Breakout Session Schedule

Participants will learn about using poetry to help students make connections to their communities (place) and their identities (self). Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogies, the session will offer examples and theory for foundational understanding of the impact of such work. They will use poetry from Blue Ink Tears (Germán, 2023) as a mentor text in order to identify strategies for immediate classroom use. Participants will also receive a “Teaching Guide for Blue Ink Tears.”

This session introduces the Native Ways of Knowing Literacy Resources, designed to support educators and librarians in selecting and teaching high-quality, culturally responsive literature. Participants will explore research-based literacy strategies that foster decolonized and indigenized learning environments for K–12 American Indian and Alaska Native  students.

Educators and families will gain tools to identify and incorporate Indigenous-authored books that offer authentic insights into Native cultures, storytelling traditions, and tribal languages. Participants will learn how to expand their collections with works that honor cultural sovereignty and promote empathy, resilience, and deeper understanding among all students.

Grounded in the work of scholars such as Reese, Fryberg, Sabzalian, and Pewewardy, this session provides strategies for culturally and linguistically responsive instruction that supports Indigenous learners. Educators will explore ways to create inclusive classrooms and libraries that reflect Native Ways of Knowing and literacy practices.

Led by Native educators, cultural leaders, and tribal experts, the training empowers participants to advocate for Indigenous education and cultural preservation. Attendees will gain practical tools, including Native read-aloud strategies, Indigenized lesson plans, award-winning book lists, place-based learning activities, and Indigenous author and illustrator webinar recordings.

How can collaboration change the way we understand science, relationships, and responsibility? Western science often prioritizes technical tools and neutrality; undervaluing relational skills. As climate change intensifies the need for partnership, we’re learning how humor can make a difference in collaborations with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams; laughing together through honest moments of misstep and informal teaching opportunities that foster mutual understanding and reflexivity.

From the perspective of a student and settler, Sara Little critically reflects on experiences working in Alaska, including work with Sealaska Heritage Institute, and current master’s research at Western Washington University through the Active Societal Participation in Research and Education (ASPIRE) team. ASPIRE brings together social scientists, geoscientists, and communities working toward more equitable, ethical, and culturally responsive approaches to science. 

In this session, we will share experiences and reflections on labor imbalances and settler responsibilities in research and education. Participants will leave with practical reflections on how humor, humility, and sharing vulnerable moments can support more relational understanding and change the lens through which science is viewed.

Young and adult learners can practice the Tlingit language free online with interactive visual and audio features through the Transparent Language software. Sealaska Heritage recently published their intermediate course, available to the public. This level of the course challenges learners to understand and respond to prompts about cultural activities featured in posters for four months out of the year. So far, the intermediate course has been assigned to public school students whose Tlingit language teacher was on work travel, new teachers and parents in the Tlingit Culture, Language, and Literacy (TCLL) program, and other learners who want to continue practicing between classes. The author of the course will share an example lesson and answer any questions about making a course of your own.

In this session, we will discuss the historical progression of beadwork. Participants will have the opportunity to see different styles and types of beadwork. The main focus of this presentation will be discussing the importance of reviving beadwork in schools and the significance of beading graduation caps. Participants will have the opportunity to set a loom and bead a small loom piece. Teaching underclassmen the importance of incorporating their culture into their academic studies is crucial in building confidence and resiliency in our youth.

In education, culture is often treated as something to acknowledge rather than something to leverage. Yet our identities, stories, traditions, and lived experiences are among the most powerful leadership tools we possess. This interactive session explores how cultural identity can be used to strengthen leadership, foster belonging, and create environments where students, educators, and communities thrive.

Using personal storytelling, leadership frameworks, and lessons drawn from popular culture, Leonard A. Williams challenges participants to rethink what leadership looks like in modern educational spaces. Attendees will explore how authenticity builds trust, how representation shapes engagement, and how culturally responsive leadership can transform school and campus communities.

Participants will leave with practical strategies to create stronger connections, increase belonging, and empower others to lead without leaving parts of themselves behind. Because when people feel seen, valued, and connected to their culture, they don't just participate—they lead.

