Sealaska Heritage Institute
SHI FOR EDUCATORS | HERITAGE FORWARD
SHI's Bent Wood Box of Knowledge
Click on the below links for more details:
Wisdom is Timeless: Empowering Education Through Southeast Alaskan Native Culture and Heritage
Much of the knowledge and tradition of Southeast Alaskan Native people is as relevant today as it was millennia ago. Through our partnership with universities, school districts and other educational institutions throughout Southeast Alaska, educators are drawing on Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian culture to teach core subjects and promote both cultural identity and cross-cultural understanding.
Our education programs reach children at all educational stages, from pre-school to high school. Our scholarship program helps Alaska Natives who are Sealaska shareholders and descendants pay for college, university, and vocational and technical schools. And our curricula help educators teach Southeast Alaskan Native languages as well as core subjects integrated with Native culture, art, language and history.
SHI's Indigenizing Education for Alaska (IEA)
Click on the below links for more details:
Be the teacher you always wanted.
IEA DETAILS
Alaska Native students and teachers are underrepresented in the education system. We’re fixing that, and we need your help. Be the teacher you always wanted.
Sealaska Heritage Institute initiated Indigenizing Education for Alaska (IEA) to grow the number of Alaska Native teachers and administrators and improve educational opportunities for Alaska Native students. By supporting the recruitment, preparation, and retention of Alaska Native educators and school leadership, we will create a teaching force more representative of Alaska’s Native population who will shape a system that better serves Alaska Native students.
AK Native Studies for Education Student Scholarship
This initiative assists with tuition, fees, and books for up to two courses in Alaska Native studies, language, or history—one per semester—for Alaska Native students who are attending a partner university and majoring in education.
Eligibility Requirements
- Enrolled Alaska Native tribal member
- Freshmen or sophomore undergraduate student
- Currently enrolled in an Alaska Native studies, language, or history course
- Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher
- Pursuing an Alaska teaching certificate
Aspiring Educators/Education Professionals Scholarships
This initiative offers tuition and housing assistance for Alaska Native students enrolled with one of our partner universities in a program leading to a teaching/administrator certificate and/or seeking a terminal degree in education (aka Ph.D. or Ed.D.).
Eligibility Requirements
- Enrolled Alaska Native tribal member
- Currently enrolled in an education certificate/degree program with one of our partner universities
- Junior/senior undergraduate or graduate student
- Cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (undergraduates) or 3.0 (graduates)
Community of Practice (CoP) Alumni
This initiative offers financial assistance to Alaska Native CoP alumni for up to two courses to meet professional development requirements to maintain one’s teaching/administrator certificate.
Eligibility Requirements
- Enrolled Alaska Native tribal member
- Currently employed with an Alaskan public school
- Committed to remaining in current district/school serving Alaska Native students
SHI's EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
Recruit future Alaska Native educators: The Indigenous Future Educator (IFE) program will provide high school students and students enrolled in lower division college courses experiences designed to motivate the desire to become a teacher. These activities include working with youth and Alaska Native educators to develop personal connections.
Prepare Alaska Native educators: Through a partnership with Alaska Pacific University, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and University of Alaska Southeast, SHI provides scholarships and dedicated staff for direct student support. IEA also works with university faculty with professional training in developing Indigenous and culturally based curriculum.
Retain and uplift current Alaska Native educators: IEA supports Native educators through its professional development network and interaction with a community of educators. The creation of Indigenous Educator Awards series and media campaign will elevate and bring recognition to the education profession.
Click on the below tabs for more details (for language activities and resources please visit our Language Area):
Thru the Cultural Lens
It is critical that Native cultures be incorporated into public schools and that teachers have a general understanding of the cultures. Studies have shown that Native students do better academically when they are exposed to their culture in class. To that end, Sealaska Heritage sponsors cultural orientations for teachers in public schools and at the University of Alaska through a memorandum of agreement. Participants learn Native history, Native world views, and about Northwest Coast art. SHI recently expanded this program other Southeast Alaska communities.
Through the program, SHI organizes Our Cultural Landscape: Culturally Responsive Education Conference, which is part of a larger effort to promote culturally responsive pedagogy in schools. SHI is currently accepting proposals from presenters for the 2023 conference, which is scheduled June 13-15. (Apply)
SHI will offer the conference in-person and online. This year’s theme is Latseen Káx̱ Yéi Atdaané— Gathering for Strength. Educators in early childhood through university and community educators are encouraged to submit proposals for presentations.
