SPRING 2006 A REPORT TO THE PEOPLE Alaska Native k-12

FEATURES

A Change at the Toppage 2

Alaska Native Studentspage 3

AFN Elders-Youth Eventpage 4-5

New Staffpage 6

K-12 Education Tablespage 7

Since 2003, First Alaskans has publishedannual Alaska Native K-12 EducationIndicators Reports. These analyze Nativeacademic performance and compare itwith that of non-Native students. Inearly summer of this year, we will publishthe three-volume 2006 Report, whichfocuses on the 2004-2005 school year.The document will be available (for yourdownloading and use) on our websitewww.firstalaskans.org.

The new report includes informationabout enrollments, attendance rates,students with disabilities, teachers andadministrators, test scores, graduationrates, drop-out rates, etc. Statewide dataare also broken out by each of the 12Native regions within the state.

Population estimates for the 2004-2005school year indicate that therewere 655,435 people living inAlaska, an increase of 4.5 %from the Census 2000 figures.Of this total, 127,008(19.4%) were AlaskaNatives, up slightly from19% in 2000.

Including correspondence schools andMt. Edgecombe High School, there were500 public schools in 54 school districtsstatewide, with 132,899 studentsenrolled for the 2004-2005 school year.(Please see the first graphic table on page7 for details.) Public school enrollmentsare greatest in the Cook Inlet, Doyon andSealaska regions.

The second graphic table on page 7shows us that there were 32,278 AlaskaNative students (24.3% of total studentenrollment statewide) enrolled during2004-2005. Schools located in theArctic Slope, Bering Straits, Bristol Bay,Calista, and NANA regions had Nativeenrollments of more than 80 percent oftotal enrollment. The Aleut region alsohad a majority Native enrollment (53.2percent). Schools located in the CookInlet region had the greatest numbers ofAlaska Native students (8,243 students),followed by the Calista region (7,003students).

In the 2004-2005 school year, 18,140students (13.6% of statewide totalenrollment) were classified as havingdisabilities, a slight decrease from the2003-2004 school year. Alaska Nativesmake up 31.1 percent (5,648 students)of all students classified as havingdisabilities. Alaska Natives classified withdisabilities make up 17.5 percent of allAlaska Native students enrolled, whereas12.4 percent of all non-Native studentsenrolled are classified with disabilities.

The 54 school districts that operatedduring the 2004–2005 school yearemployed a total of 52 superintendents,338 principals, and 8,009 teachers. Ofthese professionals, only 390 were AlaskaNatives (4.6 % of all employed educatorsthat year). Natives constituted 7.8 % ofsuperintendents (4 individuals), 4.4 % ofprincipals (15 individuals), and 4.6 % ofteachers (371 individuals). The percentageof Native educators was about one-fifthof what it would be, if it were on a parwith Native student enrollments.

There was a statewide total “educatorturnover” rate between the 2003-2004and 2004-2005 school years of 17.8 %(including superintendents, principals andteachers). Among teachers, the turnoverrate was 17.6%. The highest teacherturnover rates were found in the BeringStraits (41.6 %), Arctic Slope (30.2 %),NANA (26.9 %), and Aleut (26.4 %)regions. Compared with school districtsnationwide, these are very high rates ofeducator turnover between one schoolyear and the next.

The remaining three tables on page 7illustrate statewide standardized testscores for reading, writing and math,comparing Alaska Native students to allother students.

In reading, writing and math, thepercentages of Alaska Native studentswho scored at a “proficient” level wereconsistently lower than that of all otherethnicities. This achievement gap variesby grade and subject, but it holds truethroughout the test scores.

For more informat ion regardingthe Alaska Native K-12 EducationIndicators, please visit our website atwww.firstalaskans.org.

SPRING 2006 A REPORT TO THE PEOPLE

Alaska Native k-12 education‘04-05 AK Native k-12 educationindicators report due out soon

Amanda Achee, Bethel, AK:Photo by Chris Arend, Courtesy United Utilities, Inc.

cont. on pg. 7

2 PROGRESS FOR THE NEXT TEN THOUSAND YEARS

After six years as the Presidentand CEO of First Alaskans,Byron I. Mallott has steppeddown from that position,effective April 15, 2006. He issucceeded by Janie Leask, theformer Chairperson of theInstitute’s Board of Trustees.

Mr. Mallott will remain onstaff until July 1 to assist inthe transition. Thereafter, hewill serve as a Senior Fellow ofthe Alaska Native PolicyCenter (a project of FirstAlaskans) and may take onother contractual duties.

For several years, Ms. Leaskhas been Manager ofCommunity Relations forAlyeska Pipeline ServiceCompany. Before joiningAlyeska, she served as VicePresident of CommunityDevelopment for the NationalBank of Alaska. Prior to that,she had spent fifteen yearswith the Alaska Federation ofNatives, the last seven yearsas its President.

Janie currently serves as BoardPresident of CommonwealthNorth, as a board member ofthe Anchorage Chamber ofCommerce and as a memberof the UAA Board of Advisors.

Her previous involvementincludes serving on the boardsof the Alaska PermanentFund, Anchorage Chamber ofCommerce, Alaska StateChamber of Commerce, StateBoard of Education, AlaskaLand Use Council, AlaskaHumanities Forum, AlaskaVillage Initiatives, and CookInlet Region, Inc. (one of thetwelve ANCSA RegionalCorporations).

