Alaska News

Rural Alaska dreams: How you can help village students visit the US Capitol

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You don't have to attend the Bear Tooth event to help out. Gusty Michael School has set up a Facebook page detailing their efforts.

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Stony River Facts

Population: 46

Location: Stony River is on the north bank of the Kuskokwim River, 2 miles north of its junction with the Stony River. The village is 100 miles east of Aniak, 185 miles northeast of Bethel, and 225 miles west of Anchorage

History: Also known as Moose Village and Moose Creek, it began as a trading post and riverboat landing to supply mining operations to the north. The first trading post opened in 1930, and a post office was established in 1935. Area residents used these facilities, but it wasn't until the early 1960s that families established year-round residency and a school was constructed. Approximately 75 people lived in the village in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Culture: The village is a mixed population of Athabascan Indians and Yup'ik Eskimos. Residents depend heavily on subsistence foods.

Source: AK Division of Community and Regional Affairs

The Gusty Michael School in Stony River faces a possible shutdown due to a lack of enrollment, and teacher Debi Rubera wants to make sure her students get one last chance to see the world as long as she's their teacher.

The learning excursion will give the seven Alaska Native kids from Stony River a chance to visit national monuments, museums and perhaps even the president himself. Their days in D.C. and other East Coast communities will profoundly impact the students, who range from 4 years old to teenagers, many of whom have rarely left their village.

Alaska Dispatch featured their story recently and plans to head for D.C., along with a powerful, 25-minute documentary about their trip last year to California.

A batch of soft-spoken village kids who became southern California celebrities during a mega field trip last year are racing to raise money for their next big excursion to the nation's capitol.

The Gusty Michael School in Stony River faces a possible shutdown due to a lack of enrollment, and Debi Rubera wants to make sure her students get one last chance to see the world as long as she's their teacher.

The school's seven students have applied for White House clearance in hopes of meeting President Obama. They've launched a Facebook page to generate support. And they're once again raising funds at the general merchandise store they created in their village of some 40 residents.

Ranging in age from 4 to 14, the Alaska Native kids will be joined by chaperones such as Rubera and the handful of student travelers who went last year but have graduated or moved to bigger villages.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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