Acknowledgements
The content here, including the design of the game was written by Claudette Engblom Bradley of the College of Education, University of Alaska, Anchorage. The game and web pages were created by Christopher Gill under the direction of Ron Eglash. Claudette would like to continue to thank the following people.
With deep appreciation and respect I thank Fred George of Akiachak for his continued patience and sharing of knowledge about the tundra and his way of navigating in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. Fred is a true leader and elder in his community, who passionately wants to share his skills with the young people of Yukon Kuskokwim.
I want to make a special recognition of the contributions to this project given by the late Mary George. Mary was Fred's wife for over 40 years. She passed away in November 2001 after her courageous 5 year battle with cancer. She was a teacher aid in Akiachak Elementary School, who was studying for her Bachelor's in Education. She was a translator for the navigation project. She shared lots of cultural knowledge, her home, her elementary students, and her suggestions for the project. Mary was always with Fred and a valuable supporter of this project.
I will be forever grateful for the funding and support provided by NSF Grant, Adapting Elder's Knowledge and Pre-K to 6th Instructional Materials Development(1997-2000) at University of Alaska Fairbanks. This grant provided countless of opportunities for me to meet with elders and discuss the navigation. The funding provided airfare and lodging for our gatherings.
Thank you to Annie Blue of Togiak, who provided the Yup'ik names of constellations, the Milky Way, and Venus. Annie had many stories to tell about the sky and her life as a child.
I want to acknowledge the contribution of four elders: Henry Alayuk of Monakotak, Sam Ivan of Akiak, Joshua Phillip of Akiachak, Wassiley Evan of of Akiak. These elders have shared their knowledge about navigation and weather prediction. Joshua Phillip was especially helpful with his knowledge of predicting the weather.
Last but not least I want to express my gratitude to the translators and cultural experts: Sophia Kasayulie of Akiachak, Natasha Wolberg of Fairbanks, Evelyn Yanez of Togiak, Ferdinand Sharp of Monakota. Evelyn and Ferdinand are certified teachers, who have retired since the start of this project. Sophia is a teacher aid and local coordinator for her school district curriculum project. Natasha was a translator and staff assistant for the NSF Grant. These translators were invaluable to the success to the project.
-Claudette