Alaska Native Heritage Center:

During my time in Alaska, I had the pleasure of meeting with Benjamin Jacuk, an Indigenous Researcher based at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Benjamin’s research focuses on the ‘boarding school era’ in Alaska.  In conjunction with the Alaska Native Heritage Center and other partnerships, Benjamin is working to advance understanding of this period of history in order to facilitate future healing. 

Benjamin’s interest in this subject developed from both his academic studies and family history – his grandfather attended a federal boarding school. 

Benjamin acknowledged that the ‘boarding school era’ was something that was only just now beginning to be talked about within Alaska.  He described the challenges in terms of accessing and uncovering the history, the pain inherent in remembering and the impact of intergenerational trauma.

Alaska was in fact the first nation in which the boarding school initiative was introduced.  Benjamin discussed how the policy of cultural assimilation coincided with Indian territorial dispossession.  He described how land and resource acquisition was an important underlying goal.

Benjamin also reflected on the narrative the boarding school era created within society, namely that native people were not truly people, but rather ‘savages’ and ‘uncivilised’.  He emphasised that this narrative didn't simply end with the closure of the institutions in which it had its foundations, but still remained today, as evidenced in structural inequalities. Alaska natives are overrepresented in the state’s homeless population, have higher proportions of mental health and substance misuse issues; have higher rates of suicide and higher poverty rates. Another important aspect of Benjamin's work is therefore to connect young adults with their culture (and native identity) in order to reduce the risk of suicide or substance misuse. 

Benjamin referenced the US Department of the Interior, Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative as an important step forward on the path to understanding and healing.  The initiative includes a number of efforts:

• An investigative report into the federal Indian boarding school system: Volume 1: https://www.bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/inline-files/bsi_investigative_report_may_2022_508.pdf

• The Road to Healing – a tour across the country by Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary Newland providing Indigenous survivors with the opportunity to share their experiences in federal Indian boarding schools and connecting individuals to trauma-informed support. 

  
  

• An oral history project – to document and make accessible to the public the experiences of Indigenous children who attended the federal Indian boarding schools. 

Following our conversation Benjamin took me on a tour of the Center. This included a tour of the first exhibition dedicated to the experiences of Alaska Natives within federal boarding schools; An incredibly important step forward in bringing this history to light.

Benjamin also showed me the boarding school totem pole in the grounds of the Center.  The totem pole is dedicated to Indian boarding school survivors, descendants and ancestors who did not return home.  It is an important symbol of healing and acknowledgement of the past.

The totem depicts bear mother, holding her two cubs tightly.  The father, in human form, sits above her, embedded in a raven’s tail.  Above him the raven is mid transformation, at a place in between a human and raven form.  Two children in human form rest comfortably in raven’s ears (showing them how to live in both worlds).

We also visited the hall of cultures, which brought to life the main cultural groups within Alaska, followed by the village sites, showcasing the native dwellings and traditional lifeways of Alaskan communities.  In addition, I was privileged to have the opportunity to witness demonstrations of native games and native songs and dance. 

In Benjamin’s view the history of the boarding school era affects every Alaska native person alive today.  He discussed the importance of knowing the full truth to know ‘what we are healing from’. For Benjamin an important part of healing involves taking back ownership of land and being recognised as self-governing.  Perhaps the biggest step towards healing though comes with the recognition, understanding and acknowledgement of this very painful period of history and its continued impacts.  In addition to the freedom to collectively ‘tell our own story’. 

(With heartfelt thanks to Benjamin and the staff at the Alaska Native Heritage Center)