Chairman Bruce Cole, National Endowment for the Humanities, presents “The Necessity of an Informed Patriotism” Anchorage

7:00p.m. UAA Fine Arts Building, Music Recital Hall 150
Free

In this UAA Polaris Lecture Chairman Cole will discuss the need for Americans to have a firm understanding of our nation’s history and principles in order to be effective citizens and what the National Endowment for the Humanities has been doing over the past six years through its “We the People” program to address this challenge. As NEH chairman, Cole launched “We the People”, a program to encourage the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.

Sponsors include: Institutional Effectiveness, Engagement & Academic Support • UAA Democracy Forum • Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program • University Honors College • The Polaris Society with assistance from Anchorage School District • U. S. Department of Education • Intercollegiate Studies Institute • Alaska Humanities Forum

See flyer or Contact Alaska Humanities Forum for more information (907)272-5341
http://www.neh.gov/ or http://www.wethepeople.gov/

NEH Chairman Bruce Cole

Deadline for Nominations for Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities

(See Thursday, October 23 event listing on this page for banquet honoring Arts & Humanities awards - Downtown Marriott in Anchorage, Alaska)

The annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities honor individuals and corporations throughout the state of Alaska for their commitment and contribution to arts and humanities. Criteria for review include (but are not limited to): impact in furthering/advocating for the humanities in Alaska; excellence in achievement in a field of study, area of research, or project related to the humanities; life-, group-, or institution-long commitment to the humanities in the state; innovation in the wisdom and methods of the humanities; leadership in expanding understanding and appreciation of the humanities in the state; and representing the best of the humanities in Alaska to the rest of the nation and the world.

Download the 2008 Governor's Award for the Arts & Humanities Nomination Form
More information can be found by contacting Development Director, Adele Alderman at 907-272-5338 or clicking on the Home button at the top of the page.

Unveiling of Alaska State Quarter Palmer

1:00-2:30p.m. Alaska State Fair

This premier event will host the US Mint’s unveiling of the new Alaska State Quarter in association with Alaska’s 50th celebration. Alaska’s Congressional Delegation and Governor will attend. John Venables (Alaska Humanities Forum Statehood Experience grantee) will perform in the likeness of Judge James Wickersham.

For more information contact the Office of the Governor at (907)269-7450
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ASCC/

Giinaquq - Like a Face: 19th Century Masks Kodiak

Monday - Friday 9:00-5:00.p.m, Saturday 10:00-5:00p.m., Alutiiq Museum (215 Mission Rd) (see website below for winter hours starting in September)
Adults $5, children 16 and under free

In the winter of 1872, a young French anthropologist named Alphonse Pinart explored the coast of Kodiak by kayak. During his travels, Pinart recorded Alutiiq stories and songs, and collected many objects. He was especially interested in Alutiiq spirituality and acquired 80 ceremonial masks. Pinart recognized both the artistic and cultural value of these rare religious objects, recording the names and songs associated with many. On returning to France, Pinart gave his collections to the Château Musée, a small regional museum in Boulogne-sur-Mer — where it miraculously survived the ruin of two world wars. Pinart's collection contains the largest known set of Alutiiq masks, carved in the traditional style, by some of the last artists to learn their trade through apprenticeship. For Alutiiqs, these masks are an unmatched store of ancestral information and inspiration. Yet they lie over 8,000 miles from Kodiak, inaccessible to most Alaskans.

A collaboration between the Alutiiq Museum and the Château Musée brings 33 of the masks back to Alaska for exhibition so these beautiful examples of the Alutiiq past may inspire the present.

http://alutiiqmuseum.org/

RURE Sister School Exchange - Session One for Sister School Teachers Anchorage

5:00 – 8:30 pm Friday, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm Saturday, BP Energy Center
(Free to participating teachers)

The Rose Urban Rural Exchange Program has invited its participating Sister School Exchange Teachers to a two-day meeting in Anchorage to introduce the new program lessons/activities. Session One of three is required to receive 3.0 UAA credits in a course titled “Developing and Implementing a Cross Cultural Exchange.” In this exciting first time event for the program, Sister School Teachers will come together to participate in cultural activities and to begin planning their exchange journeys within the framework of the new cultural lesson plans called Destinations, with idea swaps and key focus areas from cultural and program experts. 18 urban and 18 rural schools are expected to attend.

Contact the Rose Urban Rural Exchange director Laurie Evans-Dinneen at (907)272-5302

www.roseurbanruralexchange.org

Deadline for application for AKHF Leadership Anchorage

Leadership Anchorage is designed to expose the “emerging leaders” of non-profit, neighborhood, and ethnic organizations to the larger power brokers of Anchorage and Alaska. Twenty individuals proceed through ten rigorous, full-day sessions of interviews, speaker presentations, readings and group activities designed to facilitate the development of critical leadership skill sets. The keystones of the program are a one-on-one mentorship program, a group project fulfilling an expressed need in the community, and a series of readings in the humanities. When a Leadership Anchorage class graduates, the community is enriched with individuals who know how to get things done, know how to operate in a diverse world, and think carefully about the ethical and personal demands of leadership. The program begins with the opening retreat in mid-October.

Training dates and applications are available - click on programs at the top of page. Please direct all inquiries to Jim MacKenzie at 907-272-5324.

Deadline for Community Service Project Proposal Submission
AKHF Leadership Anchorage (LA)

The community service project provides a way for LA to “give back” to Anchorage, and participants provide talented leadership and creativity to our city’s businesses, governmental offices, and nonprofits for projects that may lack the time, labor, or coordination skills to be realized. Past sponsors have said their projects have built organizational effectiveness and boosted outreach to the community not only for the period of the project, but also beyond.

