SEALASKA HERITAGE TO SPONSOR LECTURE ON THE HISTORY OF ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a lecture on the history of Alaska Native education as part of a series on Southeast Alaska Native history in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

The talk, Southeast Alaska Native Education History, will be given by Mischa Jackson (Chookangee Tláa), an assistant professor of secondary education at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Chookangee Tláa, a Tlingit, will explore Alaska Native history, starting at contact, to provide a backdrop and contextual understanding of different events that have shaped the educational systems in place for Alaska Natives. 

These events and policies have had a lasting impact on Southeast Alaska Native families and communities historically and in the present day. In her talk, she will highlight the active role that Alaska Natives have taken in attempts to push for educational reform and opportunities for future generations. 

The lecture is scheduled at noon Alaska time, Thursday, Nov. 4. All lectures will be livestreamed at 12 pm AKST to the Sealaska Heritage YouTube channel. This talk will also be presented in person in SHI’s clan house to attendees who show proof of vaccination cards. Space is limited to half capacity of SHI’s clan house because of COVID-19 concerns. A Q&A session will follow each lecture. 

About the Lecturer

Prior to her work at UAS, Chookangee Tl├ía was a social studies teacher at Juneau-Douglas High School, and she previously worked with the Tlingit and Haida Johnson O’Malley Program and Sealaska Heritage Institute. Chookangee Tl├ía has roots throughout Southeast Alaska; she is Shangukeid├¡ (Thunderbird clan) from the House Lowered from the Sun in Klukwan, and her family was born and raised in Juneau. She is connected to many villages and families through her husband, Josh Jackson, Kalch├íni, (T’aḴdíintaan) and they are raising three little Thunderbird girls in Juneau.

This program is provided under the Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools (PITAAS) program and funded by the Alaska Native Education Program.

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 social 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