 Our Language Our Souls:
The Yup'ik bilingual curriculum of the
Lower Kuskokwim School District: A continuing success story.
Edited by Delena Norris-Tull,
University of Alaska Fairbanks,
School of Education, Fairbanks, Alaska
copyright
1999
Chapter 9
Yup'ik Discipline Practices Inerquutet
and Alerquutet To Implement Into Yup'ik Schools
By Theresa Arevgaq John
Anchorage, Alaska
Copyright 1998
The Yup'ik people in Kuskokwim Delta have practiced the
traditional methods of discipline they learned from their ancestors.
They called them alerquutet and inerquutet. Later on in
this paper, I will give more detailed examples to show how these
inseparable terms function. I firmly believe that they could be
applicable and useful practices in Yup'ik classrooms today.
The definitions of these two Yup'ik terms cannot be easily
translated into English because they each hold multiple factors and
elements of child rearing. Although they cannot be simply defined in
English terms, Yup'ik people know them and understand them because
they are an intricate part of their lives. The term alerquutet refers
to the "do's" in personal characteristics. Whereas, the
second term, inerquutet refers to the "don'ts". The two
Yup'ik words naturally are inseparable.
The set of values and behavioral rules applies directly as a guide
to parental responsibilities as caretakers of children. Our Yup'ik
way of teaching reflects our Yup'ik way of viewing the world. It is
an inclusive and holistic approach.
The combination of inerquutet and alerquutet have been
successfully taught and practiced in our daily lives for
generations.
When I was a child, we were taught to listen to our parents' and
grandparents' alerquutait and inerquutait. We lived in small
communities mainly depending on hunting and gathering of land and sea
resources. Every family member was taught to believe or ukveq.
This meant to believe in all the teachings and values that have been
described and brought to our attention. All the alerquutait and
inerquutait reflected upon importance of surviving as a subsisting
family and community. The expected behavior patterns were defined and
described vividly to each child. The roles of the teachers were
instilled within all children and community members, so we fully
understood the fact that we were to follow all the basic behavioral
norms they taught us. These behavioral norms were characteristics of
a normal, peaceful social environment. Above all the two absolutely
most important behavioral norms were to love and respect all
people.
Our Elders say, "When a parent, elder or a community member loves
a child or a person, make certain the child or person clearly
understands the alerquutet and inerquutet in our lives." This saying
came from my grandmother and all concerned master teachers in my
village. It would not matter if they were your uncle, aunt,
grandparent, brother, or sister. Our belief was all children must be
taught appropriately so they would have a clear understanding about
harmonious lifestyle. When we say, "Kenkekuvciki" or "if you love
them" we mean a parent or a caretaker will guide the children by
providing instruction in the needed skills for the child to
differentiate between right and wrong behavior patterns.
During my era, the Elders played a major role in my village.
We
regarded them as the key holders of all the knowledge and wisdom.
They had lived the life already, so we knew and understood that they
were qualified to teach us quality information. We were responsible
as children to look for any opportunity to learn. Meal hours were
teaching hours when all family members gathered in one place and at
one time. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were opportune times for Elders
to explain and give relevant incidents from which we learned. They
presented their knowledge and wisdom in many and various ways. Some
were presented in story forms with lessons and morals, or by shared
personal incidents or by using examples of their current situation.
The opening phrases they used were like, "Tang
qanrutlallrukaitkut,"...meaning "you see they would tell us....",
perhaps putting the context into an understandable form. Yup'ik
people believe that human learning is a lifelong experience. So
everyone would listen together no matter how old or young they were.
The traditional cultural values and norms were never to be questioned
but to be practiced daily.
Frank Andrew Sr. (Miisaq) was born in the Lower Kuskokwim region
and now resides in the village of Kwigillingok. Mr. Andrew has
participated in the summer institute since it began. He is a quiet,
humble, patient man full of wisdom and knowledge of the traditional
cultural values. Mr. Andrew said that parents are the first teachers
of their children (June 11, l997 Summer Institute). Moreover, the
timing for teaching a child behavior practices is crucial. The
parents are responsible for raising their children with caution, love
and care. He explained and defined more deeply what he meant by
saying, in Yup'ik:
"A parent must know and understand the growth pattern of
every child. They must know when the child's learning abilities
are developing. The parents are the first teachers of a child
because they are the first people the child sees when they
"ellangeq" or "become aware or conscious." Parents must understand
that a child is easy to teach especially during the first phases
of their development "elicukarallratni." This is the time when
parents must teach their children appropriate human behavior
patterns. The parents model positive, normal social behavioral
patterns in front of the children. DO NOT WAIT FOR A LATER TIME OR
YOU WILL BE TOO LATE. If you procrastinate, you are setting
yourself up for hard times. Once a child has developed certain
characteristics and attributes by a certain age, they are much
harder to change. Teach them while they are young and are able to
believe everything that you tell them." (l998, LKSD Summer
institute).