Janie is Haida-Tsimshianand Irish-German and wasraised in Metlakatla andAnchorage. Her work onurban-rural issues has earnedher several recognitions,including the Governor’sAward, the Alaska VillageInitiative’s Chief’s KnifeAward, and Shareholder ofthe Year from Cook Inlet

Region, Inc. She alsoreceived the Chairman’sAward from the AnchorageChamber of Commerce forher work in organizing tripsto rural villages to furtherunderstanding between urbanand rural peoples. She hasco-chaired two gubernatorialcampaigns and was recognizedas a 2000 YWCA Woman ofAchievement and a 2001 Top25 Most Powerful Alaskans.

Mr. Mallott was born inYakutat, the ancestral homeof his mother’s Tlingit clan.He has been active in Alaska’spublic life since 1965, whenhe was elected Mayor ofYakutat at the age of 22. In avariety of capacities, he hasserved every governor sinceStatehood, including WilliamA. Egan, in whose cabinetByron was the first Commissionerof Community and RegionalAffairs. He is a LifetimeMember of the Grand Campof the Alaska NativeBrotherhood and is the Leaderof the Kwaashkikwaan Clan

of the Tlingit Raven Peopleof Yakutat.

Byron is a former President ofthe Alaska Federation ofNatives. He is also a formerBoard Chairman andPresident/CEO of SealaskaCorporation and currentlyserves on Sealaska’s Board ofDirectors. Prior to his post atFirst Alaskans, Byron served asExecutive Director of theAlaska Permanent FundCorporation. He has been asa director of several bankinginstitutions and currentlyserves on the Boards ofDirectors of Alaska Air Group(parent company of AlaskaAirlines) and AlaskaCommunications Systems(ACS). He also served asMayor of the City andBorough of Juneau.

Byron and his wife Toni maketheir home in Juneau andYakutat, where they haveraised five children.

test yourknowledge!

answers on pg. 6

From June through August,2006, First Alaskans willoperate its third annualsummer internship programfor young Native adults. Thisten-week project is part ofLeadership Development,one of the top priorities ofour organization. We focuson the future.

As of April, 2006, we haveaccepted 30 interns, who willbe placed with a varietyof summer employers inAnchorage and statewide.They come from nine Nativeregions of the state: Aleut,Arctic Slope, Bering Straits,Bristol Bay, Y-K Delta, CookInlet, Interior, Northwest andSoutheast. 22 will be workingin Anchorage, four in Juneau,two in Sitka, one in Kotzebue,one in Dillingham and one inSt. Mary’s.

Many are in college or graduateschool at such institutions as

Alaska Pacific University,Brigham Young University,Brown University, CharterCollege, Colby College,Dartmouth College, KenaiPeninsula College (UA),Mount Marty College,Southern Oregon University,University of AlaskaAnchorage, University ofAlaska Fairbanks, NorthwestCollege (UA), University ofAlaska Southeast, Universityof Arizona, CincinnatiUniversity, University ofIdaho, and University ofWashington.

Their major fields of studyinclude American Studies,Anthropology, Native AmericanStudies, Biological Sciencesand Microbiology, BusinessAdministration & Management,Civil & Mechanical Engineering,Education, Computer Scienceand Information Technology,Environmental Studies, Nursing,Psychology, Pre-Med, Rural

Development, Spanish, ProcessTechnology and IndustrialProcess Instrumentation.

The interns will work for theirassigned employers four daysper week; but on Fridays,they will gather with our staff andguest speakers for in-depthdiscussions of Native history,culture, economics, population,education, health/wellness,Elders, state government,characteristics of leadership,and involvement in publicpolicy. Those located outsideAnchorage will participatein the Friday seminars byweb-casting.

Recruitment of internapplicants was done in thefirst three months of thisyear - by our website, hundredsof email announcements,and visits to college campuses.We received 42 applications,and interviews were held inthe first week of March.

Employer recruitment noticeswere sent to more than 110organizations. We received29 partner interest formsfrom prospective employers -17 of them returning fromlast year and 12 that arenew to the program. A few ofthe employers will place morethan one intern this summer.The opening orientationsession for the interns will beheld on June 5 and 6.

This year’s program will berun by Chris Kolerok, aCup’ik student at UAA whowas an intern last summer.Welcome aboard, Chris!

(Please see the second articleon pg. 3 for Byron Mallott’srecent column, published inthe Anchorage Daily News,for a discussion of why thiscurriculum is necessary.)

Greta Goto, First Alaskans'Senior Vice President andDirector of the Alaska NativePolicy Center, was the recentrecipient of a prestigiousaward from the Universityof Alaska Anchorage. Inrecognition of her service onthe Business Policy AdvisoryBoard for UAA's College ofBusiness and Public Policy,

Greta was selected for the2006 "Outstanding ServiceContribution to the Collegeby an Alumnus" Award.(She had received her MBAdegree from the College in2001.) Pictured here areGreta and Dean Tom Case ofthe College of Business andPublic Policy.

looking forward to our 2006 summer interns!

1. Who was the first

president of the Alaska

Federation of Natives?

A. Flore Lekanof

B. Emil Notti

C. Willie Hensley

D. Elizabeth Peratrovich

2. Which two types of

Tribes exist in Alaska today?

A. Those with 500 or fewer

members and those with

more than 500 members

B. IRA’s and Traditional Councils

C. Those that are governments

and those that deliver

federal services

D. Those recognized - and

those not recognized - by

the State of Alaska

3. Who is the current

President of the Central

Council of Tlingit and Haida

Indian Tribes of Alaska?

A. William Paul

B. Chris McNeil

C. Byron Mallott

D. Edward Thomas

4. What did the First Organic

Act of 1884 do in Alaska?

