THE ALASKA NATIVE CULTURAL IDENTITY PROJECT
A Collaborative Project Developed by Alaska Native Elders for the Next Generations of Alaska Native People
THE CULTURAL IDENTITY PROJECT
PROGRAM CONTENT
The goal of the Cultural Identity Project is for participants to gain a deeper understanding of their cultural identities, cultural strengths, and life paths to better understand who they are and who they are becoming.
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The Cultural Identity Project covers multiple topics across 15 suggested sessions:
The Real Human Being
Our Relatives
Our Land
Our People
Becoming Aware
Healing
What We Are Known For
Becoming
Vision
Knowing Who We Are Becoming
Elders-in-Training
Our Stories
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The Cultural Identity Project incorporates multiple ways of supporting identity development:
Storytelling
Discussion and Connection
Experiential Learning
Reflection
Documentation and Sharing
PROGRAM FORMAT
We encourage people to adapt the Cultural Identity Project to their settings.
Here are our suggestions for formatting your own program:
LENGTH
The curriculum is designed for a program that is held over 15 weeks. It can be held weekly for 2.5 to 3 hours at a time or twice weekly for approximately 1.5 hours at a time.
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FORMAT
The program can be delivered in different formats. It can be held online, in person, or in a hybrid format.
PARTICIPANTS
The number of participants should be small enough for participants to form relationships with each other and the facilitators. We suggest one facilitator for every six participants and no more than 24 participants total.
FACILITATORS AND OTHER ROLES
The program is designed to be facilitated by Elders from the participants' cultural backgrounds. Elders are culture-bearers who are recognized as leaders in their communities. They lead each weekly topic.
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Another Alaska Native person should coordinate the program. This person is responsible for ensuring everyone is set for each program session, including both the content and logistics of the program. They lead the discussion that follows each weekly topic.
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We also suggest that one additional Alaska Native person be responsible for ensuring that all participants have their needs met by connecting with them and referring them to resources. This person should be a point of contact if a participant feels distressed. In small groups, the coordinator may also function as the support person.
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TIME OUTSIDE OF PROGRAM SESSIONS
Planning meetings will be necessary before the program begins and throughout the program so that everyone feels comfortable with the direction of the program.
RESOURCES
We have resources for people interested in implementing their own Cultural Identity Project.
CURRICULUM
We have a suggested 15-session curriculum available that covers cultural identity topics through storytelling, discussion and connection, experiential learning, reflection, and documentation and sharing of identity. Each session includes a step-by-step guide of topics, activities, and suggested timings. Facilitators may use this to guide their own programs and are encouraged to adapt it as needed for their groups.
EPORTFOLIO
Each program participant may also have an ePortfolio template made available to them to reflect on and record their cultural identity. Access to this ePortfolio template is available free of charge thanks to Digication. The ePortfolio template has all the reflection questions and prompts that fit with the curriculum. It also includes videos of Alaska Native people, from Elders to young people, reflecting on the questions and prompts. The ePortfolio is fully customizable in terms of its design, content, and privacy settings.
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CULTURAL IDENTITY RESOURCES
Alaska Native cultures are incredibly diverse. We invite participants to explore their cultures deeply and learn about others’ cultures throughout the program. To help aid participants in their cultural identity development journey, we have a set of cultural identity resources program participants can access through an online drive.
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WELLNESS RESOURCES
This program covers many topics that may impact participants in different ways. Some may be difficult and bring up hard feelings. We have many wellness resources in an online drive facilitators may refer participants to for additional support. All wellness resources are based in Alaska.
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EVALUATION RESOURCES
We suggest taking notes on how you implement your program and asking participants about their experiences in the program. This will allow you to continually improve your program over time. If you want suggestions about how to evaluate your program, we can help. We can share the tools we used to evaluate the program pilots and provide you guidance.
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HANDOUTS AND OTHER RESOURCES
We have many other resources, handouts, and activities embedded into the curriculum that are available through an online drive.