Exuberant shouts resounded in the Evergreen Elementary gym last Thursday night as a group of nine young runners, between the third and fifth grades, bounded into the room for another session of I Toowú Klatseen, a running program for youth that combines athletic activity with Tlingit language learning and cultural education.
The group settled into a circle to learn about the Tlingit subsistence lifestyle, healthy foods and the importance of having respect for the plants and animals we eat. Kim Wickman, a program volunteer, instructed the students to avoid waste by harvesting only what they need. When picking blueberries, she told them, remember to leave “one for the bear, one for the crow, and take one for me.” Then, the group warmed up for an evening of running and games.
The program’s name translates to “Strengthen Your Spirit,” and its curriculum is intended to foster both physical endurance and inner strength. Participants meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week as they learn lessons, engage in discussion, and train for a 5k fun run.
Wickman, an IGAP technician at the Wrangell Cooperative Association, teaches the curriculum, Marc Lutz, editor of the Wrangell Sentinel, handles the athletic activities, and Virginia Oliver, Tlingit language teacher and culture bearer, brings her knowledge and Tlingit fluency to the program. All of the coaches and educators are volunteers.
When the 10-week program kicked off in Juneau and Sitka 2014, it was geared specifically toward boys, aiming to promote nonviolence, provide positive male role models, and teach Southeast Alaskan tribal values. Founders saw it as “a means of domestic violence prevention,” explained Maleah Nore, an adverse childhood experiences specialist who was instrumental in implementing the program in Wrangell.
However, as the program has expanded to communities across Southeast, its focus has shifted to include all children. “Any child could benefit from the connection to community, resilience, culture and place,” said Nore. “It doesn’t have to go by gender.”
The same philosophy applies to children’s cultural backgrounds. While the program teaches Southeast Alaska Native values and Tlingit language, Native and non-Native kids participate in its lessons and activities together. “Land and people go together, and we are on Native land,” said Nore. “You don’t have to be Native to benefit from that knowledge.”
The program’s design allows every child to share their unique cultural values. In one I Toowú Klatseen activity, participants bring an object from their home to present to the group. For Native kids, Nore explained, that object might be a drum, but for others, the object could be representative of Russian or Finnish heritage.
Kim Wickman, program volunteer, appreciates how I Toowú Klatseen offers a variety of activities that cater to different children’s strengths and interests. “Some of our runners are very strong when they pack firewood or handle their little brother,” she explained, “while others are very strong when they’re creative, when they use their brains for artwork or stories that they’re telling.” The program’s definition of “strength” values both sets of skills equally.
Nore also sees a tie between the physical and intellectual strengths the program fosters.
Nore hopes that the program will continue in Wrangell, though no definite plans have been made for next year. This year’s program will last for eight more weeks. I Toowú Klatseen participants and their parents have opted into an evaluation that will collect data on the program’s effectiveness. The evaluation seeks to determine whether kids feel more connected to their communities after participating in I Toowú Klatseen, whether the program has connected them with trusted adults they can turn to, and whether their views on the meaning of strength have changed.
Nore hopes that the data collected from the evaluation will help secure more funding for the program, which could be used in the future to pay coaches. In Wrangell, I Toowú Klatseen was funded by the Wrangell Cooperative Association.
As the program neared its close last Thursday evening, the runners were engrossed as Virginia Oliver told the story of the skilled Tlingit carver and hunter Natsilane. Abandoned by his devious brothers in law, Natsilane discovers an underwater sea lion village, then struggles to get back home to his wife.
Does Natsilane ever make it back to his village, asked Dima Aleksieva.
You’ll have to wait until next week to find out, Oliver responded.
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