Ilisagvik College President Pearl Brower was presented with a Proclamation of Support for the Uqautchim Uglua (language nest) Program by Alaska’s North Slope Bureau Mayor Charlotte Brower. It will provide an additional $153,000 in funding for the program, which is also a participant in the American Indian College Fund’s Sacred Little Ones program, funded by the Kellogg Foundation.
An integral part of Uqautchim Uglua is Ilisagvik’s new Iñupiaq Early Learning Associate of Arts degree program, which will allow program participants to advance to earning bachelors’ and doctoral degrees in education, while the program also builds and strengthens the Iñupiaq language, an endangered language.
The Mayor gave the Proclamation on Kiavralvik, December 21, or Winter Solstice, the day that the North Slope begins to gain more daylight, symbolizing a new dawn. Arctic animal puppets, arctic furs, blocks with etching made by Kiita students, and strong visuals of Iñupiaq life graced the walls of the Center as the Mayor commended I?isa?vik College for the program and congratulated the Uqautchim Uglua program staff for their efforts.
