Electra Gardinier

Culturally Responsive Stories without Spot the Dog

I was struck by the juxtaposition of the reading Ernestine Hayes shared with us and the lesson presented by Kathy. Ernestine spoke about reading Dick & Jane books at school, books filled with blonde children in new clothing with two parents and a dog named Spot. Tlingit culture was not represented in any of the stories Ernestine read at school. Ernestine’s story was painful, but so important to hear. Kathy reminded that representation in a lesson is critical, along with respect for all children (and their families) in each classroom.

Fortunately, we have many culturally relevant resources available AND we are being taught to use them. We are encouraged to work with local communities to enrich our classrooms. We have the opportunity improve literacy and introduce even other complex lessons … and Kathy reminded us we can even use picture books!

I read a few different picture books and thought about how a series of stories about different regions and cultures in Alaska (Yup’ik, Athabascan, Inupiaq) could be used in a lesson The stories I read were: Berry Magic, by Teri Sloat and Betty Huffman; Anna’s Athabaskan Summer by Arnold Griese; Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews. In a lesson with social studies lesson with secondary students, the class could begin to learn about the different geography, culture, and subsistence practices in each region. It could be integrated into a science lesson about how the environment and availability of certain resources impact differences in tools, technology and trade. Reading the different stories could also be used in a language arts lesson to look at how to construct a story about your own culture. I would be interested to see students write/tell stories about how they gather food today compared with how their grandparents might have collected food, what are the similarities and differences?

Language in the Classroom

Today one group discussed the need for bilingual schools, but then the question was what would the second language be? We talked about how/who decides who belongs to the “dominant” culture? Why do we teach a whitewashed history to anyone… let alone to a diverse group of students? Our group asked, how do we close the racial, social, and community gaps?

Our conversations today reminded me of the Ebonics debate that began in Oakland, California in the 1990s. Before I first learned about the Ebonics debate, one of my mentor professors taught our class about the traditional West African language, dance, art and music. He helped us gain much needed background knowledge before he introduced the lesson. This was an example of culturally responsive teaching.

The connections between Ebonics and West African language are clear. Enslaved West Africans who were violently forced to migrate to the Americas were not allowed to speak their own languages, something we have learned in this course is a common tool of oppressors. This secrecy is key to how Ebonics was shaped. While much of the vocabulary of Standard American English and Ebonics are the same, the pronunciation, hand gestures, meaning of words, common phrases, and sentence structure of Ebonics is very different than Standard American English and instead shares similarities to languages spoken in Nigeria and Ghana (& others). When the Oakland School district acknowledged these differences and put in place a curriculum intended to “close the gap” and teach students Standard American English many people were extremely angry about it. For a quick history check out: The Linguistic Society of America.

Scholar Mary Ann Johnson writes about the ways in which schools shame children for speaking Ebonics even though it is language of their own families and neighborhoods. She writes that,”As a result, African American Ebonics speakers feel degraded and inadequate.” Culturally responsive teaching means doing everything we can to uplift students rather than shame them. The Ebonics debate, in many ways is still a debate. Some ask, why should we force students to speak Standard American English to begin with? How do we teach teachers to educate students in Standard American English without degrading Ebonics or the families who speak it? Do we take away from Black culture when we push students to speak Standard American English in schools? Like many great debates, there is not one clear answer… but if we could move past simply acknowledging a language towards truly understanding its roots, valuing, appreciating, and speaking it… how would our education system change?

Plants of the Interior – An Ethnobotony Lesson

Essential questions: How does the natural environment of the Interior region inform the lifestyle of the Athabascan people?

How do Athabascan people use plants in their daily lives?

Audience: 6-8th grade students. The lesson is intended to work in a social studies class, Alaska studies course, or with some variations in a science class.

The lesson is designed for people on the NW Coast, Alaska, or Western Canada. There are common plants throughout many of these places that could be used within the lesson, there are also some that will be more specific to the Interior region of Alaska.

