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Molly Hootch and Anna Tibeluk close

These young women were groundbreakers in changing educational opportunities for Alaska Natives who were unable to go to high school without leaving home for nine months of the year prior to 1976. Until that time, none of the villages had school beyond eighth grade. Anna Tibeluk and Molly Hootch were students named as plaintiffs in an Alaska Supreme Court case that resulted in the establishment of 126 high schools in native villages across Alaska. Once Alaska Natives could complete high school while living at home, the drop-out rate has decreased from over 65% to around 30%.

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