CIRI Shareholders Offered Discount on 2nd Edition of
“Shem Pete’s Alaska”

University of Alaska Press is offering a 15 percent discount on the second edition of “Shem Pete’s Alaska: The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina” to CIRI shareholders.

Shem Pete (1896-1989), the colorful and brilliant raconteur from Susitna Station, Alaska, left a rich legacy of knowledge about the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina world. Pete was one of the most versatile storytellers and historians in 20th-century Alaska, and his lifetime travel map of approximately 13,500 square miles is one of the largest ever documented in this degree of detail anywhere in the world.

This expanded edition of “Shem Pete’s Alaska” presents 973 named places in 16 drainage-based chapters. The names form a reconstructed network from the vantage points of the life experiences of Shem Pete and other Dena’ina and Ahtna Athabascan speakers. It includes comments and stories by Pete and more than 50 other contributors, plus historic references, vignettes, photographs, and historic maps.
Author/editors James Kari and James A. Fall provide perspective on Dena’ina language and culture, as well as a summary of Dena’ina geographic knowledge and place-name research methodology.

This beautifully produced edition is a treasure for all Alaskans and for anyone interested in the “personal connectedness to a beautiful land,” voiced by Dena’ina elders. “Shem Pete’s Alaska” was originally funded by grants from CIRI, the University of Alaska Alaska Native Language Center, and the Alaska Legislature. The 2004 reprint was funded in part by a grant from The CIRI Foundation.

To receive the 15 percent discount from the University of Alaska Press, identify yourself as a CIRI shareholder and mention the code CIRISP. Contact the University of Alaska Press toll-free at (888) 252-6657, call (907) 474-5831, fax (907) 454-5502, or e-mail fypress@uaf.edu or www.uaf.edu/uapress. The hardback retails for $65.00 and the paperback for $29.95.

Promoting Literacy in School

CIRI’s Mark Kroloff, Sophie Minich, Dawn Dinwoodie, Allison Knox, and Jacinda Mainord, as well as The CIRI Foundation’s Susan Anderson, Paneen Peterson, Anne Reamer and Crystal Batt, volunteered at a literacy event at Tyson Elementary in Mountain View last month. First Alaskans Institute coordinated the kickoff event to promote literacy at the Anchorage school, which has a high population of Alaska Native youth. Each community volunteer met with a small group of students and read the book “Kumak’s Fish” by Michael Bania. The students were presented a copy of the book and encouraged to read it throughout the summer.

Indian Education Potluck Celebrates Student Success

The Anchorage School District’s Indian Education Program honored more than 50 Alaska Native and American Indian students at the seventh annual family potluck with certificates of achievement and books to read for the summer. The annual potluck recognizes the hard work and perseverance of the students in their educational endeavors. CIRI presented a special gift to the Alaska Native students who graduated high school with honors (3.5 GPA and higher). Tamra S. Kornfield from the NANA region, graduating from East Anchorage High School; Dawn Dinwoodie, CIRI’s community relations specialist, holding her son Sage Raven Worl; and Jeanne Estabrook from the Doyon region, graduating from Steller Secondary School, are pictured.

July 15 Application Deadline For New Cook Inlet Housing Rentals

July 15, 2004, is Cook Inlet Housing Authority’s application deadline for 12 brand-new, three-bedroom, single-family homes with two-car garages and 16 completely renovated two-bedroom apartments in Anchorage. The homes and apartments are available to families whose incomes, for example, are below $42,480 and $47,220 for families or three and four people. Availability is limited. Rents are affordable. If you are interested, contact Cook Inlet Housing Authority, (907) 276-8822, for an application or more information.