What Considerations Are Essential in Developing an Effective Educational Program for Small, Isolated, Indigenous Communities in Alaska?
Empowering and supporting diverse cultures matters. When conducting research in a particular community, we have a moral responsibility to produce educational materials that are respectful, relatable, and relevant to the community’s culture and needs. The purpose of this study was to fulfill and investigate the community outcomes of an educational outreach funding requirement in a native Alaskan village in St. Paul (SNP), AK. Specifically, the impacts of creating educational outreach materials were examined through the lens of a case study. In order to determine the opportunities, challenges, and considerations of developing effective educational outreach materials, three larger funding agency’s approaches to this requirement were reviewed in addition to collecting empirical evidence via observation and informal interviews (i.e. casual conversations) conducted while navigating this requirement in SNP. A large disconnect exists between researchers and the communities in which they conduct research which may result in poor relationships between researcher and practitioners, community members, and other stakeholders. When more respectful, communicative, and positive interactions with community members become a priority, our research (including that of educational outreach requirements) will become more impactful, enhance our overall understanding of the problem, and be a step in the right direction for mending these broken relationships.