A. Gave Alaska Natives the

right to vote

B. Set up a full Territorial

Government that lasted

until 1959

C. Set up a partial Territorial

Government that lasted

until 1912

D. Allowed individual Natives to

apply for small land allotments

5. When a shareholder of

any ANCSA corporation dies

and has heirs, what happens

to his or her stock?

A. It goes only to his/her

surviving spouse and children

B. It goes to his/her heirs, but

only if they are Alaska Natives

C. It goes to his/her heirs,

regardless of their race

D. It goes back to the

corporation that issued it

a change at the topfor First Alaskans Institute

congratulations Greta!

3

vitality reportAlaska Native student

Two former First Alaskans internshave taken on the task of analyzing thecharacteristics of culturally sensitiveeducation systems that serve Nativestudents effectively. The researchers areMalia Villegas (Alutiiq), who holdsan M.Ed. degree and is currently a Ph.Dcandidate at Harvard, and Rebecca Prieto(Inupiaq), who holds Bachelor’s degreein Clinical Psychology and is an M.S.candidate at University of Alaska Anchorage.

They have interviewed 45 Native leaders,legislators, state officials, school districtstaffs and community members inorder to produce their Alaska NativeStudent Vitality report. The publi-cation summarizes the compo-nents of Native student successin public schools by answeringfour important questions:

• What are useful studentoutcomes and measuresof success?

• What do Native studentsneed to know in orderto be successful?

• Who is responsible for sharingknowledge with them?

• What are the characteristics ofeffective schools for Native students?

The report notes that data on Nativeeducation rarely highlight the successesand capabilities of Native students andtheir communities. Instead, we seeinformation that is almost exclusively

about academic shortfalls.Experts concentrate on

why Native studentscannot keep up

with their non-Native peers –

based on theunspoken

assumption that students bear soleresponsibility for their successes or failuresin school. Rather, we should focus onwhat Native families and communitiesexpect of their students and schoolsin order to create a better way ofsupporting both.

Most people who answered about Nativeexpectations focused on preparingstudents to live in two worlds, to succeedin Western cultures and economies, andto thrive as human beings throughtraditional values. Other responsesinclude supporting Native academicsuccess and recognizing that educationis a joint venture between students,families, schools and local communities.

The characteristics of effective schoolsmirror the expectations of the Nativecommunity, centered on individualstudent needs, with emphasis ondevelopment of relationships beyondschool. The latter provide students withopportunities to take ownership of

their own learning, to develop partner-ships and to provide encouragement.Unless all participants will work tochange the system itself, the data will notchange either.

The report was supported by a grantfrom the Denali Commission and theInstitute for Social and Economic Researchat the University of Alaska Anchorage.

If you want to understand why FirstAlaskans Institute places such anemphasis on Native youth and Nativeknowledge, please read the followingcolumn, which is re-printed from a“Compass” piece written by ByronMallott and published in the AnchorageDaily News, Sunday, April 9, 2006.

Young Alaska Natives often find them-selves “walking in two worlds” - oneworld consisting of grandparents,ancient languages and subsistence-dependent communities - and the othercomposed of college degrees, Internettechnology and an evolving worldeconomy.

All of us are faced with disorientingchange in the modern age; but thesheer distance between the old and thenew is nowhere greater than amongyoung Natives, who must bridge millenniaof change. Anyone faced with that taskneeds a place to stand - a sense of identi-ty and self-worth that can combine pastand present in a healthy balance.

The 2000 Census showed us that44.2% of all Native Americans in Alaskahad not yet reached their 20th birthdays!The Native population is so youngbecause of a large demographic bubbleof children and youth now coming upthrough the schools and beginning toenter the workforce. What they will do

with their adult lives and careersdepends on good public education,sound personal choices and the availabilityof economic opportunity. But the abilityto take advantage of such things, whenthey appear, often depends on an innersense of oneself and of the people fromwhom one comes.

Many of today’s young Natives havelittle understanding of their own histories,even about events in the 20th Century.The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Actof 1971, for example, was landmarklegislation that settled a century-longlegal issue of land title and made modernAlaska possible. The same historicalimportance can be seen in issues likesubsistence hunting and fishing, Nativepublic education and local governancein the bush. How can young people beexpected to grasp how these complexsocial issues evolved, unless someonewho knows will teach it to them? It iseasy to blame Native parents and non-Native school teachers for the resultingknowledge gap, but neither group ofadults could have been expected toknow all the intricacies of the law.

Last summer, First Alaskans Instituteoperated a 10-week summer internprogram for 32 young Native adults.Each Friday, the interns met with staffand speakers for discussions on manytopics: Native and non-Native population,

health, economics and education;ANCSA and the Land Claims movement;the roles of tribes; the wisdom of Elders;historical trauma and the need for healing;and the State of Alaska and its remarkableConstitution. To lead the seminars, webrought in leaders who have dedicatedtheir lives to such matters. Our staffcame away from the experience feelingthat we had given the interns some-thing they had been craving for years.By such means, we Alaska Natives mustdevelop our own next generation ofleadership.

The responsibility for teaching theAlaska Native past first falls on us asNatives - through our communities,organizations and leaders. Who elsecould connect with Native students byspeaking in the “we” voice, rather thanby saying “they” or “you?” Who else,having worked through such events,would have a better grasp of whatactually happened?

There is no reason why each Nativeregion and village in Alaska, through itsprofit and non-profit institutions, couldnot spearhead the development of itsown local history - because the word“Native” encompasses a broad range ofdifferent peoples living in differentenvironments. Such a local body ofknowledge could then be taught notonly by Natives, but by non-Native

teachers who have made the effort tolearn about the histories and culturalperceptions of the children they see inthe classroom.

