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In Attu Boy, Nick Golodoff was six years old when his peaceful life in a remote Aleutian village was interrupted by the invasion of the Japanese army in 1942. 

How does Nick’s story of enemy invasion, occupation, and finally becoming a prisoner of war fit within the larger story of resiliency in Alaska History? 

Because Nick tells his story through the eyes of a child, do you think resonate with students? In what way can this story be used in the classroom?  Elementary and/or Secondary?

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  • As many have stated already, Nick's story fits the alrger story of resiliency in Alaska History because it can almost reflect Alaska history as a whole. Non-natives (Russians and then Americans) came and took over the land. They then said that the land will be used for their own purposes and natives should stay out of the way. Next, natives were considered second class citizens as a whole to their invaders. Then, after much conflict (ANB/civil rights in Alaska History, World War II in this "short burst), natives were able to regain their land. 

    I believe that Nick's story can resonate with a young student easily. The language that is used in the book is relatively easy to understand and the way that it is written, I believe it displays a lot of emotion that is forgotten in many historical texts. I believe it gives students a better buy in when they can imagine how the author/character is feeling.  I believe that this would be good for both elementary and secondary students. 

    I would also like to mention the amazing use of pictures in the book. For some of my students, the ability to look at a picture is the difference between understanding fully what they read and only having a basic idea. For our visual learners, this book is a resource that is very useful. Additionally, the photos have great historical value for future years to come, especially as life in Alaska changes even further. 


  • How does Nick's story fit within the larger story of resiliency in Alaska History?

    Alaska's history is replete with disruptive changes from resource depletion, land takeovers, rampant disease and, with this story, foreign invasions which would cause fatal dysfunction with less resilient people.  The amazing story of the Japanese invasion is dumbfounding especially because it was so hidden from view.  One could say that there were only 42 people on Attu Island and, in terms of numbers, it was a small group of people who were affected by this invasion. Nonetheless, they were Americans on American soil and should of, could of been protected.

    The Unangan have been the brunt of political machinations for hundreds of years beginning with the Promyshlenniki.  It seems significant to note at the beginning of Attu Boy, Nick Golodoff recognizes  that Attu was a very peaceful place not only in setting but in community interactions.  We read on to find this is corroborated by several voices and other sources.  The community had, as was made clear, found their contentment again regardless of the difficult experiences they had had in the past.  Yes, they were resilient.  And, though we can find other similar stories around Alaska, any additional examples in no way minimize or lessen the effect of these hardships for the people who experienced them..

    Do you think Nick's story will resonate with students? How would you use it in the classroom?

    I found Nick's story to be rather flat and stream of consciousness.  I appreciate the story and I will keep this book in my valued collection of Alaska History books.  Nevertheless, it was difficult to follow the story and to know exactly what was happening.  I appreciated the additional first hand accounts from people who were older at the time of the invasion and subsequent deportation to Japan. Nick listened to instruction and respected authority as an obedient child would do. His story was told without judgement, without loyalties, and, it seemed, without feeling.  It was flat, emotionally, but full of situations that for most of us would have been our undoing especially as a young child.  I am not sure this is a book that I would have students read through but rather to use as a resource especially in reference to first hand interviews. 

  • Nick Golodoff’s story is an example of the resiliency of Native Alaskans throughout the context of several encounters with the expansion, colonization, and imperialist attempts of the western world.  Similar to these instances, Nick relates how the Attuans adjusted and adapted to the harshness of their new realities and upon their return to Alaska, continue to balance traditional values and new influences and circumstances.  I also think that in the telling of the story as an adult, but through the voice of a child shows how over the course of the post-war years, there has been recovery and resilience from one voice to the other.  And as children are considered to be resilient in so many ways, the voice and memories of a child really speak to the recovery.

     

    Having used different supplemental stories and book studies along with the study of WWII in my sixth grade class, I would absolutely expect the voice of a child and the retelling of their experience would touch students, as they consider experiences in their lives where they’ve overcome challenges and consider how they, as a young person, would react to situations similar to his. I would use this book in conjunction with a study of WWII and as a comparative of US internment of Japanese Americans and minority group experiences during the war years.

