WHITE MOUNTAIN, Alaska — The Bering Strait School District (BSSD) has joined a nationwide effort to encourage healthy relationships and end dating violence among Native youth.
The NativeLove Project raises awareness through social media and school programs. Students in White Mountain are producing a video with local interviews to add to the conversation.
More than 40 percent of Native children experience multiple acts of violence by age 18. That’s according to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center in Montana. The organization launched the NativeLove Project to get young, indigenous people talking about healthy relationships.
Kelly Rae Martin is a teacher in White Mountain. She said it’s important her students join the discussion, given Alaska’s high rate of domestic violence.
“It doesn’t get talked about very much,” said Martin. “It doesn’t get shared or discussed, so I think it’s really important people start seeing that it is okay to talk about it. It is okay to address it and try to work through it, so that some healing can happen.”
To promote that healing, her students are producing a video. Anna Prentice is a high school senior, and she interviewed classmates and community members for the project.
“We asked a lot of questions like: What to you is Native love? How do you know that people are showing you love? And then, what do you think an ideal world would be?” said Prentice.
For the young students she interviewed, Prentice said love means helping clean up around the house or taking their siblings out four-wheeling. For elders, she said cooking and sharing food is a favorite way to express their love.
“Everyone thinks it’s happiness, respect for one other, and just family things to do with love,” she said.
Prentice also participated on the other side of the camera. She said she was happy to share her experience with dating violence, even though it was hard.
“For me, the topic is personal,” she said. “I feel like everybody needs to know how we can prevent that from happening, especially with the younger generation. I’ve been through it all, I’ve seen it, and to me, it’s very important they know what is love and what isn’t.”
With interviews complete, Prentice and her classmates are now editing footage for the video. They’ll screen the final product soon for the White Mountain community. Other BSSD schools are also joining the NativeLove Project. Students around the district are creating a quilt with artwork centered on healthy relationships.