We will explore place-based approaches to STEAM education that bridge Indigenous Knowledge systems and STEM to create meaningful, culturally responsive, and community-centered learning experiences. Drawing from work with Alaska Native communities, educators, Elders, and students across Southeast Alaska, the presentation will highlight how local lands, waters, languages, stories, and traditional practices serve as powerful contexts for teaching STEAM .  In this session we will explore Indigenous science concepts, experiential learning, ethnostory and analysis, Traditional Knowledge, language, cultural values, ethics, and tribal partnerships into STEAM instruction. The presentation will  examine how bridging knowledge systems supports student engagement, identity development, environmental guardianship, and deeper understanding of complex social-ecological systems. Participants will explore practical strategies for creating inclusive science learning environments that honor multiple ways of knowing while strengthening connections between education, culture, and place.

Coding With Culture explores how Indigenous youth and community members can move from simply using technology to building technology shaped by their own languages, stories, and values. This session will introduce practical ways beginner-friendly coding tools and AI-assisted development can help create small apps for language learning, pronunciation practice, storytelling, cultural education, mapping, and digital stewardship.

The focus is not on replacing Elders, teachers, linguists, or cultural authorities. Instead, this session shows how technology can support their work when it is guided by community permission, review, consent, and responsibility. Participants will see examples of culture-centered digital tools connected to Future Ancestors Alliance’s work, including youth tech cohorts, Indigenous language apps, language recordings, learning games, and community-controlled data systems.

This session is designed for educators, youth, language learners, cultural program staff, and community members who are curious about how technology can serve our communities when we build it ourselves. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how Indigenous communities can use modern tools while keeping culture, language, and community authority at the center.

Indigenizing education involves a fundamental shift in the relational and structural landscape of the classroom. This presentation explores a transformative framework for education that prioritizes Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. By moving away from Eurocentric, individualistic models, we can create learning environments that honor the whole person and the community. To explore this shift in practice, this session brings together two University of Alaska School of Education professors who designed a pioneering graduate certificate program in Indigenizing Education, alongside two students from the inaugural cohort. Together, the panel will unpack the practicalities of the Wholistic Approach, the challenges of centering Indigenous epistemologies within traditional institutions, and the power of building on cultural values as a foundation. By sharing the journey of this certificate program, the presenters will demonstrate how faculty and students can co-create knowledge and move toward a future where educational settings benefit all learners and educators, as guided by Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and practices.

The aim of this presentation is to impress on K–12 teachers, researchers, and others the value of Indigenous storytelling and shared local coastal knowledge. A Ts'msyen Elder and a  culture bearer from Metlakatla will provide in-person storytelling and a short video entitled "Dooyks ada Aks" will showcase local Metlakatla community members sharing their knowledge of currents and tides. Ocean safety and resources harvested from the ocean are emphasized in the video. Sm’algyax language terms introduced in the video will be reiterated in online resources including activities and a pronunciation guide. Participants will learn appropriate ways to respectfully invite local Elders into the classroom to engage with students. Through the Cultural Connections to Alaska Science  program, Metlakatla was one of four participating communities to co-produce educational resources for high-school students. The Cultural Connections Process Model used to develop resources can equip teachers to incorporate local knowledge, priorities, culture, and Native language in teaching.

Workshop attendees will learn and practice with social learning tools that facilitate cross-cultural learning and healing. Indigenous-led Whiteswan Environmental (WE) and the Western Washington University Center for Community Learning co-convene the Nexw Xwelemi Tengexw (Territory of the Lummi people) Gen cohort of the Community Engagement Fellows program (cefellows.org), which brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members for intergenerational learning, healing, and exploring potential collaborations that support ecological and cultural restoration in the Salish Sea Region. Through that work, we’ve co-developed tools that are culturally inclusive and which foster rich reflection, thoughtful listening, and creative solutions. The workshop will primarily focus on demonstrating and practicing with two of those tools – dual language Talk Tiles and Design Clinics. Talk Tiles are a language-learning and reflection tool including eight colorful dominos, each with a word/phrase that relates to a dimension of learning. Design Clinics are a structured brainstorming method that mobilizes collective wisdom in an equitable, culturally inclusive way through engaging with a group members’ challenge. Together we will learn Xwelemi Chosen words/phrases used for Talk Tiles and practice several ways to use them, and practice a design clinic focused on the culturally responsive educational work of a group member.

