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Sealaska Heritage Institute sponsors annual summer camps focused on integrating Native language instruction with an activity familiar to and popular with Native youth in every rural community: basketball.

Sports are a popular activity with Native youth, provide physical and health benefits to them, and are consistent with the holistic concept of Latseen – strength of mind, body, and spirit. The camps are an effort to provide a program integrating physical fitness and Native culture into the lives of our young people and to create a core of youth who will gain confidence to take leadership roles in their communities, both in terms of athletics, and in a more-lasting way, by serving as catalysts for language revitalization.

Last year's camps were quite successful: the Angoon camp attracted approximately 70 youths. Language materials were developed which employed Accelerated Second-Language Teaching and Total Physical Response methods for developing basic Tlingit or Haida grammar and vocabulary skills within a real context: the basketball court. In 2008, SHI will track camp success by measuring participation (160-200 youth served), and by having SHI's Language Director submit a report of language activities at the camps

This innovative program utilizes an all-Tlingit coaching staff to create a fun and safe environment for native youth to be physically active, develop basketball fundamentals, learn Tlingit and gain the confidence to use it on and off the court.    The language section of camp is taught using a combination of Total Physical Response (TPR) in the group setting and ASLA in a one on one classroom setting.  The goal is to be able to fully integrate the Tlingit language into a full day of basketball camp.  By the end of the week warm-up commands and stretching were in Tlingit, while instructors integrated basic commands into different drills and games.  Students learned numbers; commands; basic verbs and nouns; and basketball related verbs, nouns, locations, and cheers.

Recent Donors
Alaska USA Foundation
Association on American Indian Affairs
City and Borough of Juneau
Wings of Alaska

News Stories
Sealaska Heritage puts new spin on summer basketball camp

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