Thanks to the support of Alaska’s Children’s Trust, VOA Alaska recently provided culturally grounded activities for our youth to experience Alaska Native cultural connections and relationships.
In January, youth residents of ARCH, VOA’s residential treatment center, enjoyed learning from Alaskan Native staff who helped them make beaded bracelets, medallions, and braided threads. The activity emphasized the importance of the creative expression of culture.
Aaron Osterback, Coalition Coordinator, shared that “it was very fulfilling to realize that I am teaching a skill to someone and, at the same time, sharing stories about my childhood and the cultural relevance of the activities.”
Aaron brought with him an Aleut basket to show the youth, sharing the importance of the basket for his ancestors and his own experience learning how to weave. “In our culture, basket weaving was something that women would often do, while men did the subsistence for fish and seals,” he explains. “But due to poorly managed asthma, my parents didn’t feel that it was safe for me to be out on a boat.” He says he felt embarrassed by the skill until he was able to teach others as a teenager, building his confidence.
“I shared that story with the youth, in part to let them know it is okay to learn new skills, to never give up when you learn something new and the first time it doesn’t go as planned, and to never be embarrassed by a skill or trade that you learn.”
In February, ARCH residents braved the winter weather for an ice fishing adventure. Some of the youth had never fished before, let alone ice fishing! They learned that Indigenous Alaskans have long hunted and fished for food and about the traditional practice of spearfishing.*
On the ice, youth told stories of their families, with one excited to offer their knowledge, “I can show [other youth] how to tie [lures], I use to fish all the time back home.”
VOA Alaska greatly appreciates the funding we received from the Alaska Children’s Trust to offer these unique activities to our youth. Connection to culture is essential for young people as they develop and refine their identity in their core development years.
For the youth in our programs who are experiencing substance use, mental health, and/or housing challenges, culture can serve as a foundation that builds resiliency, creates relationships, and strengthens their feelings of connection to the larger world.
*To be clear, the youth were not spearfishing; they used a rod and reel!
