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On Tuesday, June 18, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government awarded eight American Indian tribal government programs $10,000 each in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Chickaloon's Ya Ne Dah Ah School was one of the eight organizations honored in the ceremony in Bismarck, N.D., which was attended by hundreds of American Indians from across the country who gathered for a session of the National Congress of American Indians. The awards were given as part of Harvard's Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations program, which identifies, celebrates and shares exemplary tribal government programs among the more than 550 Indian nations in the United States. |
 Past, present and future Ya Ne Dah Ah School students pose for a photography (left to right) top row: Tah Jimsi Carmen-Harrison, Daniel Harrison, Raeanne Martin, Paul Harrison. Next row: Katherine Wade, Nicholas Lanman. From Next Row left: Kaylan Wade, Dillon Stuart, Alex Otto. Next row: Corey Stuart, Artie Boldt, Kyle Stuart, Mary Johns, Andrew Harrison. Bottom row left: Jarrett Johns, Gracie Aubrey, Sewa Carmen. |
"Across Indian Country, tribes are governing themselves to a brighter future" said Andrew Lee, a Seneca and the program's executive director. "It makes sense to shine a spotlight on tribal government best practices so that others can learn from and replicate what's working across a spectrum of public policy concerns."
Chickaloon's Ya Ne Dah Ah (Ancient Teachings) School is dedicated to giving community youth the skills necessary to function in a modern world while retaining and facilitating traditional knowledge and practices. Ya Ne Dah Ah is a tribally owned and operated, full-time primary school and day care. Located in a one-room school house that receives no federal or state funding, the school's 20 students, whose CAT scores are higher than national counterparts, learn Ahtna Athabascan history, language, music and art from elders and science and math from tribal foresters, environmentalists and computer technicians. The school encourages intensive parental involvement and aggressively monitors student progress.
Chickaloon Village plans to create an endowment fund with the $10,000 award to continue teaching their Athabascan heritage.
"Today, many Alaska schools that serve Alaska Native students are closing because of a lack of students. Parents are instead placing their children in home schooling environments or transporting them to other schools," said Chickaloon Village education administrator Donita Peter. "Chickaloon can serve as a benchmark for other Alaska Native communities on how to set up similar education programs for their children. We are a resource and example for other villages who wish to develop educational opportunities for their communities."
"I have been thinking of the whole Chickaloon Village a lot since I had the opportunity of visiting you. I have had many great experiences in my lifetime (so far), but all pale in comparison to the time I spent at Chickaloon. The visit had a profound impact on me, and the work that I do. I am very pleased we were able to award you. I only hope it is the beginning of the recognition that you so richly deserve. You have a great program that I am sure will continue to have a profound impact on your community and Indian Country as a whole," said Harvard Professor Steve Brimley.
The eight "high honors" were chosen from 16 finalists who were initially selected from a pool of 80 applications representing more than 60 tribes and multi-tribe collaborations. At each stage of the selection process, which is led by a national advisory board chaired by Chief Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation, applications were judged on the criteria of effectiveness, significance, transferability, creativity and sustainability.
The other seven honored include the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the Gila River Youth Council, the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team, the Umatilla Basin Salmon Recovery Project, the Whirling Thunder Wellness Program, the Yakama Nation Land Enterprise, and the Zuni Eagle Sanctuary.
