Community artist-educator Ryan Conarro describes how he worked with the Kake City School District, Tlingit language leader X’unei Lance Twitchell, and fellow artist Sarah Campen to bring to life the “Stories of Kake” project. The school-year-long initiative celebrated and amplified the rich narratives of the Kake community while building literacy skills and strengthening family and community partnerships.
The “Stories of Kake” project has engaged students in literacy learning in both English and Tlingit throughout the school year. The project was spearheaded by Dr. Anji Gallanos, Superintendent and Principal of Kake City Schools. The visiting artist team supported students as they assumed the role of documentarians of their community by conducting interviews with community members who shared personal and historical stories in classrooms. Through these interviews, literacy education sessions, and other creative programming, the project invited students to appreciate and document the unique experiences and traditions that define Kake and fostered a deeper connection to the community’s Tlingit heritage and values. The artist team recorded stories from these interviews and from student-generated creative writing to appear in an episode of the ongoing podcast A Piece of Kake, produced and hosted by Sarah Campen, along with Kake resident Mona Evan. The student-led podcast episode, titled “Goodáx Xát Sáyá?/ Where Am I From?”, was released in tandem with a community celebration on May 14th.
Learn more about the ‘Stories of Kake’ project here. Listen to the podcast A Piece of Kake on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Podcasts. A Piece of Kake is supported by the Organized Village of Kake and the US Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“Stories of Kake” is supported by an Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Early Education Program Grant and the program “Arts, Health, and Well-Being in Alaska,” a program of the Alaska State Council on the Arts.
While a grant to bring talented teaching artists to your community is always helpful, schools can also consider lower-cost ways to foster conversation, community learning, and literacy growth. Ryan has put together Interview Protocols to make it easy for teachers to guide students through the process of interviewing family or community members.