“My sister died of pneumonia when she was a baby because we had no nurse. That’s when I decided to become a nurse. I made up my mind to finish high school when I was 5 or 6 years [old] and couldn’t go to school. I just used to cry because I couldn’t go, I had a spot of TB. When I went back to school I passed three grades in one year.”

Mrs. Paul has the following preferences:

Schools: Irene is most excited about doing projects with middle school students however she is open to going into all of the SSD schools.

Days: She is currently retired so she can make trips into the classroom any day of the week. She would prefer to make monthly trips into the schools. She does make frequent trips to Juneau to visit her son.

Times: She is open to visit any time throughout the school day if permitting she would prefer to visit the classroom in the afternoon.

Grandkids: She currently has two grandchildren in SSD; Shadrach Puletau is currently at Blatchley while Fusi Puletau is a sophomore in high school.

Areas of Activity

Irene prefers to go into the classroom to help out in with the following areas:

Field Trips: Irene enjoys outdoor activities. She needs a little bit of assistance but is willing to help out wherever she can.

Teaching Assistant: She has prior experience working closely with teachers. This is something she enjoys a great deal.

Panel Discussions:  She is open to sitting on an elder panel. She was part of an Elder’s panel at the Sitka Boys & Girls club in which she discussed “Things she used to do for fun growing up in the village of Angoon.”

Presentations: Irene enjoys doing presentations for students; her only request is that she be provided with materials to effectively explain her topic.

Role in the Classroom

Mentor: Irene is comfortable mentoring any child; especially during the lunch time period.

Cultural Instructor: She is very passionate about language preservation. She has helped out with Roby Littlefield at immersion camps. She has attended many Sealaska curriculum trainings over in Juneau. Through those she has been taught many kid-friendly activities to teach language.

Assistant to the teacher: In Juneau she volunteered to go into the classroom to assist the teachers in language instruction. She has presented in front of students as well as served as a support/resource to the teacher. She is comfortable with both roles.

Cultural Expertise

Tlingit Language: Irene is fluent in the Tlingit language. This past summer, she volunteered to attend and instruct student’s at the “Dog Point” Tlingit immersion camp.

Values: Irene feels very strongly about teaching our children to have respect for their elders. It is something that was instilled in her by her mother and grandmother and it is something that she also stresses to her children/grandchildren.

Ceremonies and Kinship: She knows about traditional marriage/divorce as well as name giving. In fact her Tlingit name, Yaal.aat, was given to her in honor of her older sister who passed away at an early age.

Education and Life Experience

Education:

Irene is a life long learner. She continues to attend various Sealaska retreats where she learns how to teach the Tlingit language. Education has always been important to Irene. She started her education in Angoon.

For a while she was sidelined when a spot of TB was discovered in her lungs. She eventually went back to school and excelled to complete her high school diploma at Mt Edgecumbe High School. She went on to pursue her degree at University of Alaska Anchorage. She became certified as a Licensed Practitioner Nurse.

Work Experience:

Irene started out working at a cannery. She was a fish slimmer. From there she entered into a nursing program through University of Alaska Anchorage where she became a LPN. She spent 25 years working over at SEARHC hospital; she retired and is enjoying every minute of it. She now attends various language retention retreats.

A Brief Biography

On April 10, 1931 Irene was born in Angoon, Alaska. Her mother-in-law, a mid-wife, helped deliver her. She was raised in Angoon and still goes back to visit as often as the ferry permits.

While growing up, Irene worked as an interpreter for Tlingit’s who did not speak English. She is still fluent in her Native language and has undergone the task of learning how to write in Tlingit.

Irene has a large family that includes 9 children and 9 grandchildren.

Now that Irene is retired, she spends time helping Roby Littlefield with immersion camps and serves on the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Kayaani Plant Commission. As mentioned earlier, Irene works closely with Sealaska to preserve the Tlingit language. Irene is currently working on completing a moose hide purse and in the future she would like to learn how to weave Raven’s Tail robes.