Tari Mallory:
CLASS OF 1982
Douglas High SchoolClass of 1982
Winston, OR
Eastern Oregon UniversityClass of 2001
La grande, OR
Tari's Story
Life
Chama'i (that's "What's up?" in Yup'ik),
I earned a Masters Degree in culturally responsive teaching at Eastern Oregon University, and then moved to Alaska to teach Eskimo children. I spent a couple years in the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Chuathbaluk, and am currently teaching Inupiaq Eskimo children in Kotzebue, which is 26 miles above the Arctic Circle. Living in the Land of the Midnight Sun is something I've always dreamed of, and it has been an amazing experience. As of this writing, it's mid-winter and the ocean is frozen. We consistently get temperatures around -35 degrees in winter. Teaching indigenous children is difficult, but very rewarding. Even though Alaska Natives consistently have the lowest scores on standardized tests, every one of my students is reading and writing above grade level. I'm trying to teach them to gain a new value for their cultural heritage and native language by teaching using elements from both. I have two great kids, Leslie (all grown up and attending college in New York City), and Alex (in high school, running cross...Expand for more
country and playing a fine cello). My children are the best thing about my life. They're both smart, talented, and extremely georgeous! I still play the flute, and really miss performing in an orchestra. Even though Kotzebue is very isolated (it can only be reached by air or ocean), there is a whole community of flute players up here, which is fun! In addition to teaching, I do volunteer work at a local children's home, where displaced village children wait for adoption or foster placement. While I don't hunt, I love to eat the native foods. We've eaten beaver, seal, moose, caribou, muktaq (whale blubber), ukpiq pie, walrus, and akutaq (Eskimo ice cream, made of lard, fish, and berries). The locals give us more king crab, salmon, moose and caribou meat than we can eat. I've cut fish, sewed skins, and tried my hand at other Native crafts, but I have a significant lack of talent in those areas! Living in such a harsh environment has really given me an appreciation for the simple things in life, like children, slobbery dogs, music, a good book, and warm feet!
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