Two short student films showcasing Dena’ina language learning are premiering Tuesday, as part of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s first-ever Indigenous language film festival.
Rachel Pioch is district coordinator for Title VI — the federal program that supports Alaska Native and Native American students. Since the fall, Pioch has been soliciting films for the festival, which she said is meant to highlight Indigenous languages in the district.
“Even though there’s only two films this year, I’m super excited about those films and about what they share about the language programs and the language revitalization that’s happening on the Kenai Peninsula,” she said.
One of the short films comes from the Tebughna School, in Tyonek. Pioch said students in the predominantly Alaska Native community get weekly language programming from the Tebughna Foundation, which is showcased in the film — students share traditional Dena’ina names for Kenai Peninsula places, one-by-one and in a song.
The other short film comes from Kenai Middle School student Scarlett Charbonneau, and features old footage of her singing a Dena’ina song as a kid. Pioch said it’s a testament to the work of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s HeadStart program, which brings Dena’ina and other cultural learning programming to local preschoolers.
“And so this is a direct product of that,” Pioch said. “She learns a song, in pre-school, with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, and now is sharing it with all of us.”
Together, the films run under four minutes. There are three opportunities to catch the broadcast today, on the Title VI website— at noon, 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Pioch said after they premiere, films will be available on the department’s site. They’ll also be stored for future use by tribal organizations and schools.
And she said even though the festival hasn’t even happened, she’s already speaking with local tribal groups and students about next year.
