Native Studies
Dear Editor: We just finished teaching a Native Navigation unit at Blatchley Middle School that we integrated across five subject areas. This means each seventh-grade team teacher took a part in teaching it.
To start off, Steve Johnson came into Alexander Allison’s class and told the old Kiks.adi Kaax’achgóok story to each class about long-ago hunters blown out to sea for over a year and made it home. Next Meghan Devine’s science class looked at the many science components like Pribilof fur seal migrations, Gulf of Alaska currents, wind direction etc. We also looked at the parts of a NOAA nautical chart and abbreviations on navigation markers. Next Mr. Parsley’s social studies class spent three full days learning how to find latitude and longitude from NOAA chart locations and one day on compass reading. The next two days were spent in Ms. McCarty’s P.E. classes getting azimuths off Sitka Harbor bearings and attempting triangulation. Lastly, Ms. Mullin’s class worked on creating a sailing plan finding headings and distance, rate and time.
Finally, on May 16, the whole seventh-grade class got to go on one of two Native Navigation Allen Marine boat field trips. The idea was for students to “navigate through the story” recording Native place names from the story as they passed them and going to the place where the lost hunters returned.
On the field trip SNEP cultural teachers Jamie Bradley, Erin Rofkar and Alex Johnson-Rice, came aboard to point out Native place names and their meanings as we passed them and lead others in singing Kaax’achgóok’s song that he wrote while he and his nephews were lost. Also on the boat the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation team sent seven experts to come and support “practicing” navigation split between boat trips.
To make this happen, it took a lot of people behind the scenes to pull it off. First, Juel LeBlanc at Sitka Native Education Program helped upgrade supplies by purchasing new compasses and new nautical charts for students to use. Next the Blatchley administrators and staff worked really hard at supporting the seventh-grade team and all the students in so many ways.
Laura Rodgers is truly an amazing administrator who goes right to the heart of any problem and applies the most logical solution, and she works so well with all the students. There were so many hurdles to jump over but the BMS teaching staff and administration were all about team work.
But when it really comes down to making things happen for kids, it is the parents who stand up and give their support by sending in donations over the amount that is requested and showing up to be team leaders on the boat.
Teachers who came aboard the boat as team leaders who have not already been mentioned were Jarett Hirai, Caitlin Woolsey, Drew Larson, Lucas Parsley, Meghan Devine, Rebecca Himschoot and a wonderful team of teacher aides. I felt that every day the professional folks making BMS tick were doing everything in their power with the best interests of the students a heart.
Teachers can dream up engaging activities that motivate students to keep learning until the end of school but there are key components that always make the dream come true. In this event there were two key components. The first one is the Kiks.adi story that brought meaning to all the hard work that comes with learning navigation in seventh grade and to Tlingit Aani. Gunalcheesh to the Kiks.adi clan for holding onto this remarkable story and sharing it so it can inspire us to never give up, be brave, dig our paddles way down, when things get tough! The second key component is giving the students the opportunity to practice navigating on a boat. A boat trip motivates students learning in the classroom like nothing else.
Since I wrote the first grant to do this in the ’90s, Allen Marine has charged us the same incredible educational discount price all these years! When it comes to supporting Sitka students learning traditional Native place names and how to navigate Sitka waters, Allen Marine shows up for our kids – even fitting us in during their busy tour schedule! They provide the best captains and crew for our students AND after our Sitka kids grow up, they provide them wonderful training and job opportunities. Gunalcheesh to Allen Marine for all the educational support for so many BMS students for so many years.
I feel so grateful to live in a community with such hard-working supportive educators, parents and community members who step up for our Sitka kids. A team of wonderful folks managed to revive the Native Navigation study out of the pandemic craziness for our children, because they are our future. Gunalcheesh to everyone!
Patty Dick, Sitka
