LILLIAN STONE

“I am from here, born and raised. My dad was from Kaktovik, I went to school here until 10th grade, then I went to Mt. Edgecumbe [High School]. I was in basketball, getting a bunch of [sports] letters. I was in the USA Today’s Top Ten Basketball Players. I went to college in Oregon, then UAF (University of Alaska Fairbanks) and got my Bachelors in Elementary Education. I started teaching Inupiaq here in 2009. My mentor was Rachel Riley, she helped me a lot, she recently passed away. My Inupiaq name is Sisualik. I am named after her, Rachel Riley, because she delivered me in a little shack by the runway. [Laughs] A teacher left mid-year and I have been wanting to teach kindergarten, so I will be teaching kindergarten next year.” — Lillian Stone is Inupiaq and lives in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska.