7 Generations

Addressing Village Environmental Issues for the Future Generations of Rural Alaska

"You know we always had our hands out.  We were hoping that some miracle would happen that would help us survive in our land.  And, today we are finding out that we are the ones who have to take the lead.  We have to be the ones who initiate.  We are the ones who have to do something in our community.  We are the ones who have to teach in order for those younger ones to know"

 Clarence Alexander, past Chairman of the Board for the Council of Athabascan Governments.

The 7 Generations manual is designed for people in rural Alaska who want to accomplish environmental planning, and management using a community based approach.  This manual contains valuable tools that enable a community to identify and prioritize its environmantal issues.  This manual was written to assist communities to be more self reliant, and to take responsibility for their own environmental issues. 

Building community strength to identify, and solve problems is a powerful process that can lead to a healthier, and more stustainable community.  A community driven by the interests of its member will have a much greater sense of ownership, and pride in its accomplishments.  A self governing community will also have a greater influence over the goals, and future direction in the environmental realm as well as other essential components of the community.  Although this manual focuses solely on selected environmental issues, the people driven initiatives discussed are an effective way for a community to take its inherent right to self govern in all areas by influencing and taking responsibility for educational, social, judicial and healt efforts.  7 Generations workshops are regularly scheduled and worskhop information can be found on the Contact Us page

The 7 Generations Train-the Trainer manual is a companion publication used to train other people how to use the 7 Generations manual.  The activities it contains provide many opportunites for participants to work in groups and present to others the information from 7 Generations.  Activities also teach the concepts of pollution preventions and apply these concepts to the information presented in the training.  Participants will then have the skills and knowledge to present 7 Generations to thier community and other communites.  7 Generations Train-the-Trainer workshops are regularly scheduled and workshop informformation can be found on the Contact Us page.  7 GenerationsTrain-the-Trainer workshop attendees are strongly encouraged to have attended a 7 Generations workshop first or have an excellect working knowledge of the concepts taught in the 7 Generations manual.

7 Generations has been  used by more than 180 of Alaska's villages and 30 different countrys around the world.  7 Generations based environmental education presentations have been made to more than 13,000 Alaska village school students.

7 Generations will be forever indebted to Suanne Unger for her two years of extreme diligence in translating 7 Generations, the story, into 7 Generations the book.

http://7generations.us