Alaska Educational Reform Efforts After ANCSA. At the same time, the new postwar economy supported private economic growth and reduced government spending (Olson & Wilson, 1984; Szasz, 1974). After five years of negotiation between the oil industry, federal and state governments, Alaska Native leadership, and environmentalists, a permit for construction of the pipeline was issued, and construction finally began in 1973. Case (1984) notes that "many of the Indian Education Act programs "operate simultaneously with other federal programs, such as the Johnson-O'Malley Act and Title I . 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. Culturally appropriate and relevant curriculum is available, highly qualified Alaska Native educators live and work in every region of the state, and the legal requirement for local control and local school governance is in place. Kawagley, A. O. . The Hootch family, whose daughter the suit was named after, lived in the Yup'ik Eskimo community of Emmonak, with a population of about 400 people. The three primary groups are Eskimo, Indian and Aleut. (1994). In the mid-1950s Alaska was placing a great deal of time, effort and money into its bid for statehood, and the motivation for federal and state education officials to work together to develop a unified system for rural Native education waned significantly. Its extension through two climactic zones (Arctic and sub-Arctic) and its summer sunlight and winter darkness account for great differences in temperature between summer and winter. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, pp. Alaska Natives, though, were once again slighted in the process due to an oversight in the law. The participatory process involved in gathering information for this comprehensive study, as well as the written product (including 17 recommendations on education) has provided the stimulus and the rationale for most subsequent policy initiatives that continue to be implemented at both state and federal levels. Life on the other side: Alaska Native teacher education students and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The bedtime stories and the many more from her grandmother and others throughout her childhood growing up near Huslia are among Eliza's earliest memories. Included in almost every treaty were contractual, presumably legally-binding agreements in which the federal government agreed to provide Indian people with education, health care, and social services in exchange for Indian-controlled resources. One Tlingit man's journey through stormy seas, Sitka, Alaska, 1867-1951. Although Alaska, for the most part, was not directly affected by treaties or by the establishment of reservations, the beliefs that led the United States government to support the policies regarding treaties and the establishment of reservations were the same beliefs that shaped its future relationship with Alaska Native people. It has rich oil, timber, coal, and mineral resources, and its natural environment continues to support animals now absent in other locations. 1. Unpublished manuscript. (1996-2001). Alaska Native communities schools were operated by the Federal government and a variety of church mission schools. 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. 197, 224). (p. 126). Others have attempted to explain away the Alaska oversight in their analyses, as Francis Prucha (1984) did when he stated that: Alaska NativesãIndians, Eskimos, and Aleutsãoffered unique problems [for the federal government], for they had never been fully encompassed in the federal policies and programs developed for the American Indians. Although there is an increasing number of written materials being prepared by Alaska Native people that provide valuable information about individual, family, and community educational experiences and perspectives, many have yet to be compiled and published so that they can be used to identify common patterns and themes. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. The non-profit corporations now annually administer over one hundred million dollars for education, health, employment, and social programs in their respective regions. This act established the first civil government in Alaska and provided the legal basis for federal provision of education. National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition's CEO Christine Diindiisi McCleave is on the show to talk about their recent national conference. Native American education, and Alaska Native education, have histories that are complex and tightly interwoven. Nearly all of these have been initiated by groups and organizations outside of the formal K-12 and university systems. Juneau, AK. (1885-1946). Indian education in America: 8 essays by Vine Deloria, Jr. Boulder, CO: The American Indian Science & Engineering Society. The study, which was critical of government policies, led to the publication of the book, To Live on This Earth (Fuchs & Havighurst, 1972), and to reports specific to different regions, such as John Collier, Jr.'s book Alaska Eskimo Education (1973). Tippeconnic, J. Smaller community boarding home programs and foster care programs offered two more alternatives for Alaska Native … Deloria Jr., V. (1991). . (1999). (1998). (1995). In 1867, after its territorial acquisition by the United States, Alaska began a system of compulsory education for Indigenous children. The Indian Boarding School Policy was implemented by the federal government to strip American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children of their Indigenous identities, beliefs, and languages. (1982). Standing their ground: The integration of community and school in Quinhagak, Alaska. The following information is provided: (1) an overview of the Alaska context; (2) a review of federal policies that have directly affected education in Alaska; and (3) a historical analysis of the evolution of schooling for Alaska Native people, including the development of a dual federal/territorial system of schools, and the initiation of a range of federal and state reform efforts. 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. The ink will hardly be dry on [this] report before another organization, or another federal agency, has the urge to investigate and the cycle will begin again" (p. 62). . Both had long term effects on United States Indian policy and a direct impact on Alaska Native people that continues today. He cites evidence that shows that following Alaska's purchase (and in some areas, for a long period after), the federal government "did not initially deal with Alaska Natives as dependent Indian communities." Barnhardt, C. (1985). Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, appointed a Task Force on Indian Affairs in 1961, a White House Task Force on the American Indian was appointed in 1966, and a special Senate subcommittee investigation in 1968 and 1969 was initiated to examine "the failure of the public schools to educate and assimilate Indian students" (DeJong, 1993, p. 195). 33-53). Holst, S. (1999). Distinctions between the two efforts are developing, not because there are inherent contradictions in the goals of the two reform efforts, but because of differences in cultural values, priorities, and perspectives. 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. Szasz (1974) describes the situation one year in the late 1960s when there were 400 eighth-grade graduates from rural elementary schools for whom there was no space available in the BIA high school boarding facilities open to Alaska students (i.e. That kind of stuff has gone on for 500 years. For one family, a proposal to build a 400-bed boarding school on the site of the former Wrangell Institute boarding school, which had a history of … This article documents significant historical events and trends that have helped to shape the policies and practices of education in Alaska, particularly those that have most directly impacted the schooling of Alaska Native people. With twenty different Alaska Native languages, several Asian and European languages, and American dialects from all regions of the United States, there is an unusual linguistic diversity for such a small population. Many of these schools are administered by the same REAA district or borough that administers the village schools in that region. During the next seven years, the state invested $133 million in the development of approximately 90 more village high schools. Darnell, F., & Hoem, A. It was the first piece of legislation that addressed, and attempted to counter, the economic destruction that had resulted from treaty negotiations and land allotment policies. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the building of the trans-Alaska pipeline, decentralization of the state school system, and the establishment of a network of small village high schools may not be as familiar as the geographical features of the state to non-Alaskans, but the impact of these events upon the everyday life of Alaskans is no less significant. In addition, the Alaska Federation of Natives has sponsored numerous policy and program initiatives of its own to follow through on the Alaska Natives Commission recommendations. (Smetzer, 2000). The legal difference stems from the formal government-to-government relationship established through treaties, executive orders, congressional acts, and court decisions. Education among the Native peoples of Alaska. A strict "English-Only" policy governed all language and curriculum decisions. Recently, however, many Natives as well as non-Natives are recognizing that the Western system does not always mesh well with the Native worldview, and new approaches are being devised (p. 37). The Commission, comprised almost entirely of Alaska Native people, produced a four volume Final Report (1994) designed to serve as a blueprint for changes regarding the way in which the federal and state governments dealt with Alaska Native issues. . Alaska is the home of the highest percentage and the sixth largest overall population of indigenous people in the United States, according to the 1999 U.S. Census. ), Review of Research in Education (pp. Tippeconnic notes though, that "This congressional legislation did not happen because of the goodwill of Congress or presidential administrations. And the fundamental question of whether or not it is possible for the federal government to maintain its legally-binding trust responsibility, as defined by constitutional, congressional and judicial actions, without maintaining some level of control has yet to be answered. The state established the Division of State-Operated Schools (SOS) with special responsibility for rural and on-base military schools, and it created a governor's committee to again explore the merger of BIA and state schools. The revitalization of the QARGI, the traditional community house, as an educational unit of the Inupiat community. Through their collective efforts, they achieved what, at the time was "perhaps the most comprehensive and far-reaching legal settlement of aboriginal claims to land and its resources yet witnessed in the contemporary worldãthe Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, "ANCSA" (Gaffney, 1977, p. 29). Prior to statehood (between 1942 and 1954), 46 schools were transferred from federal to territorial control. 1892 Captain Richard Pratt declares it necessary to “Kill the Indian … an effort to bolster the economy for Alaska Natives by introducing reindeer herding), cooperative stores, operation of a ship (the North Star) for supplying isolated coastal villages, and the maintenance of an orphanage and three industrial schools. Unspoken: America’s Native American Boarding Schools focuses on the history and brutality of American boarding schools that tried to "kill the Indian" in Native … "ANCSA"ãThe Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. 6-7). Small high school programs for rural Alaska. Indian Nations At Risk Task Force. 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. However, since the time of the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, Alaska Native people had not been compensated for their aboriginal land or granted title to any more than small parcels. 127-128). Today, these 12 Native corporations (along with "village corporations" in each community) function like business corporations anywhere in the world. And it was not until 1905 that a distinction was made between Native and non-Native residents of the territory for purposes of federal educational services" (Case, 1984, pp. Treaties, reservations, the Civilization Fund Act, boarding schools and land policies represent the types of federal initiatives that historically contributed to a decrease in opportunities for many Alaska Natives to build upon the strengths of their cultures, languages, communities, and traditions that would enable them to lead meaningful, contributing and satisfying lives. Johnson-O'Malley, Indian Education Act), and are sometimes supported with additional state and/or district funds. The second law, Public Law 874, provided money for the operation and maintenance of schools affected by federal activities. The court ruled in Replogle's favor, arrested the mother, and the child returned to his school's custody. 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