Note: This introduction is used for educational purposes. Traditionally, a member of the opposite clan would make the introduction (i.e. Raven introduces and Eagle and vice versa).
Lorrie is the music teacher at Glacier Valley Elementary School and Program Director of Juneau Alaska Music Matters (JAMM). In 2014, Aanyaanáx̱ (Ray Wilson) adopted her into the Kiks.adi clan. She is carried by the name, Gax.áansán, which is the name of Aanyaanáx̱ʼs sister, Mary Ann. In 2017, Lorrie took Beginning Lingít with X̱uʼnei Lance Twitchell at UAS and has been integrating the Lingít language into her classroom ever since. With roughly 60 fluent native speakers left in Alaska, there is a pressing need to do more. Sealaska Heritageʼs Thru the Cultural Lens course provided her with a sound foundation in history, culture and language of this place. She looks forward to piloting this curriculum unit with Jinkasee.ee. Together they plan to bring the tribal values alive for all children by singing them in Lingít and exploring their meanings through traditional oral narratives so that the the wisdom of our elders will carry with our children throughout their lives.
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Lorrie Heagy
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Jinkasee.ee is the Cultural Specialist with the Indian Studies Program at Mendenhall River Elementary School and a lead drummer with Woosh.ji.Een Dance Group. One of 16 heritage language scholars, Jinkasee.ee received a full scholarship to participate in a unique program offered through a partnership with Sealaska Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska Southeast called Haa Yoo X̱ʼatángi Deiyí (Our Language Pathway). “As a cultural specialist in elementary schools, I am excited to study the Lingít language with the hopes of bringing more language and fluency into the classrooms. Being in this program has been a great opportunity to connect with other language learners and teachers as we work towards making Lingít language learning the focus for our youth and future generations.”
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Jinkasee.ee
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