The Teacher Mentor Project is working to increase to seven percent the number of eligible and qualified Alaska Native and American Indian teachers in the Anchorage School District teacher workforce in the year 2000. Funding for the program is provided by a three year grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and administered by The CIRI Foundation and Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

Currently, the Teacher Mentor Project has assisted 44 Alaska Native and American Indian teachers obtain teaching positions within the Anchorage School District, while 45 teachers were offered positions with other Alaskan school districts.

Through the project, seminars and private sessions are held to assist individuals wishing to apply for teaching positions. Participants receive free assistance with application processing, interviewing, resume writing and support services. In the program's first two years, more than 274 new contacts have been made with prospective teacher applicants and 154 participants have participated in Teacher Mentor Training Sessions.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is preparing for its second summer season, May 13 through September 22. "This summer our season begins with Qayaqs and Canoes - Paddling into the Millennium," said Margaret Nelson, ANHC president and CEO. "This program brings together Elders from each Alaska Native culture to share their skills directly with youth and visitors in order to preserve and pass on Native traditions."

The Alaska Native Heritage Center's performing and demonstrating artist series will continue with artists from across the state sharing their art forms with visitors to the Center. Additionally, transportation will be available during the summer season to and from the 4th Avenue Theater via the 4th Avenue Theater Trolley.

Icu (pronounced e-shoe, meaning 'welcome' in the Eyak language), the Center's children's program, will also be offered. Icu is an interactive and fun learning program for children of all ages. Activities will include hands-on arts and crafts creation, traditional Native games and interaction with tradition bearers to learn about Alaska Native tradition.

In addition to Icu, the new Naanguarvik Summer Day Camp (pronounced nah-nor-vick, meaning 'a place to play' in the Yup'ik language) will be held at the Center with the help from a FNMA Foundation grant. The one-week day camp is open to children ages 6 through 13, who will learn about the five major Alaska Native cultures from master artists and tradition-bearers, concentrating on one culture each day. The focus is art, performance and environmental knowledge with some language instruction. Children bring their own lunches except for Friday, when they hold a cookout. Children may register for one session only during the summer. Contact Patricia Partnow or Loretta Riley at (907) 330-8000 for details and to register.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is open year round as a gathering place for all Alaskans to celebrate, perpetuate and share Alaska Native cultures. Hours of operation will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily. General admission for adults will be $19.95, and $14.95 for children ages 7 to 16. Children six and under are admitted free.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center hosted its First Annual All Alaska Native Juried Art Show in March. "The All Alaska Native Juried Art Show offered an opportunity for Alaska Native artists to show their finest pieces," said Margaret Nelson, ANHC president and CEO. "In addition, the All Alaska Native Juried Art Show provided a forum for Alaska Native artists to interact with their peers and for the public to enjoy fine Alaska Native art."

Jenna May (Eyak) for "Under the Golden Gate"

Maria Corwin (Tlingit) for "Forget-Me-Not" Garland Bracelet & Pendant

John Hoover (Aleut) for "Salmon Woman Mask"

Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Athabascan/Inupiaq) for "Idiot Strings" (The two that got away)

Rebecca Lyon (Athabascan/Aleut) for "Touching Copper Woman"

Jim Miller (Yup'ik) for "The Last Hunt"

Myron Wheeler (Inupiaq) for "North Wind Mask"

Lalla Williams (Aleut) for "Kodiak Dancer"

Dorothy Yatlin (Athabascan) for "Gloves"

 

 

 

 

 

"Under the 7Golden Gate" by Jenna May

Ronald Senungetuk, an Inupiaq, served as curator and juror for the show. Senungetuk has studied metalsmithing and woodworking on a Fulbright scholarship to the States Handverks og Kunstindustriskole in Oslo, Norway, as well as at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. He served as a University of Alaska Fairbanks professor of art and design for more than 20 years, attaining the status of professor emeritus. He has since served as curator, juror or consultant for a number of art shows throughout the United States, Canada and Germany.

An Eyak from Cordova, Jenna May's award-winning piece, Under the Golden Gate, is an interpretive painting drawn from recurring memories after a recent trip to northern California. Her work has been strongly influenced by Carlos Loarea, a Guatemalan artist and teacher and one of many muralists in the San Francisco Bay area.

If you have not already signed up for direct deposit and would like to take advantage of this payment option for your second quarter dividend, CIRI must receive your completed "Authorization for Direct Deposit of Dividends" form no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, June 2.

Applications received after this date will be kept on file for direct deposit of the next distribution.

If you have any questions about direct deposit or you need an authorization form, please contact the Shareholder Relations department at (907)

274-8638, or toll free at 800-764-2474. Forms can also be printed from the Shareholder Services section of the CIRI website at www.ciri.com.