State Rep. Maxine Dibert (D- Fairbanks): on revitalization of the Koyukon Athabascan language, getting pink slipped as a first year teacher, & being married to a smoke jumper

East Anchorage Matters with Rep. Andrew Gray

Alaska State House Representative Maxine Dibert was born to Koyukon Athabascan parents in Fairbanks and grew up dividing her time between the urban experience of downtown Fairbanks and the bush experience of her Athabaskan elders. After graduating with a degree in education – a degree her college guidance counselor had tried to dissuade her from pursuing due to the lack of teaching jobs – Maxine got her first job at an elementary school in Fairbanks, and this fall she will begin her 23rd year at that school.