Lesson: I intended my section of the iBook to be kind of a nature guide. Students will be able to identify about 5 different plants through the chapter. Each plant will have a photo, an Athabascan translation*, the various ways to use the plant, an activity to go along with the plant. Activities will include things like: recipes, leave collecting and tracing, an art project, a poetry activity, etc. Basically there will be a mini-lesson provided for each plant. The mini-lesson is meant to be accompanied by a class day nature walk or (if going outside isn’t an option) a class day researching in the classroom or library.

*Listed in the chapter will be the name of the plant in English and in two different languages spoken by Athabascan people (Koyukon and Dena’ina or Tanaina). Today, there are 12 different languages spoken by Athabascan people, but these are two that encompass two larger regions.

Example Entry: Birch

Birch: kk’eeyh (Koyukon); Chuq’eya (Outer Inlet Denai’ina); q’ey (Upper Inlet Dena’ina) Scientific Name: Betula

The Athabascan people use birch trees for many things. The bark of Birch trees can be used medicinally and as a structure in many household items.

How to identify birch trees: Birch trees are medium sized, hard wood, deciduous trees. Their leaves are heart shaped. Unlike many other trees, the bark starts out as very smooth. It also starts out darker as a young tree, then begins to lighten to white or grey as the tree ages. The bark has horizontal markings in darker colors that appear through the rest of the bark. There are more than one kind of birch tree in Alaska, but the paper birch is the most common. Birch are in the same family as willow and alder which are also found in Alaska.

Medicinal use: When the bark is ground and boiled, birchwood bark can be used as a tea. It can also be held in cheese cloth and used in a steam bath or warmed and applied to skin. It can also be infused into oils. Birch bark contains a compound “salicin” which is an antioxidant and is also related to, and acts like aspirin. It is used on broken bones, cuts, skin issues, or more generally for well-being.

Other uses: The sap is edible and can be made into syrups.

Birch wood bark is strong, waterproof and lightweight. It is used to make baby carriers, baskets, and many other household items. Birch wood bark baskets were also filled with hot rocks and used to cook with.

Activity: ART PROJECT – Paper collage birch of a birch forest

Materials: Construction paper in various colors, glue sticks, scissors, black paint, wide paint brushes, water, plate for paint mixing.

Think about the birch forests of the Interior region. Think about what season your image will be set in because this will determine the color choices. Select the color choices.

Create layers by cutting and then gluing different pieces of construction paper down onto a page. Think about including cut out shapes that represent plants specific to your region.

To make the birch trees, cut white, grey or beige paper into strips. Using a wide and dry paintbrush, gently paint stripes horizontally across the paper strips. Student artists can also experiment with cutting out birch leaves shapes in various colors for different seasons.

Culturally Responsive Teaching & Gratitude

Again, it was powerful to see a panel of Elders speak about growing up here in Southeast Alaska. Everything about the teaching I saw on Friday both at the camp and within our classroom was culturally responsive. In one day we were able to watch carvers in the hallways and eat salmon berries on the math trail. Everything felt grounded in the place and its surrounding cultures.

John Martin spoke about how the knowledge of hunting and gathering was moved from a person’s head into hardworking hands. I really liked this concept of how intelligence could also be physical. It made me think about the importance of ensuring kinesthetic learners have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding in a classroom.

I was excited to hear women speak about their lives and culture and I’m impressed at the attention to creating gender balance at the camp. This is an example of culturally responsive teaching. Irene Cadiente told a series of beautiful short stories about the different moments in life when a spirit had guided her. She went far beyond the concrete parts of culture and looked deeper into the concept of faith.

After the Elders finished speaking, we watched the students first Ravens then Eagles, thank the Elders. The thank yous were heartfelt and authentic. You could feel the gratitude in the room and hear the call and response of “Gunalchéesh!” from the Elders. Our class was invited to participate which made us feel included, but also showed the importance of the practice of sharing moments of appreciation.

This sharing of gratitude reminded me of when Tina and Paula came to teach us about math and science lessons. Both teachers encouraged “social debriefing” after students worked together as a group. They encouraged their students to ask questions like: What worked? What didn’t? What could we improve? Why were some groups more successful than others? Why was the data different? As David said, it is okay to be corrected. That is when learning happens. Tina also mentioned it is a good time to have groups compliment one another and build connections. Both the experienced educators and Elders stressed the importance of valuing each and every student, encouraging learning, and expressing gratitude.

