Postsecondary Programs

SHI sponsors postsecondary programs to connect language students to language teachers and to recruit and support Alaska Native educators. The institute also administers a strength program for young men, collaborates on an arts degree program, and offers scholarships.

  1. Our Ancestors’ Echoes

    SHI designed the Our Ancestors’ Echoes program to increase the number of Alaska Native students in Southeast Alaska who have access to educators teaching their heritage language. The program prioritizes supporting and retaining current language educators, increasing wider access to language courses, and supporting mental health and healing work in the community.

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    Indigenous language educators and program participants gathered for a group portrait

  2. Indigenizing Education for Alaska

    Indigenizing Education for Alaska (IEA) improves the educational landscape for Alaska Native students by cultivating teachers and school leaders who reflect their culture, values, and life experiences. The program also fosters future generations of Alaska educators by recruiting upper-level high school to early college students into the field of education.

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    An educator writes on paper with students seated in a classroom circle

  3. Cultural Warriors

    SHI’s Cultural Warriors program is designed to restore traditional pathways to strength, leadership, and community for Alaska Native young men. The program pairs Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian young men (ages 16–22) with Alaska Native mentors in seven Southeast communities: Haines/Klukwan, Juneau, Angoon, Sitka, Kake, Hoonah and Hydaburg. Through hands-on harvesting practices and formal instruction, “nephews” reconnect with their traditional roles as providers, protectors, and leaders in their communities.

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    Cultural Warriors participants and mentors gathered in a Southeast Alaska community

  4. Northwest Coast Arts Degree Program

    SHI—in partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS)—developed an Associate of Arts (AA) degree with an emphasis on Northwest Coast arts. The program is part of a larger effort to establish a four-year degree track through UAS and the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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    Detail of a circular Northwest Coast art design in black, red, green, and cream

  5. Scholarships

    SHI administers scholarship programs for university, college, and voc-tech students, and art, language, and museum studies.

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    A wooden boardwalk through a lush Southeast Alaska forest