Barnhardt, C. (1994). They are governed by corporate laws, are directly responsible to their Native shareholders, and are free to engage in any production or investment profit-making activities, such as hotel construction, oil exploration and drilling, fish processing plant operations, and local business enterprises. Although more than half of Alaska Native children were enrolled in state public schools, a significant number were still in BIA elementary day schools. USFS archaeologist David Plaskett briefly recorded the Burnett Inlet cannery on Etolin Island in 1977. Misunderstandings about Alaska have occurred most frequently in the following four areas. Due to small enrollments, students are frequently in multi-graded settings, and instruction in the early years may be in a Native language (an option available in some Alutiiq, Cup'ik, Gwit'chin, Inupiat, Siberian Yup'ik, Tlingit, or Central Yup'ik communities). Alaskan Native education: History and adaptation in the new millennium. Although some of the twenty languages are related, they are different enough from one another that speakers of one language usually cannot understand speakers of another language. Other districts will continue to respond with reform efforts that are temporary in nature and that only address issues at the tip of the cross-cultural iceberg (Kushman & Barnhardt, 1999). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. Krauss, M. (1980). "The audience was expected to respond during pauses with •hmmm, hmmm' . The treaties negotiated during this time recognized the sovereignty and independent nation status of Indian tribes, and when the United States Constitution was written, it specifically authorized Congress to enter into these treaties. Literacy programs flourished, especially in the Aleutians, and many Aleut people became sophisticated readers and writers in both the Russian and the Aleut languages (Dauenhauer, 1982, Getches, 1977). Although Alaska Native boarding schools have a complicated and often dark history in the state, Issaacs looks back fondly on his time at Mount Edgecumbe. Outlines the historical legacy of war, genocide, and boarding schools resulting in intergenerational trauma and a host of associated social problems. However, despite the work of the Commission and other entities within the state to resolve conflicts between Natives and non-Natives (and rural and urban citizens), differences escalated in the 1990s. At the time the report was prepared, approximately 40 percent of all American Indian/Alaska Native children attended federal BIA schools and about 80 percent of this group were in boarding schools (DeJong, 1993). (p. 62). The federal belief system represented in the establishment of treaties, reservations, the Civilization Fund Act, the establishment of boarding schools and a myriad of other policies not directly related to education, was a belief system that endorsed and ensured restricted environments in which the government could control nearly all aspects of American Indian life, including education, religion, medicine, law, hunting and fishing, as well as land acquisition and use. In addition to the important content of the reports, they are significant because they "are examples of comprehensive reports that define research needs in Indian education based on the voices of Indian people" (Deyhle and Swisher, 1997, p. 181). Special programs often include in-school academic tutoring, community cultural events, provision of a "school-within-a-school," or Native-oriented cultural heritage activities. Barnhardt, C. (1999a). (1991). Using the Meriam Report as both a catalyst and a blueprint, John Collier, Sr., Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1934 to 1945, initiated a major shift in Indian policy in the United States. In Alaska, as in other places in the United States, the autonomy and self-sufficiency of many Native Americans continued to erode as the federal government assumed greater responsibility and control over their lives and livelihood. This Act was "the first official recognition of the special needs of the children to whom it applied. The BIA therefore enrolled 204 Alaska Native students in the Chilocco BIA Boarding High School in Oklahoma. The legal difference stems from the formal government-to-government relationship established through treaties, executive orders, congressional acts, and court decisions. Final Report: Alaska Natives Commission: Volume II. Several new national groups (sometimes referred to as "pan-Indian groups" because members came from many different tribes) were formed. In his 1991 set of essays on Indian Education in America, Vine Deloria states that: Cultural differences should have been reasonably clear in 1492 and by the early 1700s when formal educational efforts for Indians began. The writings and oral histories of many Alaska Native people confirm that a discernible and distinctive world view revolving around values related to family, community, spirituality and the environment is not only central to the lives of many of Alaska's indigenous people, but is often in marked contrast with Western beliefs and practices. Darnell, F., & Hoem, A. Each village has at least one store, but many Native residents continue to practice a subsistence lifestyle and depend heavily on moose, caribou, seal, walrus, whale, fish and berries for their supply of food. . As a result of this massive decentralization effort, the REAAs (similar to school districts in urban areas, but without a local government or tax base) have assumed responsibility for educating all children in their regional areas. Educators in the twenty-first century in Alaska need to have the patience to allow for, and the passion to advocate for, deep-seated and fundamental long-term systemic changes in our schools. Even though the educational context of Alaska has gone through many unusual twists and turns over the years, little attention has been given by policy makers and practitioners to the history of education in Alaska. Paper presented at the Alaska Anthropological Association, Fairbanks, AK. