Making the Best of Two Worlds: an Anthropological Approach to the Development of Bilingual Education Materials in Southwestern Alaska
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 323 065 RC 017 719 AUTHOR Morrow, Phyllis TITLE Making the Best of Two Worlds: An Anthropologicdl Approach to the Development of Bilingual Education Materials in Southwestern Alaska. PUB DATE Aug 87 NOTE 338p.; Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University. AVAILABLE FROMUniversity Microfilmes International, Inc., 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. PUB TYPE Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertatims (041) -- Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Alaska Natives; *Anthropology; Biculturalism; Bilingual Education; *Bilingual Education Programs; *Bilingual Instructional Materials; Cultural Background; *Cultural Education; Cultural Interrelationships; Eskimos; *Material Development; Multicultural Education; *Native Language Instruction; Program Development; Secondary Education; Yupik IDENTIFIERS Alaska (Southwest); *Yupik Eskimos ABSTRACT For the Yupik Eskimos of southwestern Alaska, a primary goal of bilingual-bicultural education is to forge a society that represents the "best of two worlds." While this is an expressed ideal, educational programs have focused on first and second language learning and have not dealt with the relationship between Yupik and non-Yupik cultures or with the concept of culture change. This thesis describes a secondary-level bilingual-bicultural program designed by an anthropologist to address such issues. Background information is provided on Yupik culture and language and on the history of bilingual education in the region. The results of a survey of parent, teacher, student, and administrator opinions of bilingual education are summarized. The collaboration of the ethnographer with Native teachers in the development of instructional materials and methods is discussed. The paper discusses in detail the program projects that guide students to examine personal values in light of Yupik tradition and current social, economic, and political conditions. These projects include:(1) student interviews with community members; (2) radio broadcasts in Yupik by students;(3) two projects demonstrating the effects of technological change on culture; (4) a board game focusing on historical and contemporary aspects of subsistence; (5) a "card" game teaching Yupik kinship terminology and roles; and (6) development and publication of a Yupik language book on traditional religion and ceremonies. This thesis cuntains 96 references. Appendices contain notes on Yupik language terminology, spelling, and pronunciation. (SV) ********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** MAKING THE BEST OF TWO WORLDS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION MATERIALS IN SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA BEST COPYAVAILABLE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School .of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Pkt411;* TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" rq U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCAnON tw by Office of Edixational Research and Pnprovempnl EDUCATIONAL PESOURCES INFORMATION te Phyllis Morrow CENTER (ERIC) This dOCumenl has been reproduced as August, 1987 received from the Person or orpanizatton rani orqpnatinpl 0 Minor changes have Peen made to improve C) feoroduction ouafity Points of view or opinions staled in this docu meet do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE @ Phyllis Morrow ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3 MAKING THE BEST OF TWO WORLDS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION MATERIALS IN SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA Phyllis Morrow, Ph.D. Cornell University, 1987 For the Yupik Eskimos of Southwestern Alaska, a primary goal of bilingual-bicultural education is to forge a society which represents the "best of two worlds." While this is an expressed ideal, educational programs have focused primarily on first and second language learning, and have not dealt with the relationship between Yupil: and non-Yupik cultures cr the concept of culture change. This thesis describes the design of a bilingual- bicultural program which is framed around such issues. Research is based on the author's experience as a bilingual materials developer and teacher-trainer in Bethel, Alaska. The thesis presents background information on the Yupik culture and the history and present setting of bi2ingual education in the region, and details the design and implementation of a secondary-level bilingual program. The program's projects guide students to examine personal values in the light of Yupik tradition and current social, economic, and political conditions. It is suggested that then students recognize continuities in the ideological bases for action, they draw on these as sources of cultural stability; in a position to make 4 conscious choices, individuals have more power to regulate change. The thesis suggests the applicability of the approach in other settings. This description is framed in a discussion of the interaction of "two worlds" with each other, based on theories of translation and interethnic communication. The role of the anthropologist as participant in this dialogue is also examined. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH I have vivid childhoodmemories of a favorite seriesof books about peoplearound the world. I must have been very small when I firstbecame fascinated with them,for their is as strong in my texture a tactile, coatedcloth recollections as their content. Two, in particular, I studied over and overagain. One showed picturesof classical Egypt, and the other, "Eskimosof the far North". I alternately imagined myself warmed by furparkas and by the NorthAfrican sun, and I wonderedabout the experience oflife in such from a business contrasting places. When my father returned trip to Alaska in 1956,I was six years old. He brought me a seal-fur belt, adding morelayers to my associations withthe North, for I loved the distinctivesmell of the seal leather, as well as itscolor and feel. Although I never thought consciously of going to Alaskamyself, the place certainlyhad pleasant associations, even then. Looking back, it is no surprisethat I chose to major in anthropology when I entered RadcliffeCollege in 1968. By then, I had a broader interest inhuman cultures, and originally pursued Chinese studies. Although I enjoyed learning to speak different languages,I was overwhelmed by the study of Chinese characters,and gave up after two and a half years of language courses. By then,I had gotten a 6 _ brief initiation into "fieldwork," that anthropological rite of passage, with three months among the Overseas Chinese in Jamaica. The experience taught me how difficult it is to write about people who have given whole-heartedly of their hospitality to a stranger, and how complicated cultures are when met outside of textbooks. In 1973,I entered Cornell University as a graduate student in anthropology, still vaguely committed to Asian studies. When I found myself researching a paper on the cultural interpretation of an Alaskan Inuit artifact, an interesting find brought to my attention by a fellow graduate student, it never occurred me that I might be en route to a career in the North. The idea of going to Alaska dawned on me after hours in McGraw Library, when I had gotten too involved in my reading to stop. The following summer,I traveled around Alaska, visiting archaeological sites, for these were the most visible places to meet working anthropologists at the time. Still, what interested me more was to meet people who were healthy and vertical, rather than already buried. I was most drawn to the Kuskokwim region, for I had heard that this area was culturally very much alive. That summer, I spont two weeks in a Kuskokwim river village. In discussions with teachers and schoolchildren,I was struck with the complexity of issues surrounding education there, and decided that I would iv 7 like to return to the area to work. By 1976,I was married and had convinced my husband that we should go to Alaska together. We began studying the Yupik language with the aid of the as-yet-unpublisned Yupik Eskimo Grammar and a Yupik- speaking tutor. In 1976 7, I received a field research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, and spent one year in a Yupik village. There, I rediscovered my early love for the smell of seal, and added a deep respect for a group of people seeking a healthy integration of tradition and change. While improving our language skills and learning more about Yupik culture, we taught courses part-time for the local community college. Commitment to and interest in Yupik language issues grew during this time, and in 1979 I accepted a job as coordinator of the Yupik Language Center at the Kuskokwim Community College. This position involved a series of activities aimed at increasing public awareness of and knowledge about the Yupik language and culture. The center staff wrote and published language textbooks, taught college courses and workshops for public agencies, and acted as translators and interpretors in a variety of situations. We also helped to train teachers for the Lower Kuskokwim School District. From 1982-6, my husband, Chase Hensel, and I shared a job designing and implementing a secondary level program for the .111 II'Lower Kuskokwim School District's Bilingual/Bicultural Department. This thesio