On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Board of Trustees of the First Alaskans Institute, we are honored to welcome you to the 2004 AFN/First Alaskans Institute Elders and Youth Conference. In the next two days, we will offer a new and exciting version of an annual event held during Convention week for the past 20 years.

In 1984, AFN held its first Youth Conference, attended by 54 Native high school students from across the state. Soon, the Elders Conference was added to the week’s activities. By the early 1990’s, these events had been combined, giving two different generations of Alaska Natives the opportunity to talk together about important issues. This gathering combines the best of both worlds: our young people, the next wave of leadership - and our respected Elders, the culture bearers who link us to our great heritage.

2004 is the first year in which AFN has asked First Alaskans to plan and implement this prestigious event. That fits well with First Alaskans’ emphases on raising the level of awareness and the development of our future leaders. We are committed to informing and giving voice to the NATIVE INTELLECT in all that we do; and in these next two days, you will see that commitment in action.

This year’s conference theme is “The Power of Imagination,” a concept borrowed from Inupiaq writer William Oquilluk, Sr. Each of our plenary sessions, workshops and other activities will focus on practical outcomes that can be achieved by any of us. At the end of two days, we want each of you to leave the Egan Center with a personal commitment that will help your family and community. By stressing individual dedication, we wish to INFORM, INSPIRE, INVOLVE, IMAGINE AND IMPACT the lives of our people.

Instead of adopting resolutions on important topics, this year’s Conference will use modern “consensor” technology. Flexible, imaginative technology in the modern age gives us fascinating ways of talking to one another and of finding out what we, as indigenous Americans, really think.

In order to focus these discussions, we will use accurate statistical data on the status and condition of today’s Native community. We know that only by getting the facts straight can we successfully challenge the future.

In that spirit, we are delighted to welcome you, and we know that you will have a wonderful conference. You honor us all by your presence and efforts.

Julie E. Kitka Byron I. MallottPresident, Alaska Federation of Natives President/CEO, First Alaskans Institute

The Power of Imagination AFN/First Alaskans Elders and Youth Conference

Expected Outcomes: • inspire participants by developing connectivity, empowerment, imagination, hope • inform of the current status of our people with “Our Choices ~ Our Future” data

Monday, October 25, 2004

AM – Inspire

8:00 – 12:00 Registration, Main Level Lobby

9:00 – 12:00 Exhibitors, Lower Level

8:30 General Assembly, Main Level: Cultural Presentation, Southcentral Foundation Headstart Dancers

9:00 Posting of the Colors, Dimond High School JROTC Invocation Eklutna Welcome, Lee Stephan, CEO, Native Village of Eklutna AFN Welcome, Julie Kitka, President, Alaska Federation of Natives First Alaskans Welcome, Byron Mallott, President, First Alaskans Institute

9:30 Overview of Conference

9:40 Cultural Values and Respect, Alaska Native Oratory Society • Elvis Sam, Athabascan • Crystal Swetzof, Aleut/ Alutiiq • Rex Rock, Jr., Inupiaq • Krista Lamp, Tlingit • Quentin Simeon, Yup’ik

10:00 Consensor Technology Introduction, Brian Rogers, Principal Consultant & CFO, Information Insights

• Demographics: Who’s in the audience? Who are the participants? • Population/Projections of our People in 2010, 202011:15 Icebreaker, Lena Hoffman

11:25 Keynote – The Power of Imagination, Kelsi Ivanoff, Unalakleet and Steven Montantes, Hoonah, AFN Youth Council Members

11:45 Special Guest – Dave Anderson (“Famous Dave”), Department of Interior, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

12:00 – 1:15 Lunch On Your Own

Consensor Technology is a “Group Response System” that allows a large group of people to participate equally in a meeting or gathering. Using a wireless keypad, each participant is able to anonymously express his or her opinions on meeting objectives and instantly get an idea of how the entire group feels about the subject, by the graphic displayed at the front of the room.