Parents are responsible for modeling and giving their children
instruction on appropriate social behavior. Mr. Andrew's advice to
parents was to avoid exhibiting bad habits the parents might hold.
Such acts as physically hitting a child, or scolding with a raised
voice will lead a child in the wrong direction (l997, LKSD Summer
Institute). Parents are role models and they must be cautious of how
they act in front of their children.
Further, Frank Andrew and other Elders defined some Yup'ik terms
that are important in raising a good village child. Yup'ik
terminology is important in child rearing. Terms for the values
children must learn, understand and practice include the
following:
Niisngayaaraq: "an attribute of a person or a child
that
listens and abides by all inerquutet and alerquutet."
Qigcikiiyaraq: "showing a high level of respect
to values, people or things. Knowing and understanding all the inerquutet
and
alerquutet."
Maligtaqucaraq: "An act of abiding by the rules
and
directions"
Ellam yua: "Creator of people, animals and earth;
God"
Tangvagluni elicugngauq yuk: "A person can learn
by
observation"
Kenkekuvciki elitnaurciqaci ilaci: "You will show
your love
by teaching"
Kangiingevkarluki: "Make them understand; clarify
and
exemplify"
Ilaliurucaaraq: "An act of friendliness, being
sociable.Understanding and knowing how to interact appropriately with
others. Understanding the functions of family trees, relationship
terms, rules of relationships; example, rules between uncles with
nieces and nephews, grandparents with grandchildren, and cross and
parallel cousins."
Elisengaarit: "Their knowledge and wisdom, expertise"
Tegganret: "Respected Elders" or "Elders"
Nutemllat: "Authentic Yup'ik ways in life, very
own"
Tariingevkarluki cali-llu maligtaquvkarluki tamalkuita
alerquutet, inerquutet-llu: Assurance of children; knowing,
understanding, and practicing of alerquutet and inerquutet. (l997
Summer Institute)
Julia Paul (Ikatak), a Yup'ik elder participated in the LKSD
Bilingual Curriculum Summer Institute for the first time in 1998.
Julia is from the village of Kipnuk, a strong Moravian village. Julia
is always smiling; her face folds together full of joy and
friendliness as she approaches people. She is a grandmother to many
grandchildren in the village and she firmly believes in teaching
traditional cultural values to all children. Julia admitted that she
was afraid to be part of the institute because she had never been
invited to an event this large before. One evening, as we chatted in
our dorm room, she expressed to me that she wasn't comfortable and
her self-confidence was low. I told her that she would be
contributing valuable information by sharing her personal teachings
and whatever she shares would be enough and useable. Julia smiled and
felt better.
Julia was married in a traditional way, by arranged marriage.
She
was raised in an authentic Yup'ik way and her experiences originated
from untainted genuine parents. Her way of upbringing can assist us
to understand real Yup'ik perspectives from her Yup'ik philosophies
and experiences. Like Mr. Andrew said, she concurred that parents are
the first teachers of children. A child is directed into life
following the ways of the parents who lead him/her. If they lie to a
child, then the child will lie as well. She said, "if a man hits a
child, a child will also think it is okay to hit other children " (l998. LKSD
Summer Institute).
Mr. Nick Lupie, "Ackiar," a teasing cousin of Frank Andrew,
is 77
years old and from the village of Tuntutuliak on the Kuskokwim River.
Nick addresses alerquutet and inerquutet as being true
traditional cultural values. They must be taught, learned and obeyed.