Opening the Box: STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math)
The institute works with public school teachers through its STEAM program, which teaches math skills to middle-school students through Northwest Coast art. Teams of teachers, artists, and SHI staff are producing, field testing, and disseminating a series of supplemental math resources that incorporate Tlingit culture and language geared for beginning algebra and geometry courses. SHI is building the model for use in Southeast Alaska by adapting nationally recognized, successful math programs developed by other organizations outside the region. The institute also collaborates and provides support to teachers through its high school STEAM program, establishing a regional traditional knowledge community of practice that includes STEAM educators and cultural specialists to design and offer culturally relevant STEAM curriculum for Alaska Native students transitioning into high school. SHI supplements traditional knowledge curriculum with opportunities outside of school to build student identity as STEAM professionals that is aligned with cultural values. These include a STEAM network of professionals to provide mentorship, coaching, role modeling, and internship/job shadowing opportunities for Alaska Native students. Middle school contact: paul.leininger@sealaska.com, high school contact: elle.gray-smith@sealaska.com
STEAM Academy for Middle School
- (Flyer)
- July 20-30, 2023
- Application period opens March 6
- Open to students entering grades 6-8, SHI will fund travel and accommodations for students living outside of Juneau
STEAM Academy for High School
- (Flyer)
- June 2-11, 2023
- Application period opens March 6
- Open to students entering grades 9-12, SHI will fund travel and accommodations for students living outside of Juneau
STEAM Summer Internship
- (Apply) (Flyer)
- June 13-July 19, 2024
- Application deadline: March 29, 2024
- Open to rising juniors, rising seniors, and graduating seniors/GED attainers of the class of 2024 in Southeast Alaska who are descendants of Native Alaskans and Native Americans
STEAM Student Mentorships
- (Apply) (Flyer)
- Spring 2024
- Opportunities for field work, job shadows, and networking with professionals in our communities
STEAM Mentors
- (Apply) (Flyer)
- Spring 2024
- Share your experience with Alaska Native and Native American students on the benefits and realities of post-secondary training and entering a STEAM field.
STEAM Hosts
- (Apply) (Flyer)
- June 13-July 19, 2024
- Application deadline: March 29, 2024
- Host organizations are called upon to provide five weeks of work experience for graduating high school seniors. The goal is to provide these college or career bound students with hands on work experience that incorporates STEAM education and concepts.
STEAM Plant Workshops
- (Apply) (form coming soon)
- Saturdays, 9 am- 2 pm, June 3-July 8, 2023
- For students entering grades 6-8 and their families
- This is a Juneau-based STEAM makerspace learning series taught by Vivian Yéilk’ Mork.
STEAM Canoe Forest (Dual Credit)
- (Apply) (Flyer)
- Spring 2024
- For high school students
- This course gives opportunity to learn more about the unique heritage of your specific forest community in Southeast Alaska. (UAS)
STEAM Marine Science (Dual Credit)
Traditional Games
The Native Youth Olympics Traditional Games is a statewide sport that includes 10 different events or games to test skills of strength, agility, balance, endurance and focus. These games are based on hunting and survival skills of the indigenous people of Alaska and across the arctic going back hundreds of years. Each year, teams of high school and middle school athletes from across the state travel to Anchorage to take part in the Sr. Native Youth Olympics. More than 500 athletes from over 100 communities, split into male and female division, compete for 1st-5th place medals in the 10 events. Athletes strive to perform at their personal best while helping and supporting their fellow competitors, no matter what team. This is the spirit of the games, to work together toward common goals and learn from the skills and values that allowed Alaska Native people to survive and thrive in some of the harshest conditions.
In order to take part in the Sr. Native Youth Olympics, athletes must be currently enrolled and in good standing in a middle school, high school or GED program and between the ages of 12-19. They do NOT need to be Alaska Native.
For more information contact kyle.worl@gmail.com or 907.227.4998. This program is open to all Juneau students. (Instructional Videos)
Upcoming events:
Indigenizing Education for Alaska (IEA)
(Apply)
Sealaska Heritage Institute initiated Indigenizing Education for Alaska (IEA) to grow the number of Alaska Native teachers and administrators and improve educational opportunities for Alaska Native students. By supporting the recruitment, preparation, and retention of Alaska Native educators and school leadership, we will create a teaching force more representative of Alaska’s Native population who will shape a system that better serves Alaska Native students.
Objectives & Initiatives
Recruit future Alaska Native educators: The Indigenous Future Educator (IFE) program will provide high school students and students enrolled in lower division college courses experiences designed to motivate the desire to become a teacher. These activities include working with youth and Alaska Native educators to develop personal connections.
Prepare Alaska Native educators: Through a partnership with Alaska Pacific University, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and University of Alaska Southeast, SHI provides scholarships and dedicated staff for direct student support. IEA also works with university faculty with professional training in developing Indigenous and culturally based curriculum.
Sealaska Heritage, in partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), operates Indigenizing Education For Alaska (IEA), a program that builds on the success of the PITAAS (Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools) program to grow the number of Alaska Native teachers and administrators and improve educational opportunities for Alaska Native students. Our theory of change is that if we support Alaska Native teacher and school leadership recruitment, preparation, and retention, then we will create a more representative Alaskan teaching force that will shape an educational system that will better serve Alaska Native students.
Raven Writes
SHI with its partners SERRC and the Juneau School District designed Raven Writes to meet the needs of Alaska Native students in developing and improving their proficiency in writing. The project’s research-supported strategies include the development of kits based on Alaska Native storytelling and practices, summer camps for the advancement of Alaska Native students’ learning, summer writing institutes for teachers, and the publication of anthologies and celebrations of children’s writing.
