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Honoring the Old and Welcoming the New

Teacher Conference Update

by Judi Roach

03/05/2008

Honoring the Old and Welcoming the New

by Judi Roach

It was a night of honoring the old and welcoming the new at the first day of the Iditarod Teacher's Winter Conference. Tuesday night, the conference participants ventured to the Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Anchorage for a tour of an exhibit that showcases artifacts of Alaska Native American Tribes. Artemis, the curator of the museum, welcomed us to the museum and gave us a short overview of the museum's history.

Wells Fargo Banks have museums at nine of their bank locations. The Anchorage museum is unique in that it is the only Wells Fargo Bank museum that features Native American artifacts. Some of the items featured in the exhibit include ivory walrus tusks, baskets, ivory carvings, tools, clothing and dolls. A white, birdskin parka and fur leggings exhibit caught my eye. Upon examining the display, I learned that this parka was made with the skins of 50 murres, a sea bird that nests on the cliffs on St. Laurence Island. This parka was a common piece of clothing used by people of the St. Laurence Island, Nunivak Island, King Island and the Aleutian Islands. Caribou was not available for warm clothing. Another featured item was a kayak made of driftwood and bearded seal skins. This informative display described how the kayak, a prized possession, was built to fit its owners. The Bering Sea Kayak took about a month to make. The framework could last up to 10 years and the cover approximately 2 years, if properly cared for. Intricate baskets, some featuring designs made of embroidery thread, were numerous and varied in size and shape. These tightly woven baskets were waterproof and featured geometric and flower designs.

Artemis also provided important and interesting information during our tour. Particularly interesting was the information that she provided on the Aleutian tribe. As she stood by a case featuring an Aleutian wooden visor, she described how many artifacts were taken from these people year ago. Recently, some of these items are being returned to their owners.

On behalf of the entire conference, I would like to commend Wells Fargo for their commitment to honoring the Native Americans of Alaska through this exhibit and for their past sponsorship of Teacher on the Trail. When this building was built, Wells Fargo gave careful consideration and thought to create a space that would showcase these Native American artifacts as a way of honoring and preserving the culture. As educators, we value the role that quality museums play in educating the people of the world.

Do you know what is white, has a circled eye, barks and will be making a personal appearance at this year's Musher's Banquet? If you guessed Bulls Eye, the famous Target dog, you're correct! Welcome to Alaska Target! Target is the new sponsor of the Teacher on the Trail Program. The official name is now, Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail. This is a great addition to the Iditarod Education Committee and a continuation of Target's commitment to education. For those of you who don't know, Target has donated numerous dollars for education through their Field Trip Grants. In fact, it was just released that four Alaska schools are the recipients of grants this year. In addition, the Take Charge of Education allows Redcard members the opportunity to designate a school as the recipient of 1% of their purchase, and Target makes the donation. 2.5 million Target customers have participated in this program. There is more exciting news. As every shopping person in Alaska knows, two new Target stores are set to open this October. It is reported that the completion date is right on Target!

The Conference participants met with Target's representatives Tuesday night and were treated to gift bags that included a gift card, a small Bulls Eye dog, and a red spiral journal. As one of the participants commented, "Teachers love freebies!" Beth and Jeanne, the target reps from Minnesota, were very interested and listened intently as the conference participants responded to the question, "What brought you to the Iditarod?" After listening to the impassioned responses of the educators, Beth and Jean had to be thinking WOW!!!! This is great stuff! Matching a great hook, Iditarod content, with standards based lessons really does help students learn more, achieve more, and best of all; it inspires students to have dreams and work hard to make them come true! Teaching Iditarod is incredible! Teachers know it, kids know it, and now Target knows it!

While standing amongst the Alaskan artifacts in the Wells Fargo Museum, we are reminded of the long history of sponsorship and support this institution has provided. It seemed fitting that we were welcoming Target as our new sponsor for the Teacher on the Trail Program. The old and the new will continue to impact education for years to come!

Judi Roach

2009 Target Teacher on the Trail Finalist

Sidney, NE