Greetings!

Happy New Year! Classes will begin Tuesday, January 16, 2018. We're excited to see students back on campus again and ready to tackle another semester.

As always our faculty and staff are here to help you succeed, please contact our office at (907) 474-1902 or email uaf-cxcs@alaska.edu if you have any questions. Follow us on Facebook for updates and events.

Dr. Sean Asiqłuq Topkok is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His family comes from the Seward Peninsula in Igloo and Teller, Alaska, and is Iñupiaq, Sámi, Irish, and Norwegian. He began his career in Alaska Native education since 1987, working in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Dr. Topkok is the leader of the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers of Fairbanks founded in 1999, a local community dance group inviting Native and non-Native people interested Iñupiaq dance, cultural heritage, and cultural values. He received his B.A. in Humanities, M.A. in Cross-Cultural Studies, and Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies – all from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His dissertation was entitled: Iñupiat Ilitqusiat: Inner Views of Our Iñupiaq Values. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed academic articles and chapters focusing on Indigenous values, methodologies, and well-being. Dr. Topkok presents worldwide about his academic research and has given a Tedx Talk about Iñupiaq Stories: Past, Present, and Future. He has been a keynote and plenary speaker at several conferences. He works closely with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies as an Indigenous education faculty member. Dr. Topkok is active in various Indigenous organizations and research at the local, national, and international level. He is the chair for UAF’s Graduate Advisory and Academic Committee and Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Native Education. He is one of the co-chairs for the Alaska Native Studies Council and serves on the University of Alaska Teacher Education Council. He serves on the Alaska Board for the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium and collaborates with various international universities for UArctic Thematic Networks.

We are proud of our alumni!

Stay connect with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies. Do you have an exciting career or family success story to share? We would love to feature you on our newsletter and highlight your accomplishments.

To share your story, email uaf-cxcs@alaska.edu with a paragraph of your accomplishments, your research, along with a photo.

Faculty News Announcement

Our faculty member Polly Hyslop published a chapter in a book called, "Leading Against the Grain; Lessons for Creating Just and Equitable Schools."

"Harold Gatensby: Tlingit Peacemaker and Leader," by Polly Hyslop and Brian Jarrett.

Book description: What new ideas and ways of thinking can educational leaders learn from great world leaders who have moved their societies to greater equity and expanded educational opportunity? In this lively, accessible volume, the editors have brought together an impressive group of senior and early-career educational scholars to study the lives and contributions of a wide range of outstanding historical and contemporary leaders from the United States and across the globe. This rich collection of brief biographical commentaries profiles leaders like Wangari Mathaai, John Tippeconic III, Fannie Lou Hamer, Saul Alinsky, Antonia Pantoja, Jimmy Carter, Golda Meir, Sun Yat Sen, José Rizal, and Jesus Christ. Each profile focuses on a single individual and includes (1) an introduction and biographical sketch, (2) a discussion of their context and activities as a leader, (3) a list of the key lessons we can learn from their leadership, and (4) an explanation of how these lessons are relevant for today. This unique collection bridges cultures, professions, and callings to help American education leaders create more just and equitable schools.

Book Features:

Pick up a copy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Against-Grain-Creating-Equitable/dp/080775871X

Congratulations Professor Hylsop!

**Submission Extension: Thursday, January 25, 2018**

2018 TLS Graduate Colloquy (Feb. 22, 2018)

The University of Arizona is now accepting proposals for individual and group papers, panels, and posters. These submissions can take the form of research papers, student papers, case studies, works-in-progress, proposals for future research, or creative submissions, such as poems or personal narratives.

Papers or posters that specifically relate to our theme of Indigenous epistemologies will be presented during our concurrent sessions. Research topics that are not related to our theme can be submitted as poster proposals. Indigenous-related posters may also be presented at the poster session, if preferred. The TLS Department will print posters at no cost to the presenters. More information on this process will be given upon approval.

Abstracts should be no more than 140 words.

Please submit an abstract and the required information, before January 25, 2018 online through the following link:

Abstract Submission Link: https://tinyurl.com/yb49v4cx

Colloquy Information Link: https://www.coe.arizona.edu/tls/tls_colloquy

Please direct questions about proposals and potential topics to Austin Cruz, proposal committee chair, austincr@email.arizona.edu.

Sincerely,

TLS Graduate Student Colloquy Committee

College of Education

University of Arizona

For more information or to get involved in planning for the colloquy please email tlscolloquy@gmail.com or email the co-chairs, cknox@email.arizona.edu and salcidoj@email.arizona.edu.

http://alaskanativestudies.org/

2018 Alaska Native Studies Conference Call for Proposals

Past, Present, Future—Working Together

The Alaska Native Studies Council invites submissions from all fields related to Indigenous and Alaska Native Studies, especially those that focus on the conference theme. This conference invites practitioners and researchers to share and strategize initiatives for moving our communities forward.

Scholars, teachers, artists, researchers, students, Elders, and practitioners from all fields and disciplines are invited to submit proposals that address a variety of issues including, but not limited to:

Formats include, but are not limited to:

Please note: All presenters who are accepted to the Program must register for the Conference

Please send proposal submissions using this link by January 31, 2018.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScERv55KCEFILJHoJU3HM8b16h6wlOY-3hcJDv1KeJYbgFU5g/viewform

Join us on Thursday, February 22, 2018 from 12:00-1:00pm AKST for our next Brown Bag tele-luncheon. You bring the food we'll make the call! We'll be talking about the Graduate Study Plan... what it is, and why you need it, and how to make it. Join either in-person or in the Gruening building room 503F or via audio-conference call: 866-832-7806 . For more information contact Polly Hyslop physlop@alaska.edu or Rich Hum rehum@alaska.edu.

Interested in Language Revitalization efforts in Alaska, and around the world?

ANKN is starting to build an updated Language Revitalization resource page and is looking for contributors…

We need your help figuring out what’s already out there and what is still needed...

And, we are looking for help from anyone with an interest in supporting ongoing and emerging revitalization programs… from simply suggesting resources we should include... to writing a monthly blog... or managing our Language Revitalization related social media... or hosting a workshop…

Share your thoughts and let’s see what we can do!

Contact Richard Hum at Rehum@alaska.edu

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Center for Cross-Cultural Studies

201 Eielson Building, UAF campus

PO Box 756730

Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730

Phone: (907) 474-1902

Fax: (907) 474-1957

Email: uaf-cxcs@alaska.edu

Office Hours 8AM-5PM M-F