When Mr. Lupie talked about how you talk to a child, he described it
by saying,
" If a parent screams at a child, that child will
learn and believe that it is the way to interact and respond. A child
who hears people scream continuously will begin to assume that
screaming is okay and will respond only to screaming. They will
learn to wait for that tone of voice before they respond. A soft,
low voice for them would not be a norm anymore. A parent may try
to ask a child to do a favor for him/her in a lower voice, except
the problem is a child has already learned to respond to screaming
level. Once a child has learned this behavior, they will have
already developed that discipline behavior pattern and will only
respond to those that scream at them. Ultimately, the advice would
be: DO NOT SCREAM AT CHILDREN. Talk to the children in a normal
tone of voice even if you feel that whatever you want from them is
urgent. Be patient and you will have an easier time when they have
acquired the correct behavior patterns to listening. Children
learn to listen by observing the parents' behavior patterns.
(l998, LKSD Summer Institute)
Mr. Lupie also advised the parents to avoid spoiling their
children. He pointed out that when a child gets everything they want
in life, they will develop that pattern in life. Certainly, a parent
should give a child what they need and some things they want but they
should not respond to get everything they want. Rather parents should
give them what they need, not too much, not too little. A parent who
gives all the needs to the children will train a child to expect a
response to all requests. Children will expect to be listened to
constantly if this child rearing behavior pattern is practiced. DON'T
GIVE THEM EVERYTHING THEY ASK FOR. Ask them to wait for another time
or say "no" to them once in a while. (l998 Summer Institute).
Now as I have promised earlier, I will give more detailed examples
which were provided by Elders and Native educators to show how these
inseparable terms inerquutet and alerquutet
function.
In l997 summer institute the Elders focused on how they
inerquuriq and alerquuriq to the children. Mr. Frank
Andrew has been selected to participate at school in dealing with
children that have discipline problems.
"In disciplining a child, it is important to have
the parents physically present in order for a child to listen and to
follow school rules. If I was a child and my parents were not
around, I would probably not listen to the teacher. But if my
parents were there, I would be aware and cautious of how I act in
front of them, because my parents have rules with consequences
that I am supposed to follow. Naturally, I would behave
accordingly in their presence. When the child is aware of the
consequences of their misbehavior, then they are liable to listen
and behave properly. It is parents' responsibility to make rules
with consequences...It is good to have the parents present in
school when the child is being counseled. To me that was the best
method."
Mr. Andrew addressed the importance of teaching a child how to act
and to have the knowledge to understand the consequences of the
inerquutet and alerquutet. The combination of alerquutet and
inerquutet would therefore, be inseparable.
Mr. Nick Lupie shared a story of how he handled a problem child in
his village. He believes that a child should not be corrected in
front of other children. Mr. Lupie took a child out hunting in
tundra. When they were alone he sat down and counseled a child. He
described to the child the wrong things he did (don'ts) and gave him
advice of how he could improve his bad behaviors (do's). The child
took the advice and slowly improved his behavior after that
confrontation. Today, that child does not have any notable problems.
To him the change of place and the approach he took was an effective
way to correct a child (l998, LKSD Summer Institute).
Ruth Igkurak, an elder from Kwigillingok, shared her own
experience of how she inerquq and alerquq children.
"In the morning before the children go to school,
I clearly describe to them how they could have good behavior
in their classroom. To carefully listen to the teacher...obey the
tasks that are given...be quiet and be attentive to the teacher.
Each day I talk to the children and when they come home I ask them "How did you behave in school today?" "Did you behave well?" And
then they would reply "yes"...My son's teacher told me that my boy
is very quiet, attentive and responds to all tasks given to him
and that he was not like the other children ...The child's well
being and behavior is very important early in the morning. The
characteristics they experienced in the morning will be carried on
throughout their daily activities. The children will maintain that
initial characteristic or attitude they experienced earlier. If
they started off with a bad behavior, they will bring that into
classrooms and maybe even get worse" (l997 Summer Institute).
Parents must integrate inerquutet and alerquutet so the children
get acquainted with them. Traditionally, our parents were very
strict with us. We tried our best to meet the high Yup'ik
standards in our daily lives.
Ruth also mentioned the fact that it was okay to be criticized by
others on the quality of work a person has made or on the quality of
life we live. There is a valuable lesson to that. A bad criticism
will have a meaningful impact on the person. It will make them think
of how they can improve the quality of their work or how they perform
in life. The purpose of criticism is to instigate positive changes;
artistically and constructively in our social lives.
