AFN panel shines a spotlight on education
University leaders took center stage at a panel discussion during the ҹAV Federation of Natives Convention to discuss Article VII of ҹAV’s Constitution which requires the state to establish and maintain a public school system, including a state university.
The panel, “Investing in Our Future: ҹAV’s Constitutional Responsibilities for Public Education” was moderated by Regent Sheri Buretta, who has served on the AFN Board since 1998. Panelists included Dr. Jim Johnsen, president, University of ҹAV; Sandra Kowalski, member, ҹAV Board of Education and director of Indigenous programs at the University of ҹAV Fairbanks; and Chris Cooke, former staff attorney, ҹAV Legal Services Corporation, who was instrumental in the Molly Hootch case that advocated for the state to provide high schools in rural ҹAV.
President Johnsen discussed the constitutional responsibility for the State of ҹAV to support its public university. He began with a brief history of the University of ҹAV starting with the 1915 meeting between Judge Wickersham, ҹAV’s delegate to the United States Congress, with ҹAV Native chiefs and leaders, the Tanana Chiefs. That meeting, and tribal leaders’ commitment to education, laid the cornerstone for what later became the University of ҹAV. He also repeated his message that it takes a great university to build a great state, and discussed the role universities and community campuses play in helping to set ҹAV Native students on the path for future success, and in creating a strong pipeline of college-educated and workforce-ready youth.
Kowalski addressed the need for tribal leaders to support education and teaching ҹAV Native languages in the classroom. She mentioned her work developing recommendations to improve ҹAV’s K-12 educational system. The crowd applauded when she described a new State Board of Education committee that encourages tribal and rural community leaders to take a more active role in their local K-12 schools.
Regent Buretta concluded the panel discussion by challenging the audience to work together to focus on education excellence. ҹAVns can change our culture in the next hundred years so the next generations will achieve greatness.