In his book The Nature of Prejudice, Gordon W. Allport uses the metaphor of a ladder to describe how “little acts,” which often go unnoticed, can lead to more serious and disruptive individual and collective behaviors.

This framework describes, in ascending order, five “rungs” of intolerance and injustice: speech, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack, extermination.

This is an interactive, full participation workshop facilitating conversations to identify and apply the “rungs” as evidenced in our world, historically through present day. Evaluation of primary source documents and current events will be analyzed to identify real challenges facing present-day society.

Strategies for facilitating safe discussions about negative assumptions and inappropriate behaviors based on prejudice and ignorance will be explored. Participants will be challenged to identify ways to restore tolerance in themselves, and our everyday lives.

One component of the Ladder of Prejudice workshop is guided practice with participants facilitating safe conversations of our own negative personal biases and prejudices. The purpose is to engage reevaluation of our own commitment to respect and tolerance. Hands-on activities will result in an art installation representing the metaphor of Ladder of Prejudice, From Name Calling to Genocide.

Grounded in the theme “Learning from Our Ancestors, Shaping Our Future,” this session invites educators to explore how Tlingit seasonal knowledge systems can serve as a living framework for culturally responsive education. Drawing from experience in Tlingit and Haida’s Haa Yoo X̱’atángi Kúdi Tlingit language immersion preschool, the presenter will share how seasonal cycles such as herring spawn, berry harvesting, salmon processing, and winter storytelling reflect deeply rooted values of respect, reciprocity, observation, and responsibility.

Participants will examine how land, season, and relationship can guide curriculum design in ways that move beyond surface-level cultural inclusion toward meaningful integration of Indigenous knowledge and language. The session will also address the importance of cultural responsibility, including building authentic relationships with Native communities and respecting community knowledge, protocols, and land.

Through storytelling, practical examples, reflection, and interactive engagement, participants will leave with concrete ideas for implementing land-based and place-based learning in their own classrooms while supporting the cultural vitality of future generations.

Participants will experience a Busy Hands, Big Conversations model, and then break down the methods and tools used. This model was created and adapted with the understanding that creating something alongside others can be a useful tool when having conversations with families, schools, and communities. The Busy Hands, Big Conversations model should be adapted for each school and community's needs, but participants will experience one adaptation of this model, and will leave with a better understanding of what this can look like in their communities.

Ancestral knowledge and experiences are passed to future generations through shared stories, cultural traditions, and collective memory. Similarly, trauma endured across generations can influence epigenetic mechanisms that affect patterns of gene expression, contributing to intergenerational trauma. As Anishinaabe knowledge keeper James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw explains, this can mean “inheriting pain that is not our own.”

One powerful tool that can support resilience in the face of past and future hurt is forgiveness. Forgiveness education has been shown to significantly reduce anger, an emotional state associated with increased risk for anxiety and depression. Forgiveness does not equate to pardon, reconciliation, or forgoing the pursuit of justice and can be embedded into school curricula through storytelling, guided discussions, and activities that cultivate perspective-taking and empathy.

Forgiveness is medicine, it fosters hope and healing and in the words of the late Rita Blumenstein, “When we heal ourselves, we also heal our ancestors, our grandmothers, our grandfathers, and our children.”

This presentation will explore the potentials, pitfalls, and ethics of using Indigenous culture as the inspiration for speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, alternative history, magical realism). The basis for the presentation will be Russell’s Tlingit inspired fantasy novel The Door on the Sea, and include discussion of  the joys and challenges of writing and publishing an Indigenous-inspired fantasy novel.