If it is the Natives’ responsibility to startthis cooperative enterprise, it is the roleof Alaska’s policymakers and educationaladministrators to recognize the validityof that knowledge, to develop it into aprofessional curriculum, and to teach itin schools - with the active help of localNative Elders and leaders. This wouldimprove the lives of the students andtheir families; it would raise the level ofNative academic performance; and itwould make a better Alaska for us all.

None of us can learn unless we knowwho we are.

summer internshipsand Native knowledge

Malia Villegas Rebecca Prieto

Byron Mallott


elders-youth conference

In 1984, AFN held its first YouthConference, attended by 54 Native highschool students. Within a few years, thatevent grew to more than 500 students,and a separate Elders Conferencebecame a regular part of AFNConvention week. By the early 1990’s,the two were combined, giving differentgenerations of Alaska Natives theopportunity to talk about importantissues. This gathering, held on Monday andTuesday of Convention week, combinesthe best of both worlds: our young people,the next wave of Native leadership; andour respected Elders, the culture bearerswho link us to our heritage.

Last October, First Alaskans planned andhosted the Conference, held in theCarlson Center in Fairbanks. We aregrateful to the local planning team,including those from the Native community:Rhonda Joseph (Committee Chair), AnnieHuntington-Kriska, Poldine Carlo (Elderrepresentative), Judy Evans, RachelGraybeal, Bernice Joseph, and PerryAhsogeak.

We also thank the sponsors whose cashcontributions of more than $60,000made the event possible: $10,000 eachfrom Doyon and Wells Fargo; $5,000each from NANA, BP, RasmusonFoundation, Sealaska, and AlyeskaPipeline; $2500 each from Calista andthe Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.Other generous donations were receivedfrom ACS, Alaska Energy Authority,Alaska Growth Capital, ANTHC, NorthrimBank, Usibelli Foundation, KPMG, KeyBank, Alaska Permanent Capital andmany others.

The 2005 Youth Council had alreadybeen elected at the 2004 Conference;and members of the Elders Council wereidentified in spring, 2005. The followingmembers were active in planning lastyear’s Conference and in choosing itstheme (“Embracing Tomorrow withthe Strength of Our Elders”): WillieGoodwin, Jr., Kotzebue (Elder); IverMalutin, Native Village of Afognak(Elder); Dorothy Dickenson, Nome (Elder);Gabriel Muktoyuk, Sr., Nome (Elder);Isabella Brady, Sitka (Elder); MarleneJohnson, Juneau (Elder); Dana Kopanuk,Bethel (Elder); Candace Branson, Kodiak(Youth); Danielle Hopkins, Cordova(Youth); and Duane White, Hoonah (Youth).

More than 1,000 people participated inthe two-day event, and there weregalvanizing moments for the audience -as noted in two articles by MEDIAKinterns Olinka Thorson and Sean O’Brien,which are reprinted on pgs. 4 and 5.

One of the most interesting presenterswas Cory Witherill, a young Navajo manand a veteran Indianapolis 500 race cardriver whose group races as “TeamDiabetes.” That dangerous illness hitsNative American populations especiallyhard.

Dance and cultural presentations werealso a highlight of the 2005 gathering;and our thanks go to members of theFairbanks Native Association PotlatchDancers, the Colville River Dancers ofNuiqsut, the Inu-Yupiaq Dancers, theHawaiian Youth Delegation, theAllakaket Singers and Dancers and theMount Edgecumbe High School Dancers.

In addition to speakers and panelists,more than two dozen break-out work-shops were held on such topics aseducational achievement, Nativelanguages as keys to culture, traditionalstory-telling, life and community, and

personal involvement in public issues.

The 2006 Elders and Youth Conferencewill be held on Monday and Tuesday,October 23 and 24, at the EganConvention Center in Anchorage. It isopen to the general public withoutcharge, and we look forward to seeingyou and your family there.

By Sean O’Brien, MEDIAK Intern

It’s been called one of the most powerfulmoments from this year’s First AlaskansElders and Youth Conference.

The room grew silent when Bethel elderPaul Gregory took the microphone.

“Just don’t do it,” he said, his voicecrackling with emotion. “We love youand that is a gift, but by drinking ordoing drugs all you’re doing is spittingon our love.”

When he sat down, cheeks wet withtears, the audience rose to its feet andhonored his wisdom with a standingovation.

His impromptu speech came on theheels of a report exploring underagedrug and alcohol use among AlaskaNative youth.

Adriene Active, of Alaska Federation ofNatives, U.S Attorney Tim Burgess andAlaska State Trooper Nasruk Naypresented highlights from a new reportabout underage drug and alcohol useamong Alaska Native youth. The groupalso offered sober options within theNative community.

Active surveyed Native students at theUniversity of Alaska Anchorage abouttheir use of drugs and alcohol. Of thosesurveyed, 89 percent admitted to usingdrugs or drinking alcohol at some point.

The survey included questions such aswhen, where and why youth startdrinking and how underage people getalcohol and drugs.

One male respondent said he useddrugs and alcohol to have fun and party.A female surveyed said she and herfriends drank alcohol at parties, inempty buildings, on the beach or inthe woods.

Most youth said that they got alcoholby stealing it from family or friends orwaiting outside a liquor store and askingsomeone to buy it for them.

Active said that 56 percent of today’syouth believe alcohol and drug abuse is

a serious matter in need of a solution.She said she also received reports ofchildren as young as 10 drinking in Alaska.