The Power of ImaginationAFN/First Alaskans Elders and Youth Conference

Monday, October 25, 2004

PM – Inform

1:15 General Assembly, Main Level: Door Prizes Cultural Presentation, Tlingit and Haida Dancers of Anchorage 1:30 General Assembly: Consensor Technology, Brian Rogers, Information Insights “Our Choices – Our Future” • Health • Economy • Education

2:30 Healthy Living: What Youth Are Doing to Make a Difference Dennis Agli, Daisy Barnes, and Daniel Wahl, Students of the Maximum Achievement Program, Dillingham Alternative School

2:45 “String Games” Cultural Presentation, Matthew Nicolai, President & CEO, Calista Corporation 3:00 Regional Breakouts: Facilitated Discussions,

Room Assignments to be Announced • What do the data for your region mean? • What are the current and future critical issues Alaska Natives must deal with?

4:00 General Assembly, Main Level: Consensor Technology: Prioritize and Report Regional Results, Brian Rogers, Information Insights

4:45 Cultural Presentation, Tikigaq Traditional Dancers of Point Hope Door Prizes

5:00 Adjourn

The Power of ImaginationAFN/First Alaskans Elders and Youth Conference

Expected Outcomes: • involve through an understanding of the importance of our history and identity, and through leadership development workshops • regional breakout active learning discussions to imagine where we want our people to be in the future • determine how we can impact and make a difference by developing action plans and move forward toward those goals

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

AM – Involve

8:00 – 12:00 Registration, Main Level Lobby

9:00 – 12:00 Exhibitors, Lower Level

8:30 General Assembly, Main Level: Cultural Presentation, Mt. Edgecumbe High School Dance Group

9:00 General Assembly: Consensor Technology, Brian Rogers, Information Insights What do you know about Alaska Native History and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act? 9:30 Special Presentation – Elizabeth, Priscilla, James and Willie Hensley Past, present and future of Alaska Natives

10:00 Alaska Native Oratory Society Debate: … To Be or Not to Be … Should descendants of original shareholders be enrolled in our regional corporations? • Debaters: Rebecca Prieto, Jennifer Poindexter, Peter Paneok, and Elvis Sam

10:20 “Maq” Icebreaker, Lena Hoffman

10:30 Youth – Leadership Development Workshops – Room Assignments to be Announced • What Does Being a Leader Really Mean? Lena Hoffman and Raina Thiele • It’s All About Seal: Leadership Through Traditional Knowledge, Phillip

Blanchett, Education Specialist, Alaska Native Heritage Center • Empowerment Through Storytelling,

Quentin Simeon, Alaska Native Oratory Society • Pursuing and Preserving Cultural Identity, Shyanne Beatty, CITC-MediAK • Shareholder Issues for Those Born After 1971, TBD (invited) • Internet to Communicate Traditional Worldviews, Victoria Hykes-Steere • Following Your Passions, Krystal Kompkoff, Alaska Job Corps & ANPA

• Health Careers – Join the Fastest Growing Job Opportunity in Alaska, Charmaine Ramos, ANTHC, Vip Initiative Coordinator

• What Does a Healthy Community Look Like to You? Adriene Active, Project Director, Alaska Federation of Natives

• Alaska Native Teachers – Giving Back to Our Communities, Mary Snyder, Dean, College of Education, UAA, and Paul Ongtooguk, Assistant Professor, UAA • Making an Impact on Native Communities: Gates Millennium Scholarships

and Other Higher Education Funding, Christa Moya, AIGC Coordinator of Financial Aid, and ANCSA Education Consortium

• Hands on Banking, Logan Birch, Business Relationship Manager, Asta Keller, Asst. Vice President, Wells Fargo

10:30 Elders – Message to the Next Leadership – La Perouse Room Facilitated Discussion Tables • Transform recommendations from 2003 Elders Session into Action Items • What actions need to be taken on the priority issues, and who is responsible

for following through on them? 12:00 – 1:15 Lunch

1:15 General Assembly, Main Level: Door Prizes Cultural Presentation, Halau Kamakakuokalani (Hawaii)

1:30 Special Guest Speaker – Ishmael Hope, Community Outreach Director, Perseverance Theatre 1:50 Regional Breakouts: Facilitated Discussion of Priority Issues, Room Assignments to be Announced • Do we have the power to…inspire, inform, involve, imagine, impact? • What needs to be done? • What can I…you…we do?