For more information on Leadership Anchorage click on programs at the top of page. To obtain Request for Proposal and Community Service Project information contact Jim MacKenzie at 907-272-5324.

RURE Teacher Training Program De-briefing Session Anchorage

5:00 – 8:30 pm Friday, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm Saturday, BP Energy Center
(Free to participating teachers)

The Rose Urban Rural Exchange Program is bringing together 22 urban teachers who are participating in the Teacher Training component to learn more about Alaska Native cultures and to experience life at a traditional Alaska Native culture camp. The experience will broaden teachers’ lesson plans in Alaska history classes, as well as provide a cultural framework for working with Alaska Native students in the urban school districts. Teachers earn 3 UAA credits in multi-cultural studies. Teachers received cultural training in the spring before embarking on their camp experiences. At the Sept. de-briefing, teachers will share their experiences and begin working on their lesson plans.

Contact the Rose Urban Rural Exchange director, Laurie Evans-Dinneen at (907)272-5302

www.roseurbanruralexchange.org

OurTime 2008 “Exploring the Art of Political Activism” Seminar Anchorage

Check website below for time and location
Free

This final seminar will utilize a political literacy curriculum to explore issues important to youth and young adults: engaging in the political system, how to move ideas forward, community organizing, basics of becoming an educated voter, decoding the political process, creation of social media and Public Service Announcements. This will be accomplished through interactive small and large group facilitated activities, presentations and discussion groups using the arts (theatre, poetry, literature, history, and multi-media).

Contact Liz Posey for more information (907)276-0390

http://www.nul-anchorage.org/ or http://www.myspace.com/ourtime2008

Deadline for Alaska Humanities Forum General Grants Program applications

Funding up to $10,000 for general humanities projects.

The AKHF grant program funds humanities-based projects. In carrying out the Forum’s mission, we support grant projects that:

• Cultivate appreciation and enjoyment of the humanities, including disciplines such as Cultural studies, Archaeology, Ethics, Philosophy, History, Linguistics, Folklore, Languages, and many more.
• Create dialogue among peoples holding divergent points of view.
• Apply traditional bodies of wisdom to present concerns.
• Search for a sense of personal identity and a sense of place through history, traditions, and new ideas.
• Pass on the values, methods, and wisdom of the humanities to future generations of Alaskans.

Click on Grants at the top of the page for more details, grant guidelines, and how to apply or call our office for more information, (907)272-5373.

Giinaquq - Like a Face: Sugpiaq Masks of the Kodiak Archipelago Anchorage

Tuesday through Saturday 10:00-6:00p.m., Sundays noon – 6:00p.m.
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center (121 West Seventh Avenue)
Admission is Free to members, Adults $8, Seniors, Military, Students w/I.D. $7, Children 17 and under free ($2 suggested donation)

In the winter of 1872 a young French anthropologist traveled the Kodiak archipelago by skin boat, assembling one of the most extensive collections of Alutiiq ceremonial masks in the world. In May, masks from Alphonse Pinart’s collection returned to Alaska for the first time in 136 years to tell the Alutiiq story and inspire Alaskans to explore the rich culture of Kodiak’s Native people. (See above event listing for details on seeing this exhibit in Kodiak May 24 - September 26)

“Giinaquq – Like A Face” will feature 34 wooden masks and a bird-shaped feast bowl collected from villages around the Kodiak archipelago. The exhibition, six years in planning, will highlight the cultural meaning of these historic carvings as well as their beauty. The objects will be mounted in individual display cases, and arranged around a full-sized cut-away model of a qasgiq – an Alutiiq ceremonial building.

http://anchoragemuseum.org/

Temciisqaq
“Skeptical One”

Alaska Statehood Conference: Celebrating Alaska’s 59ers Anchorage

Venues: ZJ Loussac Public Library, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum
Registration fee is $150 for Alaska Historical Society Members, $180 for non-members

Alaska Statehood Conference
Alaska Historical Society ~University of Alaska
Alaska Visionaries: Seekers, Leaders, and Dreamers

Academics, students, and Alaska History enthusiasts will meet in Anchorage to revisit the significant events that have shaped Alaska's past in the last fifty years and to commemorate the "Alaska 59ers"--the generation of Alaska's first state citizens who provided the new state with leadership, direction, and indeed, vision. Come join the Alaska Historical Society and the University of Alaska's statehood conference. The theme Alaska Visionaries: Seekers, Leaders, and Dreamers provides us an opportunity to discuss fifty years of Alaska statehood and the ordinary people who helped shape modern Alaska into something.

For registration and presenter information, contact Katie Ringsmuth, conference coordinator, at 907-830-2251 or at KatmaiKate@aol.com.

For a schedule of events you may visit the AHS website at alaskahistoricalsociety.org.

Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities Anchorage

Downtown Marriott, Anchorage, Alaska
6:00 p.m. Reception followed by Dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities honor individuals and corporations throughout the state of Alaska for their commitment and contribution to arts and humanities. The dinner program will present award recipients and highlight the ways they have contributed to the cultural enrichment of Alaskans.

More information can be found by contacting Development Director, Adele Alderman at 907-272-5338 or www.akhf.org.

Alaska Native Heritage Month Kickoff – Pamyua performing! Anchorage

5:30 - 7:30p.m., Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center (121 West Seventh Avenue)
Free event

Pamyua will perform at this free event to kickoff Alaska Native Heritage Month! This exciting reception will include refreshments and hors d’oeuvres and host Mayor Begich, Governor Palin and special guest speakers. This evening will also publicize the events occurring throughout the month that encourage "sharing the spirit", this year’s theme for Alaska Native Heritage Month.

For more information see the Alaska Native Heritage Month website at www.alaskanativeheritagemonth.org or contact Michael Fredericks at 907-223-3493.