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Tippeconnic notes though, that "This congressional legislation did not happen because of the goodwill of Congress or presidential administrations. The lack of accurate information or awareness about the history of schooling in the state has contributed to a wide variety of ill-conceived and inappropriate educational policies and practices. Barnhardt, R., & al, e. (1978). Over 40 years after the purchase of Alaska, the federal government determined that: [I]t is clear that no distinction has been or can be made between the Indians and other Natives of Alaska so far as the laws and relations of the United States are concerned whether the Eskimos and other natives are of Indian origin or not, as they are all wards of the Nation, and their status is in material respects similar to that of the Indians of the United States (emphasis added.) The large majority of non-Native people are migrants from the Lower 48 states, along with increasing numbers of Asian and Latin American immigrants. (1969). In recent years, there have been many Indigenous Language school programs in Alaska. Only rarely did any Alaska Native adults have the opportunity to be taught by an Alaska Native or American Indian teacher. Unprecedented reforms in local control options and support for incorporation of Alaska Native language and culture in schools likely would not have received the same level of support in Alaska had the window of opportunity not been previously opened at the national level. University of Alaska Anchorage: Institute for Social and Economic Research (www.alaskool.org). Sharing our pathways: A newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. There was little recognition by the Bureau of important differences between indigenous people in Alaska and those in the other states, and even less recognition of important differences among the 20 different Alaska Native groups (Collier, 1973; Fuchs & Havighurst, 1972; Krauss, 1980). American Indian and Alaska Native people capitalized on the vigorous and supportive atmosphere of this period and became sophisticated public advocates for indigenous causes by formally organizing into advocacy groups, and by using the established tools of other activist groups (e.g. (1885-1946). (Case, 1984, pp. In M. Apple (Ed. Alaska's educational history has essentially been one of a gradual movement toward self-determination and local controlãin education, tribal government, and social services. The treaties provided the means of negotiating with Indians who controlled land, resources, and trade routes to which newcomers wanted access. Indian Nations At Risk Task Force. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska, Center for Cross-Cultural Studies. We do know that Russian explorers, fur traders and missionaries had been in the country since the early 1700s, and we know that the territory was sparsely settled by groups of indigenous people whose languages and cultures varied significantly. The second law, Public Law 874, provided money for the operation and maintenance of schools affected by federal activities. The diverse geographic areas that Alaska Native people occupy dictate quite distinct life styles with a broad range of subsistence practices, modes of transportation, accessibility to others for economic and social functions, and political structures. Secondary students in nearly all rural and Native communities in Alaska had been attending the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools in southeast Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, or, for a short time in the 1970s, to state boarding schools and boarding home programs in larger Alaskan communities. By the early 1900s, the number of non-Native people coming into the Territory of Alaska had increased steadily due to the discovery of gold and the development of commercial fishing and timber industries. 29-50). Native Americans in the 20th Century. . They have well-developed transportation systems, modern shopping complexes, fully-equipped homes, and extensive educational facilities. Edna Ahgeak MacLean (1986) has written about Inupiaq traditional community houses and describes these "qargit" as entities that "served as political, social, ceremonial and educational institutions . When I refer to a specific cultural/linguistic group or subgroup, I use the term with which people most commonly identify themselves (e.g. However, the large majority of knowledge about traditional Alaska Native education continues to come from elder's memories, such as those described by Koyukon Athabascan, Eliza Jones, in a recent interview. Someone should have started to think about what cultural difference meant. The high school graduation rate from Alaska's small high schools is far ahead of the urban schools. New York: Doubleday & Co. Gaffney, M. (1977). Although the intent of the legislation was to "promote equality among Indian children and non-Indian children in public schools . Its far northern position isolates it from other states but places it within 47 miles of Russia, and its 33,000-mile coastline is longer than the east and west coastlines of the contiguous states combined. To use this land and invest this money in ways that would collectively benefit the Native community, 12 regional Native profit-making corporations were established that coincided with the various cultural and linguistic regions of Alaska. Alaska Native Knowledge Network. Prucha, F. P. (1984). The diversity of its people and major changes in the state since 1970 have resulted in social, political, economic, and educational contrasts that are no less remarkable. It is interesting to note that although there was a set-back in federal government support for local control initiatives after WW II, there was legislation passed in the 1950s that did provide additional financial assistance to public schools. Traveling Alaskans discover that people on nearly all continents have some familiarity with the midnight sun, weather extremes, rich oil fields, vast amounts of land, Mt. Because the federal Bureau of Education was not able to provide adequate schooling for all of the newcomers, the United States Congress granted authority to individual communities in Alaska to incorporate and establish schools, and maintain them through taxation (Darnell, 1979). The inherent paradox in a system that requires the government to provide education for Native Americans while at the same time promoting self-determination has not yet been resolved. Government efforts aimed at providing equal opportunities proliferated during the "Great Society" period of the 1960s with its bold attempts to fight the "war on poverty," and these continued well into the 1970s. Senese, G. (1986). An indication of the level of disorder that existed in the rural educational system in Alaska even in the 1970s can be found in the account of federal policies described by Margaret Szasz (1974). Study of Alaska rural systemic reform: Final report. Taken to extremes: Education in the far north. Within months, staff had been hired and five task forces had been named to gather information on economics, education, governance, health, social and cultural issues. Twenty-one separate rural school districtsãRegional Educational Attendance Areas (REAAs)ãwere established. Education and the American Indian. In addition, the treaties helped to initiate a pattern of dependency in which Native Americans were forced to rely on the federal government for essential services because their traditional, and historically effective, means of providing these services for themselves was lost through displacements resulting from the treaty arrangements (Prucha, 1984). ), Review of Research in Education (pp. Juneau, AK. The three primary groups are Eskimo, Indian and Aleut. Alaska Natives constitute 16.4% of the state's population, and 23% of its school population (25% when including American Indians). ", Judge Lafayette Dawson's verdict and legal reply to, Alaska State Archives, Alaska State Library. lack of coordination, competition for teachers and resources, high expenses, duplication of services). It is hardly a surprise that in his 1991 book, Indian Education in America, Vine Deloria devotes a chapter to "The Perpetual Education Report" and suggests that the federal government continues to authorize reports because "it is better to talk about education than to educate. Because the state's rural school system allows for significant variation in the goals and implementation plans of each region, some rural districts and their school boards will continue to work respectfully with parents, elders, Alaska Native educators, and other community members in their on-going collaborations to develop realistic approaches for assuring that their children reach high academic standardsãin culturally appropriate and meaningful ways. In some areas, further clan distinctions are made. It is interesting to note that all of these reports echo most of the findings, as well as the recommendations, of the Meriam Report of 1928. Today, there are tribal councils in nearly every rural community in Alaska and these often serve as the vehicle for the on-going struggle to exercise self-determination and sovereignty. These regional corporations became the largest landowners in Alaska, outside of the state and federal governments. Alaska Natives claimed ownership to land that the pipeline would cross, as well as the land on which the oil fields themselves were located. Alaska Natives and the American law. ), Next steps: Research and practice to advance Indian education (pp. In Alaska, these "amendments further increased federal incentives favoring community control of BIA day schools, including the hiring and firing of teachers and the design of curriculum" (Case, 1984, p. 203). As a result of recent State actions, new conditions exist for students, teachers, administrators, school board members, and/or parents involved in our K-12 system. Fifteen years later though, there were still 43 BIA schools in Alaska, and the final transfer of federal schools to the state school system did not occur until 1985 (Barnhardt, 1994). There are three major urban areas (Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau) as well as 20 smaller towns and about 180 