Sondra Shaginoff-Stuart

Sondra Shaginoff-Stuart
Assistant Professor
Alaska Native Studies
SSB 365
907-786-6140
slshaginoffstuart@alaska.edu

Education

Sondra received her MA in 2016 from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in Applied Linguistics, with a focus on Second Language Acquisition Teaching in the Dene Ahtna Language. Her project was focused on task-based language teaching, which involves teaching a Native language through cultural projects. She holds a BA in Alaska Native Studies and an AAS in Native Language Education with a focus on Ahtna Dene Language from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  Currently, she is a Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Candidate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The title of her work will be Retraceing the Footsteps of Our Elders: Building Indigenous Pedagogies through Ahtna Dene Verbs.

Biography

Sondra Shaginoff-Stuart is a member of the Ahtna Dene and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribes, Taltsiine (Water Clan) and Kooyooe Tukadu (Fish-Eaters) clans, respectively. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Her offices are in the land of the Dena’ina Dene, located at the Social Science Building at UAA in Anchorage, Alaska, and in the Walter Ward Building at Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) in Soldotna, Alaska. Sondra is a dedicated wife and mother of three sons, residing in Kahtnu (Kenai).

Sondra has previously held the position of Chair of Alaska Native Studies at UAA and served as a Traditional Council Member for the Chickaloon Village. She has contributed her expertise as a board member of the Benteh/Nuutah Valley Native Primary Care Center Joint Operating Board. Additionally, she has served as the Ahtna Language Teacher and Cultural Director and participated in the Ce'yiits Hwnax Life House Community Health Center Advisory Committee. Currently, she is an active member of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe's Education Committee and serves as Language Consultant for the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. 

While Sondra is a language learner herself, she is committed to promoting the growth of the Ahtna Dene language within her community and beyond through supportive initiatives. She aspires to honor her family and ancestors by sharing her knowledge with future generations.

 

Teaching Responsibilities

AKNS A201 Native Perspective,
AKNS A230 Oral Tradition of Native Peoples
AKNS A492 Alaska Native Elders Knowledge
AKNS A495 Alaska Native Internship
AKNS A292A Alaska Native Language Apprenticeship
AKNS A114 Ahtna/Dena’ina Reading and Writing
AKN A421 Indigenous Language Curriculum Design & Instruction
A495A Alaska Native Language Internship
AKNS 292B Ahtna Language Conversational Fluency Intense AKNS A395 Native Language Instructor Practicum.

Co-created the Occupational Endorsements Certificates and Undergraduate Certificates for the Ahtna and Dena'ina Dene Language of Alaska. 

Research Interests

Second Language Acquisition, Dene Language, Education, Task-Based Language Learning, Community Building, and 
Language Healing work. 
Alaska Native Studies