Page 63 - Winds Of Change College 2018

University of Alaska
Fairbanks College Chapter
Building a future with friends, fellowship — and food
It’s not unusual to enjoy traditional food at an AISES College Chapter meeting — but the menu doesn’t usually include muktuk (whale skin and blubber), herring eggs, or smoked salmon. Welcome to the University of Alaska Fairbanks
Chapter, where you’re as likely to nd those local favorites as fry bread. “I was drawn to the free homemade food, since it was great,” admits the chapter’s president, Baxter Bond. “But I stayed because of the presenters and opportunities that wouldn’t be available to me anywhere else.”
Active since 1989, the chapter — winner of the 2018 Stelvio J. Zanin Distin- guished Chapter of the Year Award and the College Chapter Award for Professional and Chapter Development — attracts many members via word of mouth. Like Bond, they stick around for the friendships and opportunities as well as the food. Otherwise students learn about the chapter at the university’s club recruitment events and by noticing chapter meetings, which Chapter Advisor Olga Skinner says are held in a highly visible location, the Rural Student Services Gathering Room.
Members can get involved in a range of activities, like tutoring and mentoring other members and prospective Alaska Native UAF students visiting the campus. Also popular is volunteering at science fairs and the Festival of Native Arts, a three-day, student-run event featuring workshops, Native dance performances, and vendor tables.
The chapter sustains an active core membership of about 15, but twice that many often attend meetings, which can feature guest speakers like former chapter president Ray Kangas, now an engineer with Doyon Anvil. Still, all chapter members have to be a bit intrepid. “We are probably one of the coldest AISES chapters,” explains Bond. “Our members often endure days where the tempera- ture outside is –40°F, and they still show up to our meetings.”
Showing up is worth it. “When I rst started college I was really nervous, but everyone I met at AISES helped me feel comfortable and achieve in my classes,” says the chapter vice president, Rachael Teter. “AISES UAF has given me a place to bring my whole self as a Yup’ik STEM major and researcher. It’s been a place to feel empowered and understood on a level that no other group can offer.”
AISES UAF membership also comes with opportunities to develop as a leader. “At rst, I was elected to smaller roles, like tutor coordinator,” says Bond. “Eventually, I moved up the ladder to secretary, vice president, and nally, president. I just felt more prepared for each role every time.”
Membership can also open a door to a wider world. “I’ve been able to travel to several National Conferences and to meet some amazing folks,” says Bond. “It has de nitely allowed me to grow beyond the UAF campus.”
Members will be busy in the coming weeks raising funds for chapter projects via fry bread sales and silent auctions. One big item on their agenda is preparing to host the next Region 1 Conference, and they are anticipating an inspiring gathering. Says Teter, “I look forward to meeting more awesome Native nerds!”
After 10 years Haskell began offering a high school curriculum. Post–high school courses were added in 1927, and by the mid-1930s the school was known for its vocational and technical training. The high school courses were phased out by 1965, and in 1970 the school of cially became Haskell Indian Junior College. The school’s current status as a fully accredited four-year college was achieved in 1993, and with it came the name change to “university.”
Historically, Haskell’s athletics program, now based in the Jim Thorpe Fitness Center, has been a claim to fame for the school. Its football teams from the earliest decades of the 20th century are legendary, and today Haskell is home to the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. It is the only member institution of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics with a four-year program where all athletes are members of diverse Indigenous nations.
aises.org
2018–2019 SPECIAL COLLEGE ISSUE • WINDS OF CHANGE 61
COURTESY OF HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS UNIVERSITY (LEFT);
COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS AISES CHAPTER (RIGHT)