ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION
1953 – 1973
A PROFESSIONAL MEMOIR

BY
TOM (THOMAS) R. HOPKINS
© 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATING ALASKA NATIVES 1867 TO 1953

Introduction
Early Russian and U.S. Schools
Development of U.S. Schools
The Development of Missionary Schools
Government Schools
Sheldon Jackson
The BIA Takes Over Native Education

EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY AND TEACHER PREPARATION
BARROW, 1953-54

Arriving At Barrow and BIA Orientation to Teach Eskimos 1953 and Other Things
Teaching the Seventh and Eighth Grades
Standardized Tests at Barrow
The Educational Disconnect: Washington, Juneau and the Villages
Extra Curricular Activities
Leaving Barrow

SHUNGNAK DAY SCHOOL, 1954 – 1956

The Principal-Teacher
A First Look At the Station
Major Problems Needing Immediate Attention
Preparing the School and Classroom
The Community School Concept
Tacit Education Goals
Shungnak Subsistence Economy
Student Records, Placement and Enrollments
The Curriculum and Learning Materials
Planning
The Paper Cabinet
The School Breakfast or Lunch
The Shungnak Jade Project
The Short Wave Radio
Past Teachers
Visiting Nurse and Village Health
Returning Boarding School Students
Advisory Duties
The Kobuk Territorial School
Community Social Activities
Other Duties As Assigned
Important Non Education Issues
The White House Conference on Children
Juneau Education Administrators Meeting, January 1956
Going Back to Austin

MT. EDGECUMBE SCHOOL JULY 1958 – DECEMBER 1963

Learning the Mt. Edgecumbe Situation
The Mt. Edgecumbe Facility
The Student Bank
The Academic Department Head
After the Academic Head Left and Finishing the Thesis
BIA Regulations and Administrative Procedures, A Separate School System
The Curriculum Change
The Academic Department
The Students Arrive
The Daily Bulletin
The Student Council
Report Cards
Mt. Edgecumbe Teacher Handbook
Standardized Testing Program
Achievement Test Uses
IQ Tests
Student Discipline
Teacher Evaluations
The Commercial Teacher’s Fate
The Chemistry Teacher
Interscholastic Debate
Mt. Edgecumbe Boys Basketball and Physical Education
The Higher Education Situation for Natives, 1958-59

OTHER TOPICS

Civil Servants as Teachers
Scheduling Students to Classes
The 1961 Summer Program At The University of Alaska
Changing the Academic Curriculum at Mt. Edgecumbe
Dr. Charles K Ray, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Problems and Tragedies
The 1963 Summer Program
Student Pride in Mt. Edgecumbe

INVOLVEMENT IN ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION AFTER MT. EDGECUMBE

Mt. Edgecumbe Evaluation
Rebuilding Mt. Edgecumbe
First Cross-Cultural Circumpolar Education Conference
Bilingual Education Initiatives
Alaska Bilingual Education Initiative
Other Assignments
Alaska Native Needs Assessment in Education (Project ANNA)

AFTERWORD
References

APPENDICES

A – Edgecumbe Teacher Handbook, 1959, Selected Topics

B – Philosophical Writings for 1961 Summer Program, USBIA and University of Alaska, Fairbanks. By Alfred E. Miller, Ph.D. M.D. and Vinita F. Hopkins

C – 1963 Summer Program Report, USBIA and University of Alaska, Fairbanks

D – L. Madison Coombs’ Paper, 1969 Alaska Native Meeting, USBIA and University of Alaska, Fairbanks

E – Charles K. Ray’s, Project ANNA, Part II, Alaska Native Education, An Historical Perspective

F – Judith S. Kleinfeld, “Characteristics of Alaska Native Students,” a report for the Alaska Native Needs Assessment (Project ANNA), 1973.

Appendices will be found on the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska Native Knowledge Network.