American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Today most Alaskan schools are public. However there are important historical differences between predominantly Native rural schools and predominantly non-Native urban schools. Many Alaskan rural schools have evolved from a handful of Russian-operated mission schools into approximately 150 small village public schools, while many urban schools are not unlike large schools outside of Alaska; that is, they reflect socioeconomic diversity rooted in broader U.S. society. Urban schools now enroll more Natives than ever before. In various ways the wider social forces and political battles which ensued as Alaska became a U.S. territory and later a state are represented in all of Alaska’s schools. The particular history of Native education reflects a long relationship of struggle between the original inhabitants of this land and those who came to exploit it. This brief paper is about Alaska Native life and education in and around Fairbanks, Alaska’s second largest city. Schooling and educational contexts are examined as key sites where specific cultural strategies are utilized to maintain Native identity. These strategies allow for a complex set of cultural responses to urban and school settings, which historically have been inhospitable to Natives. By “cultural strategies” I mean those attitudes, behaviors, and activities that enable individuals and communities to participate in their own culture(s), as well as in other cultures with minimized risk of cultural conflict. In Alaska these cultural strategies are deeply intertwined with issues of self-esteem, cultural pride, and academic achievement.