Mr. Kenneth Egkurak, l997 Summer Institute Elder, stated that the
children who are constantly taught alerquutet and inerquutet have
successful lives. In our Yup'ik ways, we have to retell many
inerquutet and alerquutet to a point where a person internalizes them
and integrates the values and principles into daily lives. Each
person is different. A child who understands the right and wrong
behavior patterns clearly would not be affected by the troubled
children in classrooms.
Mr. Egkurak stated that it would be beneficial to educate
young
parents about good child rearing skills. Schools should implement
training in values of how to raise well-disciplined children at home. "If a child
had a good upbringing they would not misbehave in life (l997, LKSD Summer Institute).
An undisciplined child distracts from
quality education for all children. It would be beneficial to resolve
any disturbances and distractions in classes immediately so
productive education can take place.
Mr. Egkurak commented that the lack of parental involvement in the
schools is a problem. Since it's parents' responsibility to
discipline their children, they should be active participants in
schools for the sake of their children. He urges local school sites
to come up with a plan to correct discipline problems by
incorporating Yup'ik inerquutet and alerquutet to improve the
quality of education in all villages.
The Elders have described some evidence of where the inerquutet
and alerquutet coincide in promoting quality discipline methods.
The two professional Yup'ik teachers that I interviewed shared how
they have used some of the Yup'ik discipline practices successfully
in their classes. Sophie Shield, an immersion teacher at Mikelnguut
Elitnaurviat in Bethel, and Dora Strunk, currently teaching in her
village of Quinhagak, described their classroom experiences.
Aangaarraaq (Sophie) told how she internalized the Yup'ik
discipline practices in her classroom. She found that these practices
had a positive affect on her small children. She applied the
inerquutet and alerquutet her mother taught her. Sophie admitted that
she does not always remember to incorporate
umyuaqerrlainayuinaki, the values, but they are definitely
useful when needed. She remembers the appropriate skills to handle
problematic situations in teaching good behavior patterns to the
children: "Tekiartelartut, I experience flashbacks of my mother
teaching me Yup'ik proper behaviors, then I use these in my classes." The lessons
she learned from her mother assisted her to effectively
handle problem situations.
She feels that the parents that come from broken homes
need to learn from Elders the Yup'ik ways to discipline children. She has
an
elder that comes to work with the children in her class and that has
great impact on the children's behavior. Sophie said the children
become quiet nepairtelartut when Elders are present. She recommended
that Elders become an intricate part of education. Elders program
involvement needs to be developed into all school activities,
including cultural heritage and even social studies. Sophie feels
that the incorporation of the Yup'ik discipline practices into the
LKSD policy would "very definitely" benefit the schools. The
inerquutet and alerquutet should become part of LKSD to educate new
and old teachers (Interview 6/12/98, Summer Institute).
Dora Strunk also supports the implementation of the Yup'ik
discipline practices (alerquutet and inerquutet) into Yup'ik schools.
Quinhagak school already began the process of incorporating them at
their site. Dora says they are relevant, successful and beneficial to
all Yup'ik students. She pointed out those children who speak Yup'ik
as their first language have difficulties learning in English because
the new language is irrelevant to them. Unnatural. But when they
practice yugtun the students respond a lot better.
Maniigirraartelluki, qanrulluki irniaqellriacetun. Her advice is to
calm them down, instruct them like you would teach your own child and
then teach them about proper behavioral changes. The Yup'ik
discipline method in her opinion is very effective on Yup'ik
children. In Quinhagak, they utilize the Yup'ik method first on the
stubborn children and if that doesn't work, then they revert to the
non-native discipline method.
Dora feels that the two discipline methods, Yup'ik and
non-native
should be merged together and adopted by LKSD policy. Elders teach
them good examples of using the Yup'ik approach, waten yuum pikaaten,
waten piciiquten. The Yup'ik principal naturally implements the
Yup'ik discipline practices into Quinhagak school. In their
classrooms, the Yup'ik discipline practices are clearly defined and
understood by all involved: teachers, students, parents and all
staff. There are a set of separate rules for elementary and high
school levels. They have localized them after viewing the Bethel High
School discipline plan with full support of their local school board
members. In this way the community as a whole feels the "ownership" of their
school and it is really good. They are continuously revising them by making appropriate
changes. Elkarcimariluteng
assirluteng, the Yup'ik discipline plans are fully developed,
after careful evaluation and planning which Dora feels is a big
accomplishment. They are filed with social workers. All staff members
collaborate to ensure that their plan is successful. The staff
convenes to come up with effective ways to handle unique situations
when severe discipline problems occur.
