The 4-H Yukon River Fisheries Education and Youth Development Program is a federally funded youth-at-risk program created to help youth escape from the social ills of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, and suicide that plague rural Alaskan villages. By providing youth the opportunity to learn the skills needed to protect and improve the salmon fishery of the Yukon River drainage and offering them hope for their future, the program is developing the human resources needed to manage the natural resources of the region. The program also provides youth with the education to make choices for their careers and lifestyle. Given the strong cultural influence of the Athabascan people in the area, the program also strives to balance cultural traditions with the technology for development. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the process used in planning, implementing and evaluating a nonformal education program in a rural Athabascan village in terms of its effectiveness and cultural appropriateness. The study focused on the program in the village of Kaltag, Alaska. Using ethnographic methods guided by Coombs and Ahmed's (1974) "Guidelines for Preparing Case Studies of Nonformal Education in Rural Areas" and Nelson's (1982) "Descriptive Profile of Culturally Appropriate Instructional Resources", the study sought to provide a rich description of the program so that other villages of the region and state can determine whether or not a similar program would benefit the youth in their community. Respondents in this study indicated the program was both effective and culturally appropriate. Three themes related to cultural appropriateness emerged during this study: 1) community support, 2) relevance to community needs, and 3) program integration with the school. These themes are interrelated and interdependent and are related to the program's effectiveness and cultural appropriateness. In addition, the program's transferability to other communities may be determined by these three themes. Recommendations for further study include a comparative study to determine if these same themes or others have the same importance in villages implementing the program elsewhere. / Graduation date: 1993

This study examines the conditions that contribute to the success of indigenous minority students in higher education by focusing on the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students who graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) between 1989 and 1993. Although the number of Alaska Native students enrolled at UAF has increased in the past 10 years, the percentage of graduates continues to be significantly lower than their percentage of the student and state population. The study addresses the question: what factors have contributed to the academic success Of Alaska Native teacher education graduates at UAF? It includes three components: a brief history of schooling for Alaska Native people; a description of the programs, student services and academic coursework at UAF designed to respond to the interests and needs of Alaska Native students; and a review and analysis of the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students based on data obtained through interviews, reviews of student records and participant observation. The study identifies multiple factors that have contributed to the academic success of Alaska Native students, including the following: a teaching and learning environment responsive to the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; student support services respectful of the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; strong family and community support; supportive prior school and life experiences; and exceptional individual efforts. Accommodations and adaptations by both the students and the institution were essential. Recommendations are made for institutions, faculty, students and communities who are interested in developing campus environments where Alaska Native, and other cultural minority students, can be fully represented, respected, involved and successful.

This study explores the relationships between the Alaska Native leadership, its interests in and impacts on higher education in Alaska, and the ways in which the University of Alaska responded to Alaska Native educational needs and initiatives, especially during the period from 1972 and 1985. The major question explored is why and how the University of Alaska system failed to adequately address the educational needs of Alaska Natives, especially given the level of political acumen of the Alaska Native leadership, their awareness of the importance of higher education as a means to control the land base “acquired” through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the mission statements of the University concerning the education of Alaska Natives, and the abundance of petroleum dollars available to the University during that period. While the Alaska Native leadership was requesting that “appropriate” educational programs be designed and delivered to rural Alaska Native students, the University of Alaska’s response to these requests took the form of structural changes within the institution, rather than substantive change in the content of educational programs. The study demonstrates that the discrepancy between Alaska Native requests for substantive educational change and University of Alaska responses in the form of structural alterations is attributable, in large part, to the opposing world views of the two sets of actors, and thus to different perceptions of the nature and role of education in general.

