Yellow Wood Academy & UNEA | Clear Sky Academy Partnership
We thrive on community support and also strive to support our wider community. With the addition of our DEI Coordinator role, which Emily Yuen has taken on, we also have a wonderful partnership with the Urban Native Education Alliance (UNEA) and their Clear Sky Academy.
Clear Sky Academy is a youth centered, youth driven program at UNEA. Clear Sky originated in February of 2008 with a few Native youth initiating weekly gatherings in response to the lack of cultural, social and academic support. Clear Sky and UNEA eventually merged as a natural evolution of parents, youth, educators, and community members coalescing together to strengthen their resolve to create successful grassroots organization with the clear purpose of serving Native youth.
YWA supports Clear Sky Academy’s American Indian Art and Culture course. This course is in partnership with Yellow Wood Academy and meets the OSPI and Common Core State Standards for Social Studies and Fine Arts credits. Clear Sky Academy students are able to earn 0.5 credits for either course through YWA.
Guest instructors and cultural experts will assist in guiding students in all aspects of growing cultural knowledge and expertise. Students will be provided materials, and supplies as needed for completing projects and assignments. Field trips, videos, podcasts, and supplemental reading materials along with occasional handouts and powerpoints will be utilized as needed. Students will experience holistic and culturally responsive learning to best support their learning style while connecting and cultivating strong connections with the community.
These courses are designed to be collaborative, interactive, culturally responsive and community based. Emily Yuen, Jerilyn Hamley (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and Sarah Sense-Wilson (Oglala) work together along with guest speakers, Instructors and experts to provide students with a quality educational experience. Classes are held at North Seattle College.
In October, UNEA held an event where Elder, Storyteller, and motivational speaker, Gene Tagaban/Guuy Yaau(Cherokee, Tlingit, Filipino) spoke at North Seattle College. Emily Yuen and her students were able to attend. Emily reported that King 5 Facing Race news reporters were there as well as the speaker told some amazingly beautiful stories. Emily snapped pictures and videos to share with our community!
On December 3rd, Clear Sky Academy and SCSNYC attended the Burke Museum. Polly Olsen (Yakama), the Director of DEAI & Decolonization and Tribal Liaison at Burke Museum, brought indigenous arts and culture to life as she guided Clear Sky Academy students through the awe-inspiring artifacts of tribes throughout our area. Emily Yuen summarized the experience by saying, “Students stood in amazement as they gazed at the 900,000 year old salmon. Not only was the fossil fascinating in its own right, the ancient salmon symbolized the integral relationship their ancestors, and they, have with our land and water. We meandered through the halls, stopping to soak in intricate basket weaving, interacting with maps that displayed what our land looked like before colonization, and watching a short documentary on traditional tattooing and what it means to have pride in your heritage. We concluded our exploration by gathering around a table, snacking on Indian tacos and fry bread and sharing our interests and passions together as a community”.
We implore you to visit their website and learn more about UNEA: https://www.urbannativeeducation.org/
Announcement for Clear Sky Academy & YWA - https://www.urbannativeeducation.org/_files/ugd/74d7c7_c91106e491ca40a48495ab9687809cd0.pdf
As YWA continues to make steps forward in cementing our continuous DEI efforts, we also encourage and accept support from our community. For ways to engage with us, please email Jed Miley, Executive Director, jedm@yellowwoodacademy.org, to get the conversation started.