  • Nick Golodoff’s story illustrates the resilience of Native Alaskans. The people of Attu were displaced by the Japanese and never allowed to go home, but they were able to adapt and survive in both situations. You could compare his story with that of the many Natives who were taken from their homes and forced to go to boarding schools in an attempt to rob them of their culture and assimilate them into America’s mainstream. Resilience, however, does not just imply surviving. Resilience implies that the culture was able to bounce back. One thing that I have learned from living in a rural area is that the culture has been able to adapt and stay strong while embracing western influences. Nick’s tale is able to provide a voice for those people affected by WWII. Though all experiences are not the same as his, Nick’s memoir opens the door to have a conversation. 

    I think this book would definitely resonate with my students. I can see myself using this text as a comparison to Shadows on the Koyukuk to demonstrate how different the regions in Alaska were at this point in time. Though both are stories of growing up as Alaskan Natives, their cultures and experiences were vary different. 

  • As a first person account of being captured and becoming a prisoner of war is extremely valuable in a literature classroom. Nick being a Native and the story of being treated inhumanely by a people wielding a superior force would probably be a topic on which my students could draw connections. I could draft an assignment that encourages the comparison of two disparate episodes such as the Japanese invasion and forced assimilation by the Alaska educational system. There is ample evidence with which one could draw connections.

     

    Education is still a very charged topic in my village, and I feel that this topic could potentially be counterproductive in a classroom setting. However, when handled carefully, this novel could open a discourse that is both meaningful and instructive. My students have a difficult time holding two opposing positions in mind, and this could be used to help teach students critical thinking skills.

     

    Resiliency is essential theme in Attu Boy, and I know that this is incorporated in the traditional subsistence patterns of the region in which I live; however, in some ways the local community has chosen to be resilient in rejecting the educational system and this position is detrimental to the well-being of the community in my opinion. However, some have a very different opinion.

     

    While we want students to be critical thinkers, we also want to ensure the environment doesn’t become toxic. In a nutshell, yes, I think that elements of the novel would resonate with students. However, when engaging with this dialogue, whether it be writing argumentative research, discussing in the classroom, etc., it is important to teach and emphasize respecting boundaries. 

  • In Attu Boy, Nick Golodoff was six years old when his peaceful life in a remote Aleutian village was interrupted by the invasion of the Japanese army in 1942.

    How does Nick’s story of enemy invasion, occupation, and finally becoming a prisoner of war fit within the larger story of resiliency in Alaska History?

    You can argue that “Attu Boy” is a story of adaptation and evolution in Alaska history as well as resiliency. Alaskan’s throughout history have been accustomed to change, political, environmental and social. Nick’s story of outsider invasion, is not unique within Alaskan history, depending on your perspective (Russians. etc).  Nick’s community already had endured the changes that came with interaction with western culture, already adapting and assimilating in many ways. What is unique, is being physically removed from this country and subjected to imprisonment. Nick does eventually return to Alaska and was able to make a life for himself. He held multiple positions within his community and was able to describe his  life experiences. The larger message of resiliency within our history fits this man. Nick was able to adapt to western influence, imprisonment, overcome death of loved ones and eventual reintroduction into Alaskan society. Through all of that, Nick was able to overcome obstacles that arose and live his life in the best possible way.

    Because Nick tells his story through the eyes of a child, do you think resonate with students? In what way can this story be used in the classroom?  Elementary and/or Secondary?

     

    As my experience is only in secondary, I would love to use this book within my Alaska Studies class. Alaska Studies does not have a textbook but primary sources document readers that can be a pain to use effectively in the classroom. This text is not complex in reading level or vocabulary (other than indigenous terms), and would be a welcome addition within my classroom. My students would appreciate this text as it is engaging, due to the photos and maps. Also, WWII in Alaska tends to be based around the economic advantages that were brought to Alaska by the military, the occupation of Attu and Kiska and the building of the highway. This book will serve to enrich the understanding of WWII by way of a personal story.


    Ways to incorporate “Attu Boy”  within your classroom, you can assign students to detail the information from the first persons accounts. Create a storyboard/poem or even a tradition 5 paragraph essay based on the experience of one of the accounts within the last half of the book. I personally, will be using this book in conjunction with my traditional WWII unit. I will assign the entire book for reading within reading groups and potentially use within a seminar format. I am always looking for great text resources for Alaska Studies regardless of the unit.