In conclusion, I have described how the Yup'ik inerquutet and
alerquutet have been practiced by the people of the Kuskokwim Delta
region. The Elders assisted by identifying the traditional Yup'ik
discipline practices they believe should be incorporated into Yup'ik
schools. It is a tremendous task to teach children the common
knowledge and skills of how to become a good citizen. They perform
and respond best to the knowledge and teachings that are relevant to
their culture. The Yup'ik inerquutet and alerquutet would greatly
benefit Kuskokwim Delta Schools as Elders and Native educators
expressed. Cecelia Martz's presentation on Y/Cuuyaraq should
become the pledge of all Yup'ik schools. Lets all strive to
collaborate our efforts as teachers, parents, staff, students and
community to provide quality education for all children by adopting
the Yup'ik inerquutet and alerquutet.
Bibliography
Andrew, Frank Sr. (Elder Interview, June 11, l997) 1997 LKSD
Bilingual and Multicultural Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim
Campus.
Andrew, Frank Sr. (Elder
Interview June 9, l998) 1998 LKSD Bilingual and Curriculum Summer
Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Handout, 5-12 Yup'ik Maintenance Development Group, Unit 14.
Man and Man. High School Yup'ik 10-12 lesson on sub-theme
Parent and Family. 1997 LKSD Bilingual and Multicultural Summer
Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Handout, 5-12 Yup'ik Maintenance Curriculum Development Group.
Cultural Beliefs: Do's and Don'ts, Qanruyutet/Yaggyarat for
seventh grade. l998 LKSD Bilingual and Curriculum Summer
Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Igkurak, Ruth. (Elder Interview June 12, l997.) 1997 LKSD
Bilingual and Multicultural Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim
Campus.
Igkurak, Kenneth. (Elder Interview June 12, l997.) 1997 LKSD
Bilingual and Multicultural Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim
Campus.
Lupie, Nick. (Elder Interview June 9, l998.) 1998 LKSD Bilingual
and Curriculum Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus
Lupie, Nick.(Elder Interview
June 12, l997.) 1997 LKSD Bilingual and Multicultural Summer
Institute l997, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Martz, Cecelia. Presentation on Y/Cuuyaraq Poster, June 15, l998
LKSD Bilingual and Curriculum Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim
Campus.
Paul, Julia. (Elder Interview June 9, l998.) 1998 LKSD Bilingual
and Curriculum Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Shield, Sophie. (Interview June 12, l998.) 1998 LKSD Bilingual and
Curriculum Summer Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Strunk, Dora (Teacher Interview, June 11, l998.) 1998 LKSD
Bilingual and Curriculum Institute, Bethel, Kuskokwim Campus.
Table of Contents
- Introduction to the Kuskokwim
Delta - Delena Norris-Tull
- Introduction to the Yup'ik
Language and Culture Programs of the Lower Kuskokwim
School District - Delena Norris-Tull &
Beverly Williams
- Chapter 1: The Yup'ik
First Language Program: Lower Kuskokwim School District
- Mary Lou Beaver & Evon Azean, Sr.
- Chapter 2: The Balanced
Literacy Program in Yup'ik - Pamela Yancey & Sophie
Shield
- Chapter 3: Creating Yup'ik
Books, Translating, & Orthography - Pamela Yancey
& Sophie Shield
- Chapter 4: Ayaprun Immersion
School - Loddie Ayaprun Jones
- Chapter 5: Analysis of the Yup'ik
Immersion Program In Bethel - Agatha Panigkaq
John-Shields
- Chapter 6: Yup'ik Language and Culture: A
Description and Analytical View of the 4-6 Yup'ik Thematic
Unit - Dora E. Strunk
- Chapter 7: K-3
Thematic Units and the Alaska Cultural Standards - Nita
Yurrliq Rearden
- Chapter 8: Yup'ik Language and Culture: A
Description of the 5th-12th
Yup'ik Curriculum and its Revision - Rosalie
Lincoln
- Chapter 9: Yup'ik
Discipline Practices Inerquutet and Alerquutet To
Implement Into Yup'ik Schools - Theresa Arevgaq John
- Chapter 10: Recommendations
for Yup'ik Curriculum at Lower Kuskokwim School District - Sally
Casey
email the
editor, D. Norris-Tull
|
