WEBINAR: Communication Across Cultures Part I: Culture and Miscommunication

Dr. Father Michael Alaska has had 35 years of experience teaching cross-cultural communication at the Alaska Pacific University and the University of Alaska. He has worked most of his life in rural communities with newly arrived professionals and witnessed miscommunication that would happen between different cultures. This miscommunication was not deliberate, but it would sometimes have unwanted negative outcomes with diverse groups of people trying to work together.

This webinar series was requested from a federal partner. The Tribal Injury Prevention Resource Center is happy to be hosting, in partnership with Dr. Alaska, a three part webinar series that focuses on communication across cultures. The focus of this first webinar is to define culture. Key topics will include the way we see the world, the ‘ball game’ of life as we understand and play it, and this story into which we were born.

Working with tribes there are a lot of state and federal entities that have a fiduciary responsibility working in partnership with tribal communities and programs. Please join us in this dialogue between Indigenous and Western cultures to build better relationships moving forward.

Part 1: Culture? What exactly is "culture"?

Father Oleksa will briefly and humorously define and describe "culture" as:

1) The Way You See the World

2) The Ballgame of Life as You Understand and Play it

3) The Story into which You were Born

using stories and anecdotes from his 49 years in rural Alaska, living with Aleut, Tlingit and Yup'ik Eskimo tribes, (as well as his own childhood up bringing in inner-city ethnic neighborhoods) to illustrate each theme.