Artifact – Doll & Birchwood Bark Basket

This doll is called “Sheila, an Athapaskan Berrypicker, Yukon” she was made by Mary Ellen Frank. The doll is contemporary, completed in 2000. Artifact courtesy of the Alaska State Museum – Juneau.

This doll is one of my favorite pieces in the collection. I have always been drawn to dolls and really anything miniature. The craftsmanship on things that are smaller amazes me, as does the imagination behind each of the characters. I chose this object in part for my love of dolls, but also because I am researching Athabascan culture. This doll holds a traditional birchwood basket with her in order to collect berries.

There are also many other artifacts containing birchwood throughout the Alaska State Museum like this basket on the left. The Athabascan used birchwood bark to make baskets because the bark was available, sturdy, light, and waterproof. The baskets are incredible versatile. Some are strapped onto backs, adorned with a leather harness, and embroidered with beads to be used as baby carriers. The baskets were also used to collect berries and medicinal plants or to haul water. When filled with hot rocks, the baskets could be used for cooking.

The artist who created the doll, Mary Ellen Frank was born in Juneau where she still lives and makes dolls. Each doll takes at least two years to complete. She has trained under renowned Inupiak doll-maker Dolly Spencer and has taken many traditional Northwest carving courses and apprenticed under other doll makers. Her process really fascinated me. She makes a rough draft of each doll, sculpting its face first in clay and then carving the final product in yellow cedar. Everything from the clothing to the facial features look realistic. Many people commission dolls to look loved ones and community leaders because Frank seems to be able to capture the spirit of a person within her dolls. In a local newspaper interview Frank said, “First, I ask myself: what is it about this person that makes them look how they look?”

Visit Aunt Claudia’s Doll Museum to see a beautiful doll collection and to visit Frank in her art studio. Call (907) 586-4969 for available open hours.

Activism & Resilience

Thank you to Elders David Katzeek, Linda Belarde, and Selina Everson for joining us as guests today. We are so fortunate to be living and studying on this land and learning from Elders here in this community.

I really appreciate the political activism that Elder David Katzeek discussed. He described how his grandparents had given him the confidence to become politically engaged. He asked us to help our students build this type of confidence too. He said that the first Celebration was held in February because he wanted legislators to see how powerful it was. Through his advocacy, hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested in the future and culture of Tlingit people, particularly Tlingit children.

Selina Everson and Linda Belarde also spoke about the importance of passing their culture onto children. You could almost feel Selina’s joy when she spoke of watching young Tlingit speakers in the classroom. You could also see her pain, but barely comprehend it, when she spoke about her people being told they could not speak their own language. Linda asked her staff to love their students. This concept probably should not be, but is revolutionary. So many of our students are suffering great traumas. All three speakers addressed how children gain strength and build resilience from connections to their culture and connections to supportive adults.

Place- Douglas Island

This is a walking tour of downtown South Douglas Island. I grew up on “the island” as my mom calls it. My old house is spot “D” on the walking tour and I found a google image of it before it was torn down. Today, all that exists in that spot is gravel. From the tour you can see some of my favorite childhood places to explore and some more recent places that I’ve discovered as an adult. When available, I added both historical and contemporary photographs to the locations. One of the beautiful parts about Douglas is the history that exists there. I included locations that are important to my own personal history like: my former home, my elementary school, the site of my dad’s art studio where I learned to paint, my favorite garden spots, and some of my current Girl Scout Troop’s favorite field trip spots. I also included some points of cultural and historical significance like: the Douglas Reservoir and Dam, the Alaska Native Cemetery, the Treadwell mine “New Office Building,” Mt. Jumbo Gym (former school), and the Glory Hole (part of the mine). The Glory Hole Mine Ruins location includes a short video about the history of the mine as well as an additional map of the various historical sites along the Treadwell trail. I wanted to show how My Maps could be really used as a learning tool, so I also included links to more information about many of the sites.