From Alaska: A 21st Century Story of Indigenous Self-Determination in Urban American Public Education

Abstract

For Alaskan Indigenous people, an acute clash of cultures occurs daily in U.S. public school education. The dynamics used to implement and improve the well-being and graduation outcomes for Alaska Native youth in urban public school are presented. A partnership between Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc., an Alaska Native social service nonprofit, and the Anchorage School District serves as a model of success, acknowledged by both the George W. Bush and Obama presidential administrations as an exemplary collaboration between a tribal organization and a public school system. The program detailed in this article enabled a systemic change and developed a strengths-based best practice that resulted in an academically rigorous, culturally responsive, engaging, and empowering opportunity for Alaska Native students in public school. Such a program reinforces efforts to ensure Indigenous self-determination and demonstrates Native students’ ability to overcome long-standing educational inequities in school and beyond.