Raven Writes Summer Camp
- Raven Writes: Primary School Session: (for students entering grades K-2)
- Raven Writes Intermediate Session: (for students entering grades 3-5)
Scholarships
Sealaska and Judson Brown Scholarships
(Application) (Required Documents) (Schedule) Sealaska Heritage Institute provides scholarships to Alaska Natives who are Sealaska Shareholders and Descendants for college, university, and vocational and technical schools. The annual awards are funded mostly by Sealaska. Applications must be filled out and submitted online. Send questions to scholarship@sealaska.com.
Sealaska Scholarship
- Students must be Alaska Native shareholders or shareholder descendants attending an accredited school.
- Opens: December 15, Closes: March 1
- Award amount: Varies
- Contact: scholarship@sealaska.com
Judson Brown Leadership Award
- Students must be Sealaska scholarship recipients attending at full-time status.
- Application is by invitation only.
- Award amount: $5,000
- Contact: scholarship@sealaska.com
Ruth Demmert Leadership Award
- Students must be Sealaska scholarship recipients majoring in Alaska Native Languages.
- Application is by invitation only.
- Award amount: $5,000
- Contact: scholarship@sealaska.com
Northwest Coast Art & Museums Studies Scholarships
NWC Art & Museum Studies Scholarships are available to undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing arts and science degrees with a focus in studio arts, performing arts, cinematic arts and technology, or creative writing, and who incorporate Northwest Coast Arts studies in their degree; or a degree with a concentration in museum studies
Fall 2023 Semester:
- Students must be attending full-time at an eligible school: Northwest Coast Art degree studies: UAS or IAIA; Museum studies: any USA college
- Opens: May 15, Closes: July 14
- Award amount: $1,000 – $5,000
- Contact: jay.zeller@sealaska.com
Spring 2024 Semester:
- Students must be attending full-time at an eligible school: Northwest Coast Art degree studies: UAS or IAIA; Museum studies: any USA college
- Opens: November 8, Closes: December 15
- Award amount: $1,000 – $5,000
- Contact: jay.zeller@sealaska.com
Our Ancestors’ Echoes Language Scholarship
SHI is funding UAS students interested in taking courses in X̱aad Kíl, Sm’algyáx, and Lingít through Our Ancestors Echoes. Through the program SHI will also fund language teachers at UAS to provide free, non-credited language classes. The funding will be available each semester throughout the duration of the three-year project, beginning with the spring 2023 semester and concluding with the spring 2025 semester. Preference will go to applicants who are majoring in a field related to language and to those who are working towards a heritage language teaching or speaking certificate.
- Students must be Alaska Native shareholders or shareholder descendants enrolled in an Alaska Native language course.
- Open: One to two months before each semester begins through Spring 2025 semester.
- Award amount: Tuition for one heritage language course.
- Contact: leah.urbanski@sealaska.com
Indigenizing Education for Alaska Scholarship
(Apply) Through a partnership between UAS and SHI, Indigenizing Education for Alaska provides scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance to educator preparation programs, and dedicated staff to provide intensive student-centered support. IEA also supports the UAS School of Education to indigenize their educator preparation program by providing opportunities for professional learning.
- Students must be Alaska Native enrolled full or part-time at UAS as a junior/senior undergraduate or graduate student pursuing an education certificate/degree.
- Open: One month before each semester begins through Spring 2025 semester.
- Award amount: Varies
- Contact: IEA@sealaska.com
In response to the soaring cost of getting a college education, AffordableColleges.com has compiled a useful guide to financial aid for minority students to help students.
Survey
Sealaska Heritage is conducting three short surveys to better serve the interests and needs of the Alaska Native community. Everything you share with us will remain anonymous.
- If you are a stakeholder (a Sealaska shareholder, Alaska Native, a community member, a teacher or someone with an interest in SHI’s programs), fill out this survey.
- If you are an Alaska Native high school student and/or a former participant of SHI’s Latseen Leadership Academy, fill out this survey.
- If you are a past or current recipient of a Sealaska scholarship and/or a past Sealaska intern, fill out this survey.
Thanks in advance for participating!
Volunteer
(Application) SHI could not succeed without the help of its volunteers! If you are interested in supporting SHI as a volunteer, please fill out our application.
SHI is building the model for use in Southeast Alaska by adapting nationally recognized, successful math programs developed by other organizations outside the region.
IEA Dates & Deadlines
- January 15th – Our last day to apply for Spring 2024 Scholarship
- February 12th – Open application for Summer 2024 Scholarship
- May 10th – Our last day to apply for Summer 2024 Scholarship
- May 13th – Open application for Fall 2024 Scholarship
- August 23th – Last day to apply for application for Fall 2024 Scholarship
- October 25th – Open application for Spring 2025 Scholarship
- January 10th, 2025 – Last day to apply for Spring 2025 Scholarship
Currently, these pages are under construction (check back later):
Questions?
Contact the IEA team: iea@sealaska.com or 907-586-2130