SECOND NATIVE SUMMIT SETS COMMUNITY-LEVEL STRATEGIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 1996

Fairbanks, Alaska - Rural Student Services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is sponsoring a Native Summit Nov. 14 and 15 at the UAF Wood Center Ballroom. The goal of this year's summit is to develop community level strategies for rural education. The summit's theme is "RISE - Rural Alaskans Initiating Success in Education." Native leaders from throughout the state who are former or current UAF students will attend.

Peter John, the traditional chief of Alaska's Athabaskan people and a 1994 UAF honorary degree recipient, will lead the summit's opening remarks, along with James Nageak, an assistant professor at UAF-affiliated Ilisagvik College in Barrow. College of Rural Alaska Executive Dean Ralph Gabrielli, who oversees UAF's branch campuses in Nome, Dillingham, Bethel, Kotzebue and Fairbanks, will welcome participants to the university on behalf of Chancellor Joan Wadlow.

Throughout the summit a series of panel discussions will take place among UAF students, staff, faculty and Native leaders on current educational issues. Topics include historical views of education from elders as well as current services and projects underway in rural Alaska. The newly formed Rural Education Preparation Partnership, headquartered at UAF to address a shortage of Native educators statewide, will also be featured at the summit.

Alaska Education Commissioner Shirley Holloway will lead a discussion on "Accountability for Public Education." The discussion will be televised on the

Alaska Rural Communication Service (ARCS) Thursday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 15, 9 a.m. A Friday morning audio conference will include participants from UAF's rural campuses and other remote sites.

UAF hosted the first-ever Native Summit in 1994. Several recommendations from the gathering were made, including the establishment of UAF as a statewide center for Alaska Native research and studies, creating an Alaska Native experts guide of both traditional and contemporary citations, adding a course in Alaska Native cultures as part of UAF's core curriculum, and establishing mentoring programs for Alaska Native students, faculty and staff.

Also recommended was the use of small residence halls as transitional houses for students who desire a Native environment and support. This past summer, groundbreaking ceremonies for the 25-person rural residence hall Inupiat House took place on the UAF campus.

Summit participants are expected this year to develop new recommendations. They will build on outcomes of the 1994 summit with input from the 1995 Native Education Council Higher Education Forum and conclusions from the 1996 World Indigenous Peoples' Conference, among other documents and ideas.

The summit's sponsor, RSS, has addressed many issues facing Native and rural students since it began in 1969, including a commitment to enhancing students' educational opportunities through academic advising and support services. Its popularity is evident through the fact that more than 90 percent of incoming freshmen from rural Alaska seek RSS services when they attend UAF.

CONTACT: JoAnn Ducharme, Rural Student Services, (907) 474- 7871, or Jillian Swope, University Relations, (907)474-7778.

JCS/10-29-96/97-024