This paper explores the tensions that exist between the recognition of the importance of ethnicity and culture for individual and group identities without essentilisation, by reframing conceptualisations of multi- and interculturalism. Drawing from our ongoing ethnography conducted with a research community of Alaska Native PhD candidates involved…

The global climate crisis continues to endanger the well-being of natural environments and the people who depend on them. Building elements of environmental identity may better connect youth to the changes underway. However, little work has investigated how experiencing a climate change-impacted landscape may support environmental identity shifts.…

Written as part of a series of ethnographic studies, this book is a case study of a Catholic boarding high school for Alaskan Eskimos from remote villages undergoing rapid change. Six chapters appraise the bicultural educational principles employed at St. Mary's: (1) a profile of the students as effective bicultural people; (2) the relationship…

The urban Alaska Native community in and around Fairbanks is drawing on its rural roots to reshape schooling experiences. Alaska Natives are resisting the pattern of dropping out and are claiming a place in school, asserting that it's okay to be Native; Native teachers are committed to developing Native curricular materials; and tribal colleges…

Summarizing and synthesizing seven research studies which focus on the problem of the Alaska Native school dropout, this report describes each research project, identifies research findings, and presents recommendations. The seven studies are presented via consideration of: (1) the characteristics of the student who has dropped out of school;…

A survey was conducted to provide a profile of the health status and risk behaviors of youth in Alaska. The goal was to develop a statewide database which, when coupled with morbidity and mortality data, would provide information that would allow those who plan and develop services at state and local levels to better target those services. During…

To address the lack of academic and social preparation that many rural Alaskans have when they first arrive at college, in 1985 Sheldon Jackson College (Sitka, Alaska) initiated the Early College Incentive Program (ECIP) to expose junior high students to college learning and living requirements, reduce cultural shock (Sheldon Jackson's student…