3:00 General Assembly, Main Level: Consensor Technology: Report Regional Results Brian Rogers, Information Insights

4:30 “Alaskan Youngstaz”, Scott Chamberlain, John Carroll and Justin Mayo Cultural Presentation, Alaska Native Heritage Center Dance Group Door Prizes “Rock you” Icebreaker, Lena Hoffman Closing prayer

5:00 Adjourn 5:30 – 7:30 Elders Dinner and Cultural Presentation Sponsored by Providence Extended Care Location: 4900 Eagle Street * Bus departs at 5:30 PM, Egan Center Main Level

7:00 – 10:00 Youth Dance Sponsored by Fraternal Order of Alaska State Troopers and SMG Location: Egan Center Main Level * Chaperones expected to attend

Leadership Development Workshops Descriptions - Tuesday, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

What Does Being a Leader Really Mean? Lena Hoffman and Raina Thiele What is leadership? Is a leader proactive, influential, involved in his/her community, a public speaker, a problem solver? Join this workshop to define what being a leader really means and how this term applies to you. The workshop will take place in an interactive environment where all are encouraged to participate in developing and highlighting the characteristics that make a leader. We will also focus on learning new strategies and skills for effective problem solving and giving back to the community, which directly tie into the conference sub-themes of involve and impact.

It’s All About Seal: Leadership Through Traditional Knowledge, Phillip Blanchett, Alaska Native Heritage Center Seal is everywhere! It’s in the air. It’s on your head. It’s at your work and school. Seal is at the market. It’s what you wear. Seal is in your soul. Seal is on the table; let’s talk about it! The Encourage Leadership Class from the Alaska Native Heritage Center will lead a guided workshop honoring the brilliance and imagination of Native culture through an exploration of ‘Our Sacred Animals’. In honor of subsistence and our way of life, we will honor the wisdom of our teachers and the imagination of each other.

Empowerment through Storytelling, Quentin Simeon, Alaska Native Oratory Society This session will include examples of speech, incorporating both contemporary and traditional storytelling. The students will begin by introducing themselves, state where they are from, and will be encouraged to tell stories from their Elders. They will learn the importance of individual experiences; how they relate to others and the appreciation others have hearing about common stories. Information on the Oratory Society and how it fosters positive communication and youth empowerment will be provided.

Pursuing and Preserving Cultural Identity, Shyanne Beatty Why is it important to pursue and preserve our culture? How can we pursue and preserve our culture? Currently there is one person left who can speak the Eyak language. Think about that for a moment and realize the impact of that thought. Within the next twenty years many Alaska Native and American Indian cultures are under the threat of becoming extinct. It is your responsibility as the future Native leaders of our communities to carry on our culture and traditions for us all. In this breakout session we will discuss ways on how you can learn more about your culture in rural and urban Alaska. We will see how various Alaska Natives feel about pursuing and preserving cultural identity and we will work as a team to come up with more ideas to help each other become successful culture bearers.

Internet to Communicate Traditional Worldviews, Victoria Hykes-Steere The workshop will demonstrate how to use the power of the internet to communicate ideas, concerns and life ways to advocate and use visually our voice. It will be a demonstration of how to load i-movies online and a discussion of how to speak and remain true to traditional worldviews, while advocating for present and future generations.

Following Your Passions, Krystal Kompkoff, Alaska Job Corps and Alaska Native Professionals Association Do you have any clue about what you want to do after High School? Come to an interactive session where you will use your interests and values to discover what you are passionate about and get ideas for future careers and jobs! Then discover how to prepare for those jobs from the pros at Job Corps!