Active suggested some ideas to helpyouth choose healthy lifestyles:

• Take children to potlatches or othercultural events

• Get them involved in sports

• Do all they can to help their children

• Always stay calm

• Don’t let your kids hang around otherswho are always in trouble

• Keep informed about your child’spersonal life

During U.S. Attorney Burgess’ report, hesaid that methamphetamines are found

a remarkableevent

alcohol and drug abuse discussed at conference

cont. on pg. 5

Mount Edgecumbe High School Dancers

Young Yup’ik Performer

5

nference

By Olinka Thorson MEDIAK Intern

It was bitter cold the December night in1928 when Sidney C. Huntington, now91, learned one of his most lasting lifelessons. He was barely in his teens whenhe went out to check the family trap lineand nearly died of hypothermia.

With night rapidly closing in, and thetemperature at minus 78 degrees, the boytraveled too far from home and got socold he had to cut his frozen clothing offhis body to warm himself.

“As I got older, this lesson stayed withme,” Huntington told the crowd at theFirst Alaskans Elders and YouthConference at the Carlson Center inFairbanks Oct. 17, 2005.

After spending his own childhood helpinghis father with the trapping and othersubsistence techniques, he said hepromised himself he’d do everything hecould to improve education in ruralAlaskan communities.

“I did not want them to suffer like I didjust to survive,” Huntington said. “Weall have something to learn from oneanother, so I share what I’ve learned inhopes that it will benefit our children.”

In his day, villages did not have theirown public schools. Instead it was left tomission schools to teach Alaska Native kidsto read and write. Huntington said Nativechildren were considered substandardstudents and it would take most of themat least two extra years to graduate highschool. He said he wanted to change thisfor the generations that followed.

In 1963 Huntington was living in Galenaand was on the school board, on which heworked for about 20 years. Ten years later,

he made his first step toward improvingeducation for Native children in villages byforming a school board for the Galena CitySchool District.

He said his “cutting edge” ideas abouteducation weren’t popular at the time. Butafter 30 years of hard work and sacrifice,there are three schools filled with about180 students and about 3,400 students inthe home-school program.

Huntington emphasized the importance ofparents as teachers. “Parent and elders,our students and the school need you tobe involved to make it work,” he said. “Itis the parents who have the authority -they can dictate where the school cannot.It’s the parents we need to talk to andlisten to.”

Huntington has recorded his l ifeexperiences in a memoir, called “Shadowson the Koyukok,” which describes hislife with no education and the strugglesand rewards of a subsistence lifestyle.

“Life has changed so much over my past90 years,” Huntington said. “It’s like livingin a different world.”

Just surviving was a challenge in the worldinto which he was born, he said.

Huntington has about 20 children andenough grandchildren and great-grand-children that he could not even put anumber on them.

This elder-educator-author is an inspirationto the elders and the future generationswho will one day be ruling this world anddoing amazing things just like role-modelHuntington.

an annual AFN event

more and more in Alaska. He said thesedangerous drugs cause extreme damageto the body and are very addictive.Burgess said he has seen reports ofchildren as young as 11 either usingmethamphetamines or living in a house-hold with family members who are users.

Methamphetamines have many streetnames, including crystal meth, glass or “G.”

Methamphetamines like crystal meth aremade up of more than 30 ingredients,including common household items likecold medicines, battery acid and charcoal.

The drug can be snorted, injected orsmoked. At low doses, methampheta-mines boost alertness, but in high doses,

or with long-term use, the drug alsoblocks hunger and fatigue and causesunpredictable behavior including anxiety,sleep disorders and confusion.

Crystal meth and other methampheta-mines can cause users to hallucinate andbelieve that insects are crawling all overtheir bodies: they can’t stop scratchingthemselves, eventually digging bloodysores into their faces and bodies. Onesign of the use of this drug is dramaticloss of weight and skin color turningpale, Burgess said.

The third presenter was Nasruk Nay, anAlaskan State Trooper originally fromNoorvik. Nay went to high school inKotzebue and began working as a

police officer there in 1994. He thenwent on to the North Slope Borough in1996 and in 1998 became a StateTrooper.

“Be a positive role model in yourcommunity and always be ready tobring order and calm during situationsthat are traumatic for others,” he said.

Nay said that he would rather be aTrooper for a small town or villagebecause it gives him a chance to get toknow everyone so it’s easier to handlepolice work.

“The best thing about being a StateTrooper is helping people in need ofassistance or in need of help because

they are out of control,” he said duringan interview following his presentation.

Sean O’Brien is a MEDIAK Intern and afreshman at East High School inAnchorage.

“from uneducated to educator”Here is a brief excerpt from the keynote address given at

the 2005 Conference by Athabascan Elder Sidney

Huntington of Galena:

“Growing up during these modern days, you have to be strong, to be

courageous. I often tell others that I would not want to grow up in this

age. The choices you are faced with are frightening. I don’t know that I

could handle it. You have to have courage to stand strong against the

forces that could destroy your life - namely, drugs, violence and alcohol

abuse. We all know that it’s all around and a temptation. All I can say is

to be strong - be courageous! The choice you make not only affects your

life and ability to pursue your dreams, but it affects the lives of others -

your loved ones. Just like the youngster of my age, who had to learn

hunting skills for his survival and the survival of his family, you have to

learn the skills that are required today; and you will learn that from your

parents, from your Elders and in school.”

cont. from pg. 4

MediAK Intern Olinka Thorson interviews Keynote Speaker Sidney Huntington.