  • Nick Golodoff's story tells about historical events that are not often mentioned in most World War II history or even Alaskan history.  The Aleuts, and all Alaskan Natives, had to be resilient just to live in their environment but then they also had to deal with European and US contact.  They have been forced to accommodate the demands of the Russians and later the Americans and have managed to keep a cultural identity of their own.  In Mr. Golodoff's story he speaks very matter of factly about events that are very traumatic yet he has such an attitude of accepting and moving on.  To me his attitude speaks strongly to the history of resilience that has always been part of the Alaska Native experience.

    I would definitely use this book as a read aloud in 3rd grade.  The first person narrative would really hook the listener.  His story is not only the story of the Aleut experience but can be used to reinforce the concept that resiliency is an important trait universally.   

  • How does Nick’s story of enemy invasion, occupation, and finally becoming a prisoner of war fit within the larger story of resiliency in Alaska History? 

    Although I enjoyed the book, and I think it would make for a great enrichment project in my High School Alaska Studies class.  Nick's experiences (and the experiences of all the Aleuts during WWII) were more unique than emblematic of the range of challenges experienced by most Alaska Native groups.  I find that I am spending as much time on the basics of the experiences of Native People in our region which our Native students are blissfully unaware.  I often find myself falling into the trap of teaching the stereotypes so that I can then encourage students to shatter them, but they are often not even aware of the stereotypes. The resiliency of Alaska Native people is clearly demonstrated and modeled in Attu Boy, but experiences and history are foreign.   I think someone else posted the comment that there is a parallel with boarding schools and I think that is one possible application of the story.

    Because Nick tells his story through the eyes of a child, do you think resonate with students? In what way can this story be used in the classroom?  Elementary and/or Secondary?  

    I do think this parts of the book that come from the eyes of a child, particularly before the invasion, are the most relatable to our students.  I have had great success in capturing interest with books that use the voice of a child like Toughboy and Sister with elementary students or Shadows on the Koyuk with Secondary students.  Velma Wallis's Raising Ourselves tells the story of growing up in an Athabascan village in the interior of Alaska, but some of the Cup'ig Eskimo people in our island village of Mekoryuk say it is exactly how things were around here in the 60's and 70's.  But our current students are only vaguely aware of even that more recent history.   The pain and shame of the traumatic childhood events are not openly discussed.  These books can often open doors of communication if they are discussed cross-generationally.

  • Because Nick tells his story through the eyes of a child, do you think resonate with students? In what way can this story be used in the classroom?  Elementary and/or Secondary?

    I think hearing this story from a child's perspective would be essential to making in resonate with my students. My students are second graders, and while I'm not sure they will ever understand the tragedies or hardships of war; but there are events in the book that they will be able to connect with. Many of my students have moved to Anchorage from villages, other states, or even other countries. The shock of a relocation can leave a lasting imprint on a child, that imprint can greatly affect their overall life. Showing students how the POW's of Attu Boy, were able to go on and live their lives through resiliency, relates to students having to manage their own relocation/ changes in their own lives. Social Emotional Learning lessons could help students have more interaction with being resilient in various situations. These lessons can give students more tools and help them to become a more  resilient youth and eventually a more resilient adult.

  • In Attu Boy, Nick Golodoff was six years old when his peaceful life in a remote Aleutian village was interrupted by the invasion of the Japanese army in 1942. How does Nick’s story of enemy invasion, occupation, and finally becoming a prisoner of war fit within the larger story of resiliency in Alaska History?

    Alaska’s native populations have been subjected to many types of invasions and takeovers from their Russian and American counterparts only to be drug into the attack of the Japanese in WW11. Nick’s account of his capture and removal from his home is none other than the picture of the strength of the Attuans and their struggle to hang on to their culture and ways of life even through the roughest of times. This is a reoccurring theme in Alaska in which they have been stripped down and in the end through hard work, and mere determination have retained the core of who they are and where they come from.

    Because Nick tells his story through the eyes of a child, do you think resonate with students? In what way can this story be used in the classroom? Elementary and/or Secondary?

    The best part of the story is that it is told through the eyes of a six year old and I would think students in elementary school classrooms would find it relatable and would appreciate his accounts both in the two months under captivity on Attu and the years spent in Japan. This could be a compare and contrasting type written assignment after reading his accounts of Nicks story. How would their struggles within their own lives resonate against what happened to Nick and the others. How would they handle such tragedy and change? In the end could they find the strength they would need to move forward and retain their culture and ways of life.

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