villages. The Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) Act also initiated a new federal approach to American Indian/Alaska Native education. Rural Regional Center and Road System/Marine Highway Schools: The elementary and secondary schools in the larger rural communities (Barrow, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, etc.) Both had long term effects on United States Indian policy and a direct impact on Alaska Native people that continues today. As Native Americans continued to make public demands for local control, they developed a broad base of support. While the federal responsibility was based on treaty and statute, the states' responsibility lay in their obligation to educate all residents" (DeJong, 1993, p. 178). Although several did not relate directly to education in Alaska, all clearly had an indirect effect. . Now that the buffalo's gone: A study of today's American Indians. History of Alaska Native education versus history of American Indian education The history of Alaska Native education is not the same as the history of American Indian education, and the differences are significant. (1999). Barnhardt, C. (1985). Cahete, G. (1994). Alaska Eskimo education. Ongtooguk, P. (1992). Federal Indian Policy and Schooling in Alaska When the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, the policies, programs and relationships that had already developed between the government and American Indians began to directly influence Alaska Natives. Although funding for several federal programs decreased in the 1980s, the momentum generated by the earlier actions continued. [until] the coming of the missionaries marked the end of these qargit." Alaska Native languages: Past, present and future. The Alaska Natives Commission (officially, the Joint Federal-State Commission on Policies and Programs Affecting Alaska Natives) was created by Congress in 1990 at the urging of Alaska Native groups. Bureau of Education schools continued to operate with the belief that it was important to transform American Indians and Alaska Natives into civilized and Christian Americans, and the best mechanism for achieving assimilation into American society was education (Dauenhauer, 1982; Ongtooguk, 1992; Shales, 1998). In 1950, 93 federal BIA day schools and three boarding schools remained in Alaska, but "30 to 40 communities and 1,800 children were still without any facilities at all" (Getches, 1977, p. 6). These events have also brought to the surface many of the dilemmas and contradictions in American Indian and Alaska Native educational policy. Its expanded services included not only education, but medical services, the Reindeer Service (i.e. Fairbanks, AK: Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska Native EducationãEntering the 21st Century. During the year after settlement of the case nearly 30 new high schools were established with staffs of one to six teachers and student enrollments in the new high schools ranged from 5 to 100. Students between the ages of 14 and 21 attended the school. With the passage of this act, the federal government established a second legal basis for federal responsibility for schooling for all American Indian/Alaska Native children (not just those covered under treaty arrangements). It appropriated an annual "civilizing" fund and initiated a program whereby the federal government contracted with religious groups to operate schools for American Indian childrenãa policy that continued to influence education in Alaska long after it was discontinued (DeJong, 1993). Several pieces, actually. Alaska Native communities schools were operated by the Federal government and a variety of church mission schools. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Before Alaska was purchased by the United States, formal education came primarily from the efforts of the Russian Orthodox church and the Russian-American Company. Legal rights of Indigenous People Despite the unique constitutional status of indigenous people and the federal government's binding treaty obligations to American Indians (which have been extended in large part to Alaska Natives), many misunderstandings continue about the status and rights of Alaska Natives with regard to public education, health, social and economic services, and natural resources. All of the Alaska Native languages are linguistically very different from Indo-European languages, and few non-Natives, other than linguists, have become proficient speakers of an Alaska Native language. However, pressure for more local control from Alaska Native people brought legislative action again in 1975 that abolished this system and in its place set up a new form of "extraordinary units of government" (Darnell, 1979). . (2000, December 31). Children still speak their Native language as a first language in four of the twenty languages. 127-128). Included in these Native-sponsored educational initiatives are the following: At the same time, along with Alaska's young history of bottom-up school reform, there is a parallel agenda set primarily by the State Legislatureãand augmented by state and district educational agenciesãthat could lead to competition with the reform efforts cited above. `` Alaska Native issues, perspectives and traditional subsistence rights are similar to treaties..., at White Mountain on the show to talk about their recent national conference communities today have had and. 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