Health Careers – Join the Fastest Growing Job Opportunity in Alaska, Charmaine Ramos, Vip Initiative Coordinator, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Be part of one of the fastest growing industries in Alaska and the nation – healthcare. Be employed by some of the largest employers in Alaska – Tribal health corporations. Learn how to “get the word out” about Health Careers to your family and friends and others who want to make a difference in their communities throughout Alaska. Share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions with us on how to “spread the word” about the ViP Initiative. Your Community Needs You!

Alaska Native Teachers – Giving Back to Our Communities, Mary Snyder, Dean, College of Education, UAA, and Paul Ongtooguk, Assistant Professor, UAA Paul Ongtooguk and Mary Snyder will share information on why students should consider education as a career. They will use video, PowerPoint, and interactive activities. Students will have received invitations to attend this session (although others are welcome). Following the presentation, interested students will be invited to tour UAA. The presentation will look at how education works to strengthen communities and why young people should consider teaching.

Making an Impact on Native Communities: Gates Millennium Scholarships and Other Higher Education Funding, Christa Moya, AIGC Coordinator of Financial Aid The session presents information for the nomination and recommendation process for potential scholars. It will offer strategies to identify qualified Native applicants and help them submit competitive applications. The presenter will share her own experiences as well as those of other staff members in working with Native students to prepare them for college. She will identify traditional and non-traditional challenges and barriers encountered by Native students and offer solutions for overcoming them. Co-facilitators: Jason Borer and Susan Anderson, ANCSA Education Consortium and Andrea Gregg, Alaska Postsecondary Commission

What Does a Healthy Community Look Like to You?Adriene Active, Project Director, AFN The focus groups will inspire new thinking by encouraging youth to identify cutting edge solutions developed and created by the imaginations of young, developing and bright minds! What a wonderful place to be at … setting the tone for future generations with respect to identifying solutions to prevent underage drinking. Youth with aspirations to become part of the solution are invited to come share their best thinking. The solutions gathered will be presented to a Statewide Underage Drinking Prevention Coalition.

Hands on Banking, Logan Birch, Business Relationship Manager, Asta Keller, Asst. Vice President, Wells Fargo Students will learn:

1) How to Budget for College2) Understanding Your Personal Credit3) Credit Card Spending Limits – “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

Students will be provided with a free interactive financial (literacy) CD Rom developed as a free public service by Wells Fargo. This innovative, entertaining program is designed for self-paced, individual learning, as well as for classrooms and community groups. The lessons are narrated, animated, colorful and fun!

ALASKA NATIVE VALUES

At the 2003 Elders and Youth conference breakout session for Elders, a common theme that emerged from the round table discussions was the

importance of passing on and teaching to upcoming generations the Cultural Values common to every Alaska Native group. Each of the cultural

groups share basic values which provides for the survival of our people.

Show Respect to Others - Each Person Has a Special GiftShare what you have - Giving Makes You Richer

Know Who You Are - You Are a Reflection on Your FamilyAccept What Life Brings - You Cannot Control Many Things

Have Patience - Some Things Cannot Be RushedLive Carefully - What You Do Will Come Back to YouTake Care of Others - You Cannot Live without ThemHonor Your Elders - They Show You the Way in LifePray for Guidance - Many Things Are Not Known

See Connections - All Things Are Related

As we meet the challenge of living in the 21st Century, we must continue to live in honor of those things we value.

Every person is responsible to all others for the survival of our Cultural Spirit and the Values and Traditions through which it survives.

Through our extended family, we retain, teach, and live our traditional way. The history of our people and our place in the world

is a part of who we are today.

With guidance and support from Elders, we must teach our children our values.

Our understanding of our universe and our place in it isa belief in God and a respect for all His creations.

Understanding our environment and events that have shaped our lives and created the culture of our ancestors is vital for our children’s cultural survival.

This information provided from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Values.