modernism and the local traditional people. But gradually I came to see this struggle as global, a planetary process in which the ancient, spiritual worldview would be suppressed and overwhelmed by a global, literate and highly sophisticated technological society. The instrument by which the latter imposed itself on the former would be the public school. The destruction of the old by the new would be done in the name of "Education."
Having recognized this, I try to facilitate some damage control in my classroom. I try to give my students opportunities to teach me about the area and I do my best to localize content I am mandated to teach. In Sociology we look at subsistence practices of other indigenous groups around the world. In Government we look at where hunting regulations come from and have talked a lot about the meaning of the word "sovereignty." There is a limit to my ability to make my classes relevant though because I am an outsider. Unfortunately, many of my students are unaware of vital parts of their own histories because many of their parents were in the "boarding school generation" where they were taught that their culture and language were wrong and schools tried to systematically eliminate culture. There are only a few elders left in the village who possess some of these stories and skills and when they are gone so is that part of the culture.
All that being said, I have recognized that I am a part of a very detrimental cultural interface, but I am still really enjoying my time with my students. They continue to impress me with their natural knowledge, and their brave and caring spirits. It's grouse season now and I had one student come up to me today on her four wheeler with her siblings to proudly show me the grouse she had shot :)
Village Life II
We've had water pretty consistently the last few weeks which has been really nice. I'm still adjusting to the pace and expectations of the village, but I enjoy it.
Mail/Transportation
Yesterday I went to the Post Office, but it was closed. Not because it was outside of their operating hours, just because whoever was working got bored and decided to close early. You have to plan ahead for everything in the village, but at the same time you can't really count on anything :) As the weather changes, the reliability of different services will become even more spotty. Last Monday, the teachers were supposed to fly to Akiachak for a district-wide inservice, but planes were grounded due to weather, so instead we had an inservice via video conference. When I order things from Amazon, sometimes they arrive quickly, and sometimes they are held in Bethel until there is enough stuff for the hovercraft (yes, HOVERCRAFT) to make a trip upriver. The idea that a hovercraft delivers mail to a village that mostly doesn't have running water is a dichotomy that still astounds me.
The Permanent Fund
Many people here rely on different kinds of government assistance to take care of their families. One source of income unique to Alaska that is outside of the "government assistance" category is the Alaska Permanent Fund. This is a big chunk of money that was invested after oil was discovered on the North Slope. The fund is managed by a special corporation that is regulated by Alaska's state constitution. Every year, every Alaskan (who has been a resident of the state for at least 2 years) receives a sizable check from the fund. The amount of this dividend varies from year to year. The amount of this year's dividend will be announced by Governor Walker tomorrow but is speculated to be over $2,000. For large families, this can equate to a very sizable amount of money. One teacher at my school said that when the dividends come, "all hell breaks loose."
Alcohol (again)
Bootleggers anticipate the dividends coming to the village and prepare appropriately. Bootleggers get booze in Bethel and then bring it up river, usually by boat. "Rich and Rare" is the drink of choice in the village. A small bottle that might cost $10-$15 in the lower 48 can be bootlegged for upwards of $100 in the village where alcohol is illegal. The effects of alcoholism can be heard at night in the village, and seen the next day at school on the faces of kids that didn't have a place to sleep the night before because their parents were drinking. Unfortunately, some of my high schoolers not only partake in drinking but have been exposed to the profitability of bootlegging.
Seasons
With Alaska being on the frontline of climate change, its hard to compare climates between here and home, but I'd say Tuluksak is about a month ahead of Brimson. Trees are losing their leaves and mornings are frosty. Here are more photos of my walks around the village:
Teacher Housing on the left, cellphone/internet tower center, school on the right. My house is a duplex, it is the one in the background directly to the left of the tower
More teacher housing, and the school garage
An area that at one time was some kind of athletic field, but now is being used to store the soil being removed from the new "honey bucket" dumping ground
The airport road is my favorite place in the village
My bed is Birkie's favorite spot in the village. She likes to spy on other dogs. I can usually see her in the window when I come home from school :)
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome blog. I hope all is well with you. -Marcus
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI love it. Enjoy your adventure!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI love it. Enjoy your adventure!