Teaching and Learning

Teaching in Bush Alaska offers a unique opportunity for teaching—and learning—in a community and a culture like no other. Most Bush communities (or villages, as they are usually known) can be reached only by small airplane, and travel from place to place is typically accomplished with snow machines, four wheelers, boats, or dog sleds. The Bush is sparsely populated, and in western and northern Alaska, indigenous peoples make up the majority of the population: Aleut, Yup’ik, and Inupiat. Athapascans live in rural villages in Interior Alaska and Tlingit/Haida/Tshimshians in Southeast. Most villages are marked by thriving culture and language and traditional ways of hunting and fishing. It is crucial for you as an educator in the Bush to understand that this is a true cross-cultural experience. Listening and observing will serve you better than any other behaviors you may choose. Tolerance, flexibility, humility, and patience with yourself and others are essential personal qualities for a successful Alaska Bush experience.

Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development

The Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development’s Web site provides a wealth of village-specific information, including but not limited to, school district student/teacher ratio, dropout rate, percent Native students, expenditures per student and geographic cost differential. Access the Alaska Community Database.

Alaska Native Knowledge Network

Resources for compiling and exchanging information related to 
Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. Learn more today.