A culturally responsive literacy and numeracy framework grounded in an Indigenous perspective recognizes that learning is relational, holistic, and connected to identity, culture, language, and community. The framework honors Indigenous ways of knowing by integrating storytelling, oral language, land-based learning, and cultural knowledge alongside evidence-based literacy and numeracy practices. It supports students in seeing themselves reflected in their learning while building strong foundational skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and problem-solving. By valuing diverse perspectives and experiences, the framework promotes educational equity, strengthens student engagement, and fosters a sense of belonging and success for all learners.

Wahi a kūpuna, “Ua lehulehu a manomano ka ʻikena a ka Hawai’i.” “Great and numerous is the knowledge of the Hawaiian people.” This popular ʻōlelo noʻeau or proverb has been applied in many cultural practices and educational programs throughout Hawai’i as an assurance that ancestral knowledge is a firm pathway towards education, enlightenment and empowerment as Native people.

The INPEACE Keiki Steps program is grounded in ancestral knowledge systems that view children as whole beings—connected to culture, language, ʻohana (family), and ʻāina (land). This presentation explores how ceremony and ritual function as daily learning practices, supporting inquiry-based exploration while reinforcing cultural identity, language, and relational responsibility. Rather than positioning culture as enrichment, Keiki Steps centers on ancestral practices as the foundation for innovation, curiosity, and collective learning.

Participants will engage with examples of how Keiki Steps weaves oli, pule, hoʻokupu, cultural protocols, and reflective practices into everyday learning experiences—creating environments where keiki, families, educators, and community partners thrive together. The session demonstrates how these practices embody the principles of culturally responsive education while addressing contemporary challenges facing Native communities.

Three authors from the Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and mainland Native American (Cherokee Nation) communities will discuss how kinship and belonging are woven into their storytelling via contemporary Native characters. These stories have an impact on the greater community, inviting readers to learn and grow with characters like themselves. Topics of discussion will include Native language revitalization, mental health outcomes, the power of intergenerational community, and how connection is the basis for belonging and ultimately healing. The authors will be providing specific examples from their own titles, including Karina Iceberg’s Free to Fly and A Good Hide, Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams’ An Expanse of Blue and We Are Hapa (forthcoming), and Christine Hartman Derr’s Raven, Rising and Until We Meet Again: Donadagohvi (forthcoming).  The heartbeat of this presentation is the power of representation, both on the page and in living communities; this foundation rests upon ancestral and Elder connections, connections that are crucial to community and individual healing. Woven throughout the presentation is a much needed celebration of the ever-growing body of Native-authored work, especially in the field of children’s literature. Good representation is full representation, acknowledging the hardships while celebrating strong communal and cultural ways.

This session provides resources from the Seeds of Native Knowledge: Culturally Sustaining Teaching Institute, a collaborative initiative designed to support educators, administrators, tribal education staff, and community partners in strengthening culturally responsive and sustaining teaching practices. Rooted in the theme of Seeds of Native Knowledge, this session highlights how education can plant and nurture pathways toward truth-telling, cultural understanding, and equity for both Native and non-Native students.

Participants will explore frameworks that honor the educational sovereignty of Native Nations while advancing authentic, place-based, and community-centered learning environments. The session provides an overview of the California Native American Studies Model Curriculum (NASMC), Essential Understandings of Native American history and culture, and interdisciplinary approaches to Indigenous mathematics and literacy integration. Participants will also gain tools to identify and incorporate Indigenous-authored texts that reflect Native cultures, storytelling traditions, and tribal languages.

Grounded in the work of scholars such as Reese, Fryberg, Sabzalian, and Pewewardy, this session highlights strategies for culturally and linguistically responsive instruction that supports Indigenous learners. Educators will explore ways to create inclusive classrooms that reflect Native Ways of Knowing and literacy practices. Led by a Native educator and curriculum writer, the session empowers participants to advocate for Indigenous education and cultural preservation.

Like many Indigenous communities, for our village of Hoonah, our history is inextricably interwoven with the water and the land, yet the details of our settlement history following the forced migration from our homeland of Glacier Bay remained scattered knowledge. Through our IMLS-funded project "Perpetuating Our Culture Through Placenames," the Huna Heritage Foundation created a visual nexus of history, movement and connection. This session is specifically designed for representatives from Native villages or Indigenous organizations who wish to transform their community’s histories into tangible visual educational tools.