Alaska State Trooper Nasruk Nay


Krista Anderson has joined us in atemporary position of Project Assistantin the Alaska Native Policy Center. Sheassists with our Rural DevelopmentPerformance Measures Project, findingways to measure poverty reductionfrom economic development efforts.Krista holds a B.A. in Political Scienceand Global Studies from PacificLutheran University and a J.D. fromWillamette University’s College ofLaw. She has worked as a BailAttorney Intern at the Alaska PublicDefenders Office and a GraduateIntern at the Denali Commission. Herfamily is from Unalakleet, and herInupiaq name is Tatuik.

Helena Batman is Central andSiberian Yup’ik, from Dillingham andSavoonga. Her Yup’ik name isGugiyuruq. A former First Alaskansintern, Helena joins us in a temporaryposition of Research Assistant with theAlaska Native Policy Center. She is“…enthused to be part of a talentedteam…” and is dedicated to “…acts ofpositive change in Alaskan communities.”Helena is working on her ElementaryEducation degree at the University ofAlaska Anchorage and will do herclassroom internship with theAnchorage School District, in fall,2006. She is married and a proudmother of three.

Chris Kolerok, also a former FirstAlaskans intern, has the temporaryposition of Intern Coordinator of our2006 Summer Internship Project.Chris believes that leadership is basedon “knowing yourself” and that anAlaska Native leader is one who dealswith the modern world on a foundationof traditional values and behaviors.He is dedicated to passing along ourcultural foundations to each newgeneration of youth. Chris is a juniorin Economics, with a minor inCommunications, at the University ofAlaska Anchorage. He is Cup’ikEskimo and resides in Anchorage.

When you log on to First Alaskans’ web-site at the address above, you find a largelist of materials about the modern AlaskaNative community and the issues it faces:

Program updates in LeadershipDevelopment:Annual AFN Elders and Youth Conference,our child literacy project with TysonElementary School, and our programsof Summer Internships for youngNative adults.

Program updates for the AlaskaNative Policy Center:Discussion Series on statewide literacy effortsand data on Alaska Native population,health/wellness, economics and education(originally published in the “Choices” Report).

Publications by First Alaskans andthe Policy Center:Alaska Native Education Study 2001;Survey of Native Perspectives on AlaskaIssues 2003; Alaska Native K-12 Education

Indicators 2003; Spirit Camp Directoryand Resource Guide; “Our Choices - OurFuture” Report 2004; Alaska LiteracyReport 2004, and the Alaska Native K-12Education Indicators 2004. The 2006 edi-tion of Native K-12 Education Indicatorswill soon be posted.

Links and Resources:Job opportunities, grants, scholarships,fellowships, educational programs,internship announcements and communityevents. Past articles of statewide interestfrom the Tundra Drums, Arctic Sounder,Dutch Harbor Fisherman, Cordova Times,Bristol Bay Times and Seward PhoenixLog. Ways of tracking bills through theAlaska Legislature and U.S. Congress.

Selected Resources about AlaskaNatives:A bibliography covering population,family, health, education, economics,justice, community, governance and lands.

Policy Papers:From the 2003 AFN National Forumin Washington, D.C.: Education,Hea l th , Economic Development,Self-Determination.

Press Center:Our 2003 and 2005 (and soon 2006) FirstAlaskans Newsletters and press releasesfrom April 2005 to the present.

About Us:First Alaskans’ History, Mission, Goals,Trustees and Staff

Contact Us:Address, phone, email, fax info and drivingdirections.

“When the Season Is Good: Artists ofArctic Alaska” is an excellent new filmrecently released on DVD by theAlaska Native Arts Foundation. Itfocuses on the lives and work of artistsfrom the Seward Peninsula and St.

Lawrence Island. The Arts Foundationis planning similar film productions onartists from other regions of the state -in order to honor creative people andto raise the profile of Alaska Native artwith the public.

You may order DVD copies of the firstfilm, at a cost of $19.95 per copy, plusshipping and handling, by logging onto www.alaskanativearts.org.

answers to“test your knowledge”

from pg. 2

First Alaskans Institute welcomes three new employees hired during recent months.

1. B.The first AFN President was Emil Notti(Athabascan) of Ruby. In October,1966, Mr. Notti, then president ofthe Cook Inlet Native Association,convened a statewide Native landrights meeting in Anchorage. In abuilding at 428 West Fourth Avenue,then owned by the Village of Tyonek,the three-day meeting convened onOctober 18, with an attendance ofover 250 people from seventeenNative groups. The organizationthey founded was temporarily calledthe “Alaska Federation of NativeAssociations,” and it chose WillieHensley (Inupiaq) of Kotzebue aschair of its Lands Committee andFlore Lekanof (Aleut) of St. George aschair of its By-Laws Committee. Thenew organization met again in early1967 to formalize its name as the“Alaska Federation of Natives,”electing Emil as its first president.

2. B.69 of all the recognized Alaska Tribesare IRA’s (with modern constitutionsapproved by the U.S. under theIndian Reorganization Act); and allother Alaska Tribes are TraditionalCouncils, which descend from timeimmemorial. The number of tribalmembers does nothing to distinguishbetween different types of Tribes. AllTribes in Alaska have certain powersof self-governance over their ownmembers; and they may deliverfederal services (directly or throughdesignation of a regional non-profitservice institution). Recognition oftribal status is entirely a matter offederal law, and the State govern-ment has no role in the matter.

