Sealaska Heritage concludes ninth annual education conference

Sealaska Heritage Institute wrapped up its ninth annual Culturally Responsive Education Conference in Juneau on Thursday, drawing hundreds of educators from Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada and New Zealand for three days of sessions on culturally responsive teaching. This year's theme was "Learning from Our Ancestors, Shaping Our Future." Last year's conference drew about 440 people, some from as far as Greenland and Nova Scotia.

Author and former Alaska Writer Laureate Ernestine Saankaláxt Hayes gave the keynote. More than 50 breakout sessions ranged from place-based STEAM education to making medicines from plants, and a day of field trips included a weaving workshop, a tour of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí Totem Pole Trail, the Alaska State Museum, and a dugout-canoe demonstration.

"When we launched the conference nine years ago, we had no idea how far reaching it would become," SHI President Rosita Worl said. "It has impacted people internationally and become a model for inclusive education."