We will provide a behind-the-scenes look at our project's lifecycle, from securing federal funding to collaborating with landscape architects like Corvus Design to create our physical wall map. Participants will learn how archival audio and video and new interviews can be used to bring forward the voices of ancestors, Elders, and culture bearers, ensuring that our maps are not just geographic grids, but living records of our Tlingit identity. We will share our mitigation plan for cultural accuracy. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for identifying unmapped locations, managing digital media, and creating meaningful learning tools and resources to enhance local school curricula to ensure our culture is perpetuated for future generations.

For many Indigenous communities, the idea of language reclamation is nebulous, and determining how to approach this work can be an intimidating process. Where and how does a community start or continue language education? In this session, we will explore how the Bristol Bay Foundation partnered with Raven’s Group to develop a strategic plan encompassing our three regional languages: Alutiiq, Dena’ina, and Yup’ik. The Bristol Bay Indigenous Language Strategic Plan, finalized in spring 2026, draws input from a variety of collaborative spaces with in-region organizations and community members to ensure the plan addresses region-specific needs across family, community, education, and policy domains. Development of the plan was supported by Building Up Bristol Bay Language Education, an Alaska Native Education Program grant, and the efforts of our language speakers, Elders, teachers, and learners.

The Sayummaktuq: It is Energized curriculum was developed as part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute’s Cultural Connections to Alaska Science project, using a co-production model that brings researchers and curriculum developers together with Indigenous communities to develop science curricula on community-driven themes. A team of Iñupiaq knowledge bearers from the Kotzebue region identified energy as an essential theme for students in their region to learn about. In the Arctic, monthly home energy costs can exceed mortgage or rent.

The community team guided content development for this place-based and culturally grounded high school unit. It is designed to help students learn how their community relies upon renewable and non-renewable energy today and in the past, as well as energy conservation strategies applicable to Alaska, and how renewable resources are converted to electricity. Local Elders and community members, local industry professionals, and university scientists all contributed to and are highlighted in the finished products.

This session will explore the free resources and overview the co-production model used to develop them. Participants will practice Iñupiaq terminology related to energy, try hands-on lessons, view a film rich with Elder interviews, and discuss how the resources could be adapted for use in their classroom or community.

This session will explore how educators can foster healthy, regulated classroom environments by understanding the impacts of generational trauma on student learning and behavior. Participants will examine strategies that support the physical, social, and emotional needs of Native American students while empowering youth to thrive in school settings. The session will also highlight the importance of building strong relationships between schools, families, tribes, and communities to create a foundation of trust and support. Attendees will leave with practical approaches to strengthen student resilience, perseverance, and overall classroom well-being.

Alaska Pacific University is an Alaska Native-serving institution currently on a path toward tribal university status. An Indigenous Studies BA is in the final approvals process. Presenters in this session will discuss the history of the proposed BA, and solicit feedback from the participants/audience through a series of questions including:

• What is your perspective on the future of Indigenous Studies programs in universities?
•  Are there specific technical or leadership skills that are most needed in Native communities in Alaska e.g., peacemaking, grant writing, tribal governance, or land stewardship?
• What have been the major challenges for university students in terms of access and degree completion?

This interactive session explores how storytelling, relationships, and community values help cultivate belonging and hope in today’s educational and community spaces. Grounded in both lived experience and professional practice, the presenter reflects on lessons passed down from her grandfather, grandmother, and father—storytellers who taught that family means loving fiercely, even in disagreement, and making space for others with kindness, grace, and accountability.

Participants will engage in reflection, dialogue, and collaborative activities that connect these teachings to practical strategies for supporting youth, families, and communities. The session weaves Indigenous values together with relationship-centered practices and the science of hope, offering accessible tools that can be applied across educational, family, and community settings.

Honoring the understanding that while much has been taken from Indigenous communities, what remains is powerful, this session invites participants to move beyond deficit-based thinking and toward practices rooted in connection, inclusion, identity, and shared humanity. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for intentionally creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, and connected.