3. D.The President of Tlingit and Haida isEdward K. Thomas, originally fromCraig. Chris McNeil, from Juneau, isPresident and CEO of SEALASKA,Inc. Byron Mallott, from Yakutat, hasserved the Native community inmany capacities, most recently asPresident and CEO of First AlaskansInstitute. Elizabeth Peratrovich, fromPetersburg, was a great Native civilrights leader of the 1940’s andpassed away in 1958.

4. C.It set up a partial Territorial Government(with a federally appointedGovernor, District Court Judge andMarshall - but without a legislature,taxing power, locally appropriateland laws or a CongressionalDelegate. Later congressionallegislation, including the SecondOrganic Act of 1912, set up thefull Territorial Government that lasteduntil Statehood.

5. C.The stock goes to the deceasedperson’s heirs, regardless of theirrace. BUT, if any such heir is not anAlaska Native or a Descendant of aNative, he or she may own the stockand receive dividends, but may notvote such stock in corporate meetingsas long as that corporation’s stockremains inalienable.

new film on Alaska Native artists is now available

meet our new staff members

check out our website!WWW.FIRSTALASKANS.ORG

7

measuring poverty reduction

k-12 education indicator reports cont. from pg.1

created by rural development projects

As a statewide philanthropic foundation,First Alaskans Institute emphasizes supportfor local programs that contribute to theadvancement and empowerment ofNative people, especially young peoplewho are tomorrow’s leaders. Accordingly,we are proud to announce the followingrecipients of our community investments.

Inuit Circumpolar Conference - Alaska:To support the annual ICC meeting,which will be held in Barrow on July 10 -13, 2006. The theme of this year’s con-ference is “Inuit Unity within Diversity.”The Inuit Circumpolar Conference is aninternational organization representingNative peoples of the Arctic. It is com-posed of members from Alaska, Canada,Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). TheICC seeks to strengthen and protect Inuitrights and the circumpolar region of theglobe.

Alaska Native ProfessionalsAssociation:To assist in developing marketing andbranding materials to promote the ANPA.The Association seeks to build relation-ships, leadership and community involve-ment among young Native adults. Itfocuses on active participation in monthlygatherings, committee work groups andvarious other community-based initia-tives.

KNBA:To provide ongoing support for southcen-tral Alaska’s radio station KNBA andits efforts to bring the Alaska Nativevoice into the public media. FirstAlaskans has given grant support and haspurchased air time for public serviceannouncements.

Larry Goldin and Jim Sykes:Support for the preservation of historicalfilm footage of interest to the Nativecommunity and all Alaskans. Grantfunding has been given through theAlaska Humanities Forum.

Leadership Forum:Support for Ben Young (Haida) andElizabeth Saagulik Hensley (Inupiaq) toparticipate in a national Leadership Forum(“Native Leadership and the ChallengesAhead”), in January, 2006.

The Alaska Native Policy Center at FirstAlaskans Institute is currently working ona Rural Development PerformanceMeasures Project. This effort will designand test a system of performancemeasures linking economic growth topoverty reduction. Funded by the DenaliCommission, its purpose is to provideagencies and the public a tool to be usedto measure the effectiveness of economicdevelopment programs in reducingpoverty in rural Alaskan communities.The measures may include economic,educational, social and cultural indicators.

Project objectives include:

• A participatory process that asks ruralresidents for their input, feedback andevaluation

• Identification of existing streams of data that are regularly available

• A framework for linking economic growth to poverty reduction

• Identification of additional data needsand possible collection procedures

• Testing of the performance measures system

• Evaluation of the overall project

Project activities include literature reviewsof research on poverty definitions,economic and social indicators of well-being, sources of data, and the broadrange of Alaskan economic developmentprograms. In addition, the PolicyCenter will hold a series of discussions toencourage Alaska Natives and others toprovide input and advice on the issuesraised in this project.

The expertise that leaders and othermembers of our communities bring tothis effort is an essential part of the Rural

Development Performance Measures Project.Their input, along with literature reviewsand technical research, will contribute tothe design of the performance measuresand recommended implementationprocedures. First Alaskans believes it isimportant for Alaska Natives and ruralresidents to be involved in and informedabout social research that may affecttheir lives. The project is scheduled to becompleted in July 2007.

For more information, [email protected].

NUMBER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND STUDENT ENROLLMENTS by Alaska Native Region 2004 – 2005

Alaska Native Region Number of Schools Total Enrollment

Ahtna 12 1,307Aleut 13 866Arctic Slope 10 1,938Bering Straits 19 2,474Bristol Bay 28 1,807Calista 53 7,294Chugach 9 1,532Cook Inlet 175 74,040Doyon 86 23,687Koniag 14 2,701NANA 13 2,143Sealaska 68 12,774Statewide Total 500 132,899

Comparison to Previous Year 500 133,933Number Change 0 -1,034Percent Change 0.0% -0.7%

ALASKA NATIVE SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS by Native Region, 2004 – 2005 School Year

Alaska Native Region Alaska Natives All Other Ethnicities Total StudentsNumber Percent Number Percent

Ahtna 262 20.0% 1,045 80.0% 1,307Aleut 461 53.2 405 46.8 866Arctic Slope 1,648 85.0 290 15.0 1,938Bering Straits 2,262 91.4 212 8.6 2,474Bristol Bay 1,666 88.7 212 11.3 1,878Calista 7,003 96.0 291 4.0 7,294Chugach 276 18.0 1,256 82.0 1,532Cook Inlet 8,243 11.1 65,785 88.9 74,028Doyon 3,814 16.4 19,441 83.6 23,255Koniag 561 20.8 2,140 79.2 2,701NANA 1,973 92.1 170 7.9 2,143Sealaska 3,685 28.8 9,089 71.2 12,774Statewide Total 32,278 24.3 100,621 75.7 132,899

