Roben Itchoak, (Inupiaq) teaches high school social studies in the Bering Straight, one of the remotest regions in the United States, and her journey to becoming a teacher was an eighteen-year path away from her home state of Alaska.

Roben earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Oregon University and worked at the Jensen Arctic Museum for ten years after graduation. When the museum collection she was working with transferred to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon, she enrolled in her first master’s program and earned a degree in Community and Regional Planning (17’). Her decision to earn a second master’s degree through Sapsik’ʷałá and UOTeach was influenced by Elders discussing the need for Native teachers to assist in community development. She also credits Elders and mentors for weaving traditional and cultural knowledge into her life; and this cultural knowledge she incorporates in her own teaching practice.

Roben’s journey to teaching began by teaching reading and writing at the middle school level. She incorporates family, Elders, and a sense of responsibility to community and Indigenous people as a whole. Her life motto of “working to help redevelop healthy and vibrant Indigenous communities” was informed by mentors that modeled the values of loving and educating children. Ms. Itchoak’s students credit her for the phrase, “you are my grandchildren’s Elders, I need you to be healthy!” And her explanation of why she provides the famed Sailor Boy Pilot Bread crackers and water to students in her classes is a lesson about teaching children accountability and generosity.

Roben is quick to discuss reading strategies and the role reading comprehension plays in ensuring students maintain the skills to read and write before graduating high school. She says Sapsik’ʷałá’s support was a “breath of fresh air” in her educational journey. Roben credits fellow cohort members and UO staff and faculty for building the skills needed to be an effective teacher. She also credits her fellow teachers and administrators in the Bering Strait School District for providing support and guidance along her teaching journey.

In addition to providing crackers for students and teaching reading and writing lessons, Roben also coached members of an Academic Decathlon team that recently qualified for a national event held in Texas. She explains that Texas is a long way from in the Bering Strait region, and teaching in remote areas provides an opportunity to develop relationships and connections with students through family and other arenas outside of the school building.

Roben’s path in her own educational journey is a powerful story of Indigenous Brilliance, she states that “teaching was the right path for me, because everyone maintains a responsibility to teach.”

It does not take long in a conversation with Sapsik’ʷałá alum Mich Sandoval, Diné, (MEd 17’ Elementary Education) to understand her impact on her Navajo community and students. Sandoval descends from a line of educators and is quick to recognize the benefits of a childhood growing up in a home where both parents were teachers and school administrators. She has fond memories of assisting her father during his summer school duties. Mich acknowledges her mother as being a prominent Indigenous educator in her life and recounts numerous stories of the influence her mother had on her as well as many other Navajo students as a school counselor. Mich is a quintessential example of an Indigenous teacher returning to their community to serve. 

Sandoval is a Kindergarten teacher at a school bordering the Navajo Nation that serves a Navajo student population. In addition to teaching, Mich is involved in a broad range of educational activities. She coaches track & field, cross country, is involved in afterschool activities like homework and gardening clubs and serves as an Education Justice Fellow for the National Education Association – New Mexico chapter (NEA-NM). Her fellowship work focuses on transportation issues students and families face while living in remote parts of the Navajo Nation.  

Mich led community efforts to revitalize the strong Navajo running tradition by organizing a cross country team for her school. She recounts, “When I first walked into our school, the trophy case was filled with running trophies from the past. I wanted to re-start a running program and it took off like a wildfire because the community went into action. They bulldozed tracks, picked-up trash, and sold burritos on race day as a fundraiser. We started the program with thirteen runners and last season we had forty-eight runners.”  One main cross country goal Mich has is building a memorial cross-country route in honor of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).   

She is quick to give a first-hand account of how the high violence rates on American Indian reservations impacts teaching, classrooms, and schools. Mich is motivated through a social justice lens to improve transportation access for students and families living in remote parts of the Navajo Nation, centering LGBTQIA+ issues, and highlighting the effects of school violence on teachers. She credits her time at University of Oregon as being fundamental for developing her social justice perspectives and voice.  

Her time with Sapsik’ʷałá was important for her academic success because she felt supported by a community of people: “Sapsik’ʷałá was key to my success because it created connection… connection to Natives from other communities, connection to alumni who supported me… to Elders and their stories.” She says one valuable lesson she learned while at the University of Oregon was the power of Native voice and representation on campus. She credits this lesson as being another integral experience that informs her own voice.  

Mich defines Indigenous education through a community perspective. She always wanted to serve her Nation through teaching, “I always had a passion to teach on my reservation, my people, my community. I want to make a difference.”  Her connection to her family, community, and people inspires and exemplifies the power of Indigenous education: “On my journey, I can always go home, and arms are going to be open. I work to remember to embrace it, be gentle with it, respect it, and always remember to give my best and do my all.”