2002 CIRI GOLF CLASSIC RECIPIENTS
Chickaloon's Ya Ne Dah Ah School

As many Alaska Natives know, before the introduction of western education, youth were taught by example and through storytelling by elders. For Chickaloon and other Athabascan villages, elders taught the young through Ya Ne Dah Ah (ancient teaching in Ahtna Athabascan) stories.

In May 1992, Chickaloon Village decided to bring back this old way of teaching for its young people. Katherine Wade, a Chickaloon elder, still remembered the Ya Ne Dah Ah stories told by her grandparents and began passing this knowledge on to the children in the village. She told stories and taught traditional language and culture to the children.

Ya Ne Dah Ah Students

Elders from Arctic Village and Copper Center shared with the Chickaloon children traditional songs and dances of the Athabascan people. This enabled the students of Ya Ne Dah Ah to create a dance group. Today, the group is comprised of children from the age of 2 to adults performing in pow-wows and gatherings.


Dance Practice for Students

The students' schedule includes: prayer, Ahtna language, home school courses and cleaning the school. Fridays at the school feature a full day of culture, language and special lessons on environmental protection, issues on tribal government and other traditional values.

Eight objectives are the basis for the Ya Ne Dah Ah School:
  • Teach the Ahtna Athabascan language to Chickaloon tribal members and children.
  • Teach children to survive on their own by learning how to cook, clean and take care of themselves and others.
  • Teach children good work ethics.
  • Allow children to grow and become strong in their spirituality.
  • Teach traditional values that children would not get in the public school, such as respect, listening to elders, responsibility, honesty, cooperation instead of competition, care for the environment, working for elders and caring for others.
  • Teach children Chickaloon's traditional culture including dancing, drumming, crafts, and stories to preserve them for future generations.
  • Expose and involve the children in the ongoing developments, issues and current work of the tribe.
  • Prepare the next generation of tribal leadership with the strong academic skills they will need, as well as strong traditional values.

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