Listen here:
Learning outdoors is nothing new for students in Juneau’s Tlingit, Culture, Language and Literacy program. That’s what they did on their first field trip of the year, where they learned about Lingít language and values through foraging and processing local foods.
Students, teachers and families walk through squishy, mossy muskeg near the Eagle River United Methodist Camp north of Juneau. First grader Owen Roehl crouches over small, short bushes peppered throughout the area, putting green and yellow leaves into an empty yogurt container looped around his neck.
“We’re picking s’ikshaldéen, also known as Hudson Bay tea,” he said.
Owen said picking tea has been his favorite part of the day so far.
Seventh grader Cassius Allen is one of the older students picking tea. Cassius said he thinks the tea will taste good once they process it.
“Probably gonna have to mix it up with some other flavors so it tastes not plain and normal,” he said.
Cassius got help from eighth grader Leighton Heppner to identify the tea leaves. Leighton said he learned from friends and teachers.
“They said, ‘always make sure it’s yellow at the bottom, like fully yellow or partially yellow, and it will still work,’” he said.
Overall, Cassius appeared to have some fun while picking tea, getting part of a leaf up Leighton’s nose when holding it out for him to smell.
This is part of a longstanding field trip for students at Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy, a Lingít language immersion school. It’s not just for the students. They’re joined by families and volunteers, as well as students from Haa Yoo X̱’atángi Kúdi, a Lingít language preschool. That’s a language immersion preschool where children primarily speak in Lingít.
Things have changed slightly after the program expanded to middle school. While it’s normally a day trip, it’s turned into an overnight field trip for the older students.
Naakil.aan Hans Chester is a biliteracy specialist at the school. He said getting students out of the classroom opens the door for a lot of learning.
“In this context, it’s real living, and they hear us using the language with each other and communicating, or just even expressions, to say when you’re doing something, and it’s in context and it makes sense,” he said.
In addition to tea, students also learned to fillet salmon and make jam. Chester said the jam was going to be given to guests at a Ku.éex’ – or potlatch – the next day.
“When we do our Ku.éex’, it’s to honor our lost clan members,” Chester said. “And so, you know, it’s really important for us to teach these skills to our kids, so when they grow up and they lose their mom or their sister or their cousin or whoever that’s in their family, they’ll have these skillsets to rely on so that they can do what we do.”
Chester said this field trip makes him feel like the school is in a stronger place than it was before.
“Hearing them use the language more, some of them stepping up and becoming leaders out here, is really awesome to see”
In the camp kitchen, Lingít language teacher Nae Tumulak portions out bowls of fish soup. The middle schoolers filleted coho salmon for it the night before. Tumulak said she likes getting to know the students more, both new and old.
“Just seeing them in their element, being able to witness a lot of their growths and everything like that, it’s been a lot of fun,” Tumulak said. “They’re also incredibly hilarious. So it’s been entertaining.”
Once they’re back at school, Chester said they will process the tea and give it away to community members.
