INDIGENOUS EDUCATORS SUBMIT FIRST-EVER READING STANDARDS FOR ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES TO STATE
Executive branch, education board to determine whether to implement historic guidelines
10-9-24
A group of Indigenous educators from across the state today submitted the first-ever reading standards for Native languages to the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development.
The draft standards, which lay out what students in grades K-3 are expected to know at each stage of their educational journey, were developed by 14 Ahtna, Aleut, Alutiiq, Gwich’in Athabascan, Inupiaq, Tlingit and Yup’ik educators.
The group created the standards at the behest of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), which contracted Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) to lead the effort. SHI brought in TIDES Education Associates—an Alaska Native consulting group owned by longtime Tlingit educators and Native language curriculum developers Shgen George and Nancy Douglas. DEED also served as a collaborator.
The proposal is a huge and unprecedented step forward in gauging student success in the field.
“The Alaska Board of Education has adopted standards for K-12 students in a variety of subjects, including the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools,” wrote the team in their report, “Alaska Native Language Arts K-3 Reading Standards.”
“But until now, explicit standards for Alaska Native languages have been of notable absence.”
Educators statewide are teaching Native languages, some of them endangered. However, without standards, teachers face challenges in effectively communicating learning expectations and progress to students, families, the public and policymakers.
The standards are designed to elevate Native languages to the same level of importance as English, supporting the continued development of Alaska Native language use in schools and language revitalization programs across Alaska.
“Just a few generations ago, well remembered in our oral history, all of Alaska was Indigenous territory. Alaska Native languages are the Indigenous languages of this land and have been spoken here for tens of thousands of years.
“Up until 1930, less than 100 years ago, Alaska Native people made up the majority of Alaska’s population, speaking twenty-three different languages despite colonial efforts to eradicate them. Those twenty-three Alaska Native languages are now considered official by the State of Alaska, meaning that they are acceptable to use for government and legal purposes and are taught and used in schools,” the group wrote.
The panel modeled the guidelines on existing standards used in Alaska schools but adapted them to align with Alaska Native cultures and worldviews. For example, Alaska Native knowledge has been perpetuated through oral narrative. Honoring this tradition means that the standards emphasize listening, thinking, speaking and understanding in addition to reading text.
The standards are organized into two categories: comprehension and foundational skills. Within these categories, three sets of standards are outlined. Comprehension includes interacting with place, understanding and vocabulary. The foundational skills category includes fluency, phonics and phonological awareness.
The guidelines are expected to be applied not only in direct reading instruction but in an interdisciplinary literacy environment where students are encouraged to grow in their own reading skills and comprehension as they are exposed to more complex texts and held to a high standard of rigor.
The team presented the standards to the board—who met today in Wasilla—to review them for adoption.
Stakeholder Bios
These historic standards were developed by 14 Ahtna, Aleut, Alutiiq, Gwich’in Athabascan, Inupiaq, Tlingit and Yup’ik educators from across the state, including:
- Shx̱éi Nancy Douglas
Lingít, Nisga’a, T’aaḵu Ḵwáan, Yanyeidí. Partner at TIDES Education Associates. T’aaḵu Ḵwáan educator, administrator, curriculum specialist and artist. Former director of cultural programs for the Sitka School District and co-founder of the Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy Program (TCLL). - Shgendootan George
Lingít, Daḵl’weidí, Kéet Ooxú Hít, Aangóon Ḵwáan. Partner at TIDES Education Associates, former TCLL teacher, Tlingit educator, curriculum specialist, artist and scholar. - Kam’aRaq Jamie Shanley
Aleut, Alutiiq, assistant director of education at SHI, MA. Early childhood educator. Dancer. Daughter, mother, wife, aunty. - Yurrliq Nita Rearden
Yup’ik, life-long educator, Yup’ik language and culture consultant, wife, grandmother, mother and auntie to many relatives. - Yaayuk Bernadette Alvanna Stimpfle
Inupiaq, educator, specialist in second language learning in children, Native dancer, community cultural expert for education, translator and interpreter. Wife, mother and Aaka. - aan Hans Chester
Lingít, L’uknax̱.ádi, Daginaa Hít, G̱unaaxoo Ḵwáan, biliteracy specialist, TCLL teacher, fluent Tlingit second-language learner, creator of Tlingit Literacy Development. - Seig̱óot Jessica Chester
Lingít, L’uknax̱.ádi, Daginaa Hít, G̱unaaxoo Ḵwáan, Tlingit language and culture teacher at TCLL. Granddaughter, mother, auntie. - Kalcháni Joshua Jackson
Lingít, T´akdeintaan. X̱´áak´w Hít. Ḵeex̱´ Ḵwáan. K/1 TCLL teacher. Grandson, nephew, father, everyone’s uncle, trophy husband. - Mikic/Aqvang’aq Janice George
Yup’ik, Yupiit School District Yupiaq education coordinator. Daughter, sister, Anaan, niece, granddaughter. - Panigkaq Agatha John-Shields
Yup’ik, educator, Yup’ik language and culture consultant, culturally responsive educator of educators, Maaku (my grandmother’s name), mother, daughter, sister, caretaker, aunt, lifetime yuraq (Yup’ik dance) member. - Assiingaaq Janet Johnson
Yup’ik, Lower Yukon School District, Yup’ik language and culture director, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, auntie. - Diton Allan Hayton
Gwich’in Athabascan, MA, artist and educator. - Naneniłnaan Jessica Denny
Ahtna and Dihthaad, Indigenous language and education consultant, Indigenous land-based educator, Ahtna language learner and teacher. Daughter, wife, mother. - Ts’qalts’ema Dek’isen Kari Shaginoff
Ahtna, Nay’dini’aa na’ kayax ts’insyaaden (Chickaloon Village I am from). Educator, Siił du’ baan (I am a mom), Siił du’ tsucde (I am a grandmother).
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
Caption: Students learning to read in Tlingit at SHI’s Latseen Leadership Academy. Photo by Christy NaMee Eriksen, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: Media outlets are permitted to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-res image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.