Comparison to Previous Year 32,155 24.0 101,788 76.0 133,933Number Change +123 -- -1,167 -- -1,034Percent Change +0.4% -- -1.1% -- -0.7%

ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS COMPARED TO ALL OTHER STUDENTS Statewide Standardized Testing Results, by Ethnicity, 2004-05 School Year

Alaska Natives All Other Ethnicities Total TestedNumber Percent Proficient Number Percent

Grade 3 2,322 61.2% 6,765 85.2% 9,087Grade 4 2,192 56.5 7,150 84.7 9,342Grade 5 2,315 54.5 7,388 84.7 9,703Grade 6 2,396 51.4 7,453 83.7 9,849Grade 7 2,589 56.3 7,803 81.8 10,392Grade 8 2,510 61.7 7,762 86.3 10,272Grade 9 2,478 58.4 7,981 83.2 10,459



* Source:Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

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For more information regarding

the Alaska Native K-12 Education

Indicators, please visit our website

at www.firstalaskans.org

Before I re-introduce myself and welcome you to this issue of our Newsletter, I’d like totake a moment to thank Byron Mallott for his seven years of service to First AlaskansInstitute, as well as his lifelong commitment to the Alaska Native community. Byronwas instrumental in taking First Alaskans from a concept to a functioning organization,and I look forward to working with him in his new capacity as a Senior Fellow of theAlaska Native Policy Center.

Taking this job was an easy decision for me, since I consider the efforts of First Alaskansto be “heart” work. My late father, Wally Leask, of Metlakatla, instilled in me theimportance of giving back to your people and your community in any way you can.I’d like to think I’ve done that in some small way in my previous jobs and plan oncontinuing this sense of social obligation at First Alaskans.

I am Haida-Tsimshian on my dad’s side and Irish-German on my mother’s - spending myearly years in Metlakatla and living most of my adulthood in Anchorage. I have awonderful 26 year-old son, David (whom many of you remember as a child); and amblessed with many friends.

I started my career with AFN in 1974 and spent fifteen years under the tutelage of great mentors - Byron, Willie Hensley, Sam Kito, and three other leaders who have nowpassed away: Roger Lang, Morris Thompson and Frank Ferguson. To me, this job feelsas if I’m coming full circle, back into the Native community, after having worked forsixteen years in the private sector. During those years, I kept in touch with the manychallenges that Alaska’s Native peoples and communities are facing. It feels good to behome again.

First Alaskans is fortunate to have a bright, dedicated staff. That fact is evident fromtheir work: reports such as Our Choices, Our Future and the Alaska Native K-12Education Indicators; summer internship programs; regional presentations on issueresearch; the Elders & Youth Conference; and many other accomplishments.

I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years. Please don’thesitate to contact me if you have questions or advice - because I value your perspectiveon this organization’s future. My direct phone line is 677-1704, and the email addressis [email protected].

Best wishes!

Oliver Leavitt (Inupiaq), Vice ChairArctic Slope Regional Corporation

Willie Hensley (Inupiaq), Secretary/TreasurerAlyeska Pipeline Service Company

Roy M. Huhndorf (Yup’ik), TrusteeR.M. Huhndorf & Company

Julie E. Kitka (Chugach Eskimo), TrusteeAlaska Federation of Natives

Albert Kookesh (Tlingit), TrusteeAlaska State Senator and Co-Chair, AFN

Sam Kito (Tlingit), TrusteeKito, Inc.

In Memoriam:Morris Thompson (Tanana Athabascan)Our Friend and Colleague

(Janie Leask, who has served as Chairperson ofthe First Alaskans Board of Trustees, has leftthat office to become President and CEO,effective April 15, 2006, succeeding ByronMallott. Byron will remain with us a SeniorFellow of the Alaska Native Policy Center, andthe Board will soon elect its new Chair.)

606 E Street, Suite 200Anchorage, Alaska 99501

606 E Street, Suite 200Anchorage, Alaska 99501Tel: 907-677-1700Fax: [email protected]

board of trustees

Janie Leask (Haida-Tsimpsian)President and CEOTel: [email protected]

Greta L. Goto (Yup’ik)Senior Vice President and Director,Alaska Native Policy CenterTel: [email protected]

Sarah Scanlan (Inupiaq)Vice President, Administrationand Programs ManagementTel: [email protected]

Memry Dahl (Aleut)Finance and Projects ManagerTel: [email protected]

Sarah Sherry (Lower Tanana Athabascan)Program OfficerTel: [email protected]

Trina Landlord (Yup’ik)Communications and SpecialProjects CoordinatorTel: [email protected]

Nancy Wesson (Dena’ina Athabascan)Executive AssistantTel: [email protected]

George Irvin (Non-Native)Director of Communicationsand Special ProjectsTel: [email protected]

Krista Anderson (Inupiaq/Caucasian)Project AssistantTel: [email protected]

Helena Batman (Yup’ik)Research AssistantTel: [email protected]

Chris Kolerok (Cup’ik)Intern CoordinatorPhone: [email protected]

We invite you to tell us what you think ofthe work we are doing and the content ofthis newsletter. We value your feedbackand advice!

If you have comments, please contact:

George Irvin, Director of CommunicationsTel: 907-677-1707 Fax: [email protected]

spring 2006Dear Friends:

Janie Leask,President and CEO

staff

Documents

SPRING 2006 A REPORT TO THE PEOPLE Alaska Native k-12