“But that an unusual use of the word creation from the vantage point of Western thought.” “That particular use of ‘creation’ tells us how the Raven created the world,” he said.

The site also has a passage that includes a description of the story “Raven Creates the World” and describes it as a story about “how the Raven created the world.”īut Langdon said that he didn’t think that example was typical. On the final day, Breese highlighted a website from the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, which makes a reference to “the Creator” that blessed Indigenous people with the land. Plaintiff Rebecca King spoke at length in court Tuesday. “The ways in which they are used in teaching is to think about what Raven is doing, and it’s not necessarily in a positive light,” he explained.īut plaintiff Breese pointed out what he believed to be references to creation in Raven stories. He referenced stories about the character Raven, which is both creator and trickster - he described the stories as teaching tools. He told several traditional stories from clans around the region to emphasize how the values are integral in the Native way of life. Langdon said there isn’t a religion or a specific deity worshiped by Tlingit, Haida or Tsimshian people. But, she says there isn’t any rule preventing it. The school’s principal, Kayla Livingston, testified during the first day of the trial that “reverence for our creator” has not been selected as a “value of the week” or “value of the month” for the reward program.

King is a kindergarten teacher at Ketchikan Charter School. They also take issue with how the values are used in a behavior reward program at Ketchikan Charter School.

They say that hanging the posters in school common areas without context or a lesson is endorsing the values. The idea of “reverence for our creator” is what plaintiffs Justin Breese and Rebecca King say violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

“Well, what’s critically important, is that people have to learn to live together, and by understanding others it’s much more successful to be able to live together,” he said. He testified that the values all hinge around the idea of respect - central in Southeast Native culture. Stephen Langdon is a professor of cultural anthropology. About a third of Ketchikan students are Alaska Native. Cultural anthropologists and professors took the stand to answer questions about what the values mean to Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people.Ī trial has been ongoing in Ketchikan to determine if displaying the 14 traditional tribal values, developed by area culture leaders, violates the First Amendment. They were testifying in a trial to determine if it is constitutional to display traditional tribal values in Ketchikan schools. Ketchikan’s state courthouse (Raegan Miller/KRBD)Įxpert witnesses testified in court Wednesday that traditional tribal values are ingrained in Southeast Native culture.

The foxhole court the raven king