See Stories is offering a free 3-credit class for teachers and other education professionals.

In this course participants will explore history of Indigenous enslavement and colonization in Alaska through original research and primary source material. The course will include guest presentations from Alaska Native scholars and culture bearers, historians, archivists, and educators. 

The course will use a culturally responsive, trauma-informed lens. Participants will explore cultural bias in archives and primary sources and strategies for how to Indigenize primary source research in the classroom.

Final assignment: Participants in the course will design meaningful lesson plans (or other activities)  to engage students or colleagues with archival sources related to the history of Indigenous enslavement and colonization.

The course is asynchronous. Participants will work through the course content on their own and complete assignments.

Course Dates: September 15- November 17, 2025

Credits: This course is a 3 credit professional development level course through University of Alaska Anchorage:  ED 545K: Alaska Studies for Educators: An Examination of Conflicting Perspectives. This course will meet the Alaska Studies course requirement of the State of Alaska for teacher certification. 

We welcome educators from outside Alaska to participate. The stories of Indigenous enslavement and colonization are shared history across the country, and the course assignments will be inclusive of participants outside of Alaska.

The course provides a framework for the understanding and teaching of Alaska studies through an examination of conflicting perspectives surrounding and emanating from key events in recent Alaska Native history. Considers the extended impact of these events upon indigenous and immigrant residents, institutions of Alaska, and Alaska’s environment. Focuses on Alaska Native perspectives while exploring varying views of the social, economic, and political history of Alaska and the educational institutions and laws that affect the people of Alaska. 

Cost: Free! Funding is provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

FAQs:

Can I use these credits for advancement on my districts salary schedule?

→ Yes! (Ask your school district for details) The 3 credit course is listed as ED 545K. From from University of Alaska Anchorage’s Professional and Continuing Education program.

Can I use these credits for a degree I am pursuing?

→ No. (Ask your advisor or UAA’s PACE department for more details). 

When will we receive the credits?

→ December 2025

I’m not a history teacher/ not a classroom teacher. Am I still eligible?

→ Yes! We welcome classroom teachers of all subjects and educators in other roles (librarians, paraprofessionals, museum educators, nonprofit education program staff, and more! 

How will I access the course?

→ See Stories uses an online platform called Teachable. It’s user-friendly and will guide you step by step through the course. We also offer an online community discussion board to connect with others on our website called TeacherTools. 

Can I work at my own pace?

→ Yes, a pacing guide will be provided, but you may work at your own pace. You may finish early or start late as long as the required assignments are submitted by the last day of the course. 

Are there required books, materials I will need to purchase?

→ No. All of the required readings, films, and materials will be provided. We will share a recommended reading list for those interested in additional sources outside of the course. 

Who created this course?

→ The instructors listed below as well as our Indigenous Enslavement Steering Committee. 

Instructors

Hanna Agasuuq Sholl

Hanna Agasuuq Sholl is a Sugpiaq artist & educator who lives in Kodiak. She collaborates with See Stories on developing a Kodiak-specific Indigenous enslavement curriculum for teachers to implement in their classrooms. Sholl serves as See Stories’ Indigenous Curriculum Manager, leading a dedicated team of Indigenous creators developing curriculum on Indigenous enslavement across Alaska.

Megan McBride

Megan McBride (she/her) lives on Dena’ina lands in Anchorage. Before joining See Stories, McBride worked in education both as a high school social studies teacher and with the nonprofit program Alaska Youth for Environmental Action. She has a Masters in Teaching from Lewis & Clark College and is liscenced in social studies as well as Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. McBride believes in the power of bringing people together, sharing stories, and forging connections. As Education Programs Manager she leads See Stories’ professional development courses for educators.

Alberta Demantle

Alberta Demantle is an elementary educator in Akiak, Alaska. She is Alaskan Native, of Yupik and Athabascan descent. Demantle has participated in several See Stories teacher professional development courses, and led digital storytelling workshops with students in Akiak. She serves on the Steering Committee for this course and brings her lens of culturally responsive teaching.

Yaari Walker

Yaari Walker is a spiritual healer, scholar, and culture bearer. She serves as our Yupik Cultural Consultant from Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. The topic of indigenous enslavement is personally important to her and her family’s history. Walker has worked as the Indigenous Consultant at Alaska Pacific University, a Culture Bearer at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and as a Cultural Peer Support Specialist with Cook Inlet Tribal Council. She is a producer of the PBS One with the Whale and recently authored a memoir titled Aatak Ayguumun Angwaaghnaqi: Keep Paddling Against the Wind.

Amber Webb

Amber Webb is a Yup’ik and Sugpiaq artist, educator, and activist from from Curyung/ Dillingham, Alaska. She graduated from UAA with a BA in woven fibers and a minor in history in 2013. In 2018, she was awarded a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Project Award for a 12 ft qaspeq to honor MMIWG in North America. Webb is a member of the Steering Committee for this project because she is motivated to “expand the collective understanding of our history.” She shares, “It is our birthright to tell the truth today for all of the people who were prevented from confronting the oppression. When we share truth, we can be freed from the war of internalized and lateral oppression.”

Rachel Cohen

Rachel Cohen is an assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where she serves as the Head of Distinctive Print Collections & Archives. Cohen is a member of the Steering Committee for this project, guiding our engagement with archival resources. She loves helping people by connecting them with the information they need and facilitating access to the unique collections at the library. Originally from southeast Alaska, Cohen holds degrees in English and writing, library and information science, and theater history.

Holly Mititquq Nordlum

Holly Mititquq Nordlum is an artist, a graphic designer, traditional Inuit tattooer and filmmaker. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art Degree in Graphic Design and Photography from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Nordlum was named a Time Warner Fellow with the Sundance Film Festival, and received an Art Matters grant, and a Humanities Forum grant for her work documenting the Tupik Mi Project (traditional Inuit tattooing) – which was also featured in the New York Times Lifestyles Section Summer 2018, a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award, and was named to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of The American Indian’s Artist Leadership Program. 

Golga Oscar

Golga Oscar is a self-taught artist who creates modern textiles that reflect his Yup’ik identity. He was born and raised in Kasigluk, Alaska, and graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts with an emphasis in Photography. He works with different mediums ranging from leather/skin sewing, to grass weaving and walrus ivory and wood carving. Oscar is the only male seamstress in his extended family, carrying forward both his grandmother’s legacies. Oscar’s work is in permanent collections at the Anchorage Museum, Burke Museum, and International Folk Art Museum, and has been featured in Vogue Magazine. He has received recognition from First People’s Fund as well as the Rasmusson Foundation. As a fluent Yup’ik speaker, he is dedicated to keeping his culture and traditions alive and relevant by teaching the next generations about their language and art.

Andrés Reséndez

Andrés Reséndez is a professor of history at University of California, Davis, whose interests include Mexican and Iberian history, the exploration and colonization of the Americas, and borderlands history. His book, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America, details the imprisonment, trafficking, and abuse of hundreds of thousands of Indians in North America from the time of Columbus to the late 1800s and how it decimated the Native American population. A National Book Award finalist, the book won the 2017 Bancroft Prize honoring outstanding writing in American history.

Miranda Petruska

Miranda Petruska is Dichinanek’ Hwt’ana from Nikolai, Alaska. She received her Bachelor of Art Degree in Rural Development with a focus in Community Health & Wellness from the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and is currently working on completing her Master’s in Social Work Degree from the University of Denver. Petruska has worked in Tribal healthcare for 17 years primarily in the Community Health Aide program. She currently serves as a board member for her village corporation and is working at a community behavioral health center in Port Angeles, WA, and previously was a board member of See Stories.