Jimmy Andrew

CRT Response

I appreciate how our program here is saturated with the recognition of Tlingit culture. When I first attended Kenai Peninsula College in 2006, the only time the Dena’ina culture was acknowledged was during graduation. In 2009, Alaska Native Oratory Society was introduced to the college, which allowed the Native students to share songs or stories based on Alaska Native values. A rural and Native student liaison was then hired a few years later, a position that encourages the students to build relationships with the local tribe members. KPC has come a long way in recognizing the local culture.

I believe inviting the elders to speak and attending a local Native youth camp are excellent examples of culturally responsive teaching. I’m grateful for the three elders who were willing to come share about their lives. I’m also grateful that the local camp allowed us to come and interview the students and staff and participate in their Tlingit dancing.

One of the campers I interviewed stated that being Tlingit is hard because not everyone accepts them, but that hasn’t stopped her from Tlingit dancing and using her language. She doesn’t want to be the one to blame when her Tlingit culture is lost, so she will do what it takes to keep it alive.

I also interviewed one of the staff members who has a son that attended camp for the past few years. Prior to attending camp, her son constantly struggled to keep his grades up in school. He also didn’t like who he was around other people. But attending camp has allowed him to find his identity and do his best in school. His grades have been excellent ever.

Even though I grew up in rural Alaska, this was my first time seeing a math and science lesson concentrated on the local culture. This certainly is giving me ideas on how I can possibly teach in the coming years. I’m sure it’s going to take a lot of preparation and will certainly need to connect with the local elders to make sure the lessons are accurate.

Lesson Plan

I primarily planned on doing my lesson on the Native culture prior to Russian contact in the 1700s. But that lesson appears to be too broad. Instead I am going to focus on the history of education in west coast Alaska.

Since the 1700s, education in west coast Alaska has evolved from learning how to hunt and survive in a sod house to preparing individuals to survive in the Western culture. I would start by dividing the class into four or five groups and do a trivia. We’d start off with a few questions unrelated to the topic to wake them up before moving onto the serious questions. Trivia would go on for about 10-15 minutes. Then if a movie were available, I’d have them watch a clip for about 15 minutes to give them a visual idea how boys and girls of west coast Alaska were educated prior to Russian contact.

After the movie is over, they would go back to their same groups to write down how today’s educational system is different compared to the structure that was used by the Native people before Russian contact. I’m guessing this section would take about 20 minutes. Similar to our class last week, we would hang the posters on the wall to allow the students to see how things have changed from multiple viewpoints.

If there were an elder available in town, I would invite him/her over to speak to the class about their knowledge of culture the next day or two. Then once the elder is done speaking, I’d give the class a chance to reflect what the elder has said.

To conclude things, I’d do a presentation on why it’s important to know the history.

Once I have presented the history, I’d shift gears to the problems west coast Alaska today. What are the dropout rates there compared to nation wide? Are there ways we can improve today’s school systems?

Skin Scraper-Athabascan

The Alaska State Museum was filled with an amazing amount of items. It was tough to choose just one, but I ended up choosing the Tlaabaas (skin scraper) from an Athabascan village of Old Rampart. This was a gift from Margaret Cadzow. When I first saw this scraper, I thought it was an ulu (cutting knife) until I saw the name of it. This is the first time I have ever heard about skin scrapers in the Alaska Native culture. I tried to search more information about it online but I have had no success thus far for the Athabascan culture. However, I was able to find a summary of scrapers for the Inupiaq culture from alaskanartifacts.com, and the way they use scrapers there could be for a total different reason than what the Athabascans use it for.

According to alaskanartifacts.com, the skin scrapers were necessary to prepare furs and skins clothing, boats, dog-harnesses, etc. The handles were made of ivory, bone, or driftwood carved to the hand while the blades were mostly made of chert. Scrapers were primarily used to remove bits of flesh, fat, and water from the skin. The person can scrape the smaller skins of hares, waterfowl, and muskrats on their thighs. Larger skins were generally placed on the ground or snow.

Source: http://www.alaskanartifacts.com/Alaskan/Alaskan_Scrapers/North_Slope_Alaskan_Scrapers.html

Reflecting today’s Elders

I’m very grateful for Angie allowing the three elders to share their lives and culture during class today. I have heard about the Tlingit people losing their language several times already, but I didn’t really sense the wound until Salina told us about the banning of the Tlingit language in person. Some may argue that missionaries had great intent on spreading the gospel to Alaskans, but I believe it wounded the people and the culture more than they helped. I am grateful how strong the culture is getting today and hoping it’s only going to get richer. Linda told the most recent history of the Tlingit history, which basically gave us a broader picture of history. It was sad to hear that the Tlingit culture and language classes weren’t offered for many years. I wouldn’t know how to cope with the loss of my own language and culture. I am also impressed with David’s knowledge and his ability to use stories as inspirations for our lives. It’s impressive how he went from the bottom of the class in high school to being the top student in college. Thankful they were willing to share before they pass on.

Another thing that was cool to hear was how Linda told us that the only thing we can control is what we hear and the words we say to another person. We can’t control who hears us or what they say to us.

Where I’m from: Kwigillingok, Kenai

Where I’m From: Kwigillingok, AK – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

Although it seems like an easy assignment, this was probably the most complicating one for me. I struggle trying to define myself and it’s tough because I feel like I’m repeating the same things I’ve already stated. I was born in Bethel hospital, and was raised in the village of Kwigillingok. Out of all the regions in Alaska, I feel the Yup’ik region has been fortunate to not have the natural substances that attracted the Americans. Others weren’t so lucky. Nome had the gold. Barrow region had the oil. Bristol Bay had the salmon. Other coastal regions had fur, whale, and other resources that attracted the Russians and the Americans and eventually took over the region. The only group of people that came were the Russian Orthodox and Moravian missionaries to build schools and churches into my region. My hometown Kwig was isolated, and there weren’t that many things to do. Hunting, fishing, and picking berries were necessary in order to put food on the table. If Eskimo ice cream wasn’t made, some families used fried bread as a substitution for dessert. When there weren’t much subsistence activities going on, many youth played basketball at the ball court during the summer. The main transportation to Bethel or other villages was a small 7-seater plane, although many caravans have been introduced in the last few years. There are no roads to use automobiles there, but there are roads made of wood for bicycles and ATVs.

After spending much of my life in Kwigillingok, I decided to move to Kenai/Soldotna to attend college. About halfway through college, I got married to a girl from above the Arctic Circle who went to college there as well. We have lived there basically for the past 11 years. We now have two kids and we love taking them out to the beach. I have worked as a longshoreman for the past two years, and I typically tried to take time off during the dip-netting season. Our plan now is to move back to the village and teach.