This study examines the conditions that contribute to the success of indigenous minority students in higher education by focusing on the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students who graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) between 1989 and 1993. Although the number of Alaska Native students enrolled at UAF has increased in the past 10 years, the percentage of graduates continues to be significantly lower than their percentage of the student and state population. The study addresses the question: what factors have contributed to the academic success Of Alaska Native teacher education graduates at UAF? It includes three components: a brief history of schooling for Alaska Native people; a description of the programs, student services and academic coursework at UAF designed to respond to the interests and needs of Alaska Native students; and a review and analysis of the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students based on data obtained through interviews, reviews of student records and participant observation. The study identifies multiple factors that have contributed to the academic success of Alaska Native students, including the following: a teaching and learning environment responsive to the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; student support services respectful of the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; strong family and community support; supportive prior school and life experiences; and exceptional individual efforts. Accommodations and adaptations by both the students and the institution were essential. Recommendations are made for institutions, faculty, students and communities who are interested in developing campus environments where Alaska Native, and other cultural minority students, can be fully represented, respected, involved and successful. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This study explores the relationships between the Alaska Native leadership, its interests in and impacts on higher education in Alaska, and the ways in which the University of Alaska responded to Alaska Native educational needs and initiatives, especially during the period from 1972 and 1985. The major question explored is why and how the University of Alaska system failed to adequately address the educational needs of Alaska Natives, especially given the level of political acumen of the Alaska Native leadership, their awareness of the importance of higher education as a means to control the land base “acquired” through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the mission statements of the University concerning the education of Alaska Natives, and the abundance of petroleum dollars available to the University during that period. While the Alaska Native leadership was requesting that “appropriate” educational programs be designed and delivered to rural Alaska Native students, the University of Alaska’s response to these requests took the form of structural changes within the institution, rather than substantive change in the content of educational programs. The study demonstrates that the discrepancy between Alaska Native requests for substantive educational change and University of Alaska responses in the form of structural alterations is attributable, in large part, to the opposing world views of the two sets of actors, and thus to different perceptions of the nature and role of education in general. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Activities and production among ethnographic Arctic peoples were primarily divided by gender. This gendered division of labor also extended to a spatial segregated pattern of the household in some Arctic cultures. Other cultures had a more gender-integrated spatial pattern of the household. There have been very few archaeological studies of gender in the Arctic, and even fewer studies of gendered use of space. In this thesis, I evaluated the existence of this gendered use of space in pre-contact Northwest Alaska. I also evaluated the existence of discrete activity spaces. I drew from both ethnoarchaeology and gender/feminist archaeology to both construct my hypotheses and interpret my results. I used ceramics, which were likely primarily made by and used by women, as a proxy for women's movement within the house. Ceramics are abundant and well-preserved in many Northwestern Alaskan sites, and are well suited for a robust spatial analysis. In addition to ceramics, I also evaluated the spatial density of other female artifacts, like ulus or scrapers, and male artifacts, like harpoon points or adzes, in order to further test the existence of gender specific use of space. I tested this using the HDBSCAN (Hierarchical Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) algorithm in Python, a programming language. HDBSCAN identifies discrete clusters of artifacts, as well as the persistence, or stability, of the cluster. Birnirk and Thule era (1300-150 BP) house features from Cape Espenberg, Alaska, were used to test these expectations. Based on the results of my spatial analysis, I did not find any evidence of gender specific use of space, nor did I find specific activity areas within the house. My findings are not necessarily an indication that gender-segregated use of space does not exist among pre-contact Northwest Alaskan people: I just did not find evidence supporting it. This could be, in part, due to issues of sample size, house size, and the role of secondary and post deposition processes in shaping the ceramic assemblage and distribution. While ceramics did cluster, they mostly clustered in the entrance tunnel of the house. This is likely the result of cleaning, storage, or other depositional processes. When ceramics did cluster in the main rooms, clustering was idiosyncratic. Male and female artifacts were not spatially segregated. Female artifacts were slightly more likely to cluster than male artifacts. Both sets of artifacts were generally in the same area as the ceramic clusters. While this study did not find evidence of gendered use of space, it still is an important contribution of addressing questions of gender in the Arctic. In addition, it is a valuable methodological contribution, using a clustering algorithm that previously has not been frequently used by archaeologists.

This project addresses the need for more authentic multicultural curriculm in the elementary schools within California, specifically concerning Native Americans in Alaska Natives. This projects supports the need to include Alaska Natives in the California History/Social Science curriculum for fifth grade.

The variables communication skills, state anxiety, communication apprehension, and level of integration are studied in relation to the assimilation of Alaskan Natives into a western-culture university. Specifically, the differences in communication skills between the two cultures and their effects on course grades are addressed. Results of the statistical analyses (ANOVA, MANOVA, discriminant function analysis, multiple regression) were not significant, most likely due to the small Alaskan Native sample size. The most significant relationship appeared between situational communication apprehension and the ethnicity of the interaction partner. Other results were directional, indicating that variables may be related to assimilation of Native students into a western university environment. Further research and replication is warranted, using an adequate sample of Alaskan Natives.

This thesis concerns the introduction of exogenous cultural materials among the native inhabitants of the Alaskan and Northwest coasts prior to the and of the 18th century. It is an investigation of the sources of these materials and the manner and chronology of their introduction. The research is based primarily on data drawn from accounts of native life by explorers and fur traders who visited the coasts of northwestern North America in the 18th century. These accounts are supplemented by ethnologic and archaeologic data collected by anthropologists in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Under debate is how 'outside' planners can best work with different cultures to ensure inclusion and participation. It is evident why in general planners need to expand their understanding of different cultures if they are to work with them effectively and appropriately, but not enough empirical research has been undertaken on what planners find they need to know in the specific context of working with First Nations. On the basis of a literature review and the author's own extensive experience with First Nations, seven areas of knowledge (themes) were identified as likely to be relevant to outside planners working with First Nations. These seven knowledge themes guided interviews with nine planners who were asked which of these kinds of knowledge they found useful when working with First Nations in western and northern Canada, and Alaska, particularly when facilitating participatory planning. The first six identified themes concern knowledge of First Nations' value and traditional knowledge systems; authority relations; social organization; communication processes; participation processes; and capacity for planning. The seventh theme is knowledge about effective methods that planners can employ to facilitate participatory relationships with First Nations communities and individuals. The findings from the interviews add to our understanding of what outside planners need to consider when they work with First Nations. The findings are particularly instructive in the theme areas of First Nations' communication and participation processes, and in the area of planner practice. It was also found that while the seven areas of knowledge are relevant to planners at all stages of working with First Nations, they are particularly important when planners and First Nations begin their planning relationship, when planners first enter a community, and when planners are helping communities to develop their planning processes. Research is now needed on what First Nations' individuals themselves think planners should know if they are to be effective in promoting culturally appropriate, inclusive, and participatory planning in First Nations settings.