We also asked them to teach an activity during the week. Since we felt that science experiments were lacking in the units we translated student activity sheets from various science booklets. We also had guest speakers come and talk about times they were stranded on the tundra. One fellow talked about his experience surviving the outdoors during winter. Parents were also invited to come and help their children with their Native arts and crafts.
Students have a sense of pride when their parents are involved with their education.
Two and a half years ago, the tribal council assumed responsibility for the Johnson O'Malley funds. JOM funds are used to provide Elders to assist in the schools. Whenever an elder comes to school, classroom teachers are responsible to report the length of time to the tribal organization, which then compensates the Elders for their time. This alleviates any transportation problem the elder might encounter. We try to remember to videotape and tape-record the elder's presentations.