Place

In this program, we wish to address science standards for the students AND include Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Ways of Knowing/Indigenous Science, as complementary ways of understanding ecosystems and interrelationship, which also happen to address some science and history-social science standards. However, because the teaching of TEK/Indigenous ways of knowing should be done by local Tribe members that have Traditional Ecological Knowledge, until we have the Tribe members set up as guest speakers or instructors, we can focus on Science Practices, but also mention that these other ways of understanding exist and have value with the goal of making space for authentic learning experiences.

In addition to starting with Territorial Acknowledgments, we can also incorporate universal values of reciprocity/giving back and gratitude - acknowledging that these are practices of living with the land that many Indigenous groups (and other people who live closely with the land) have done for ages to give credit. We can tie this into all of our students' own cultures by asking students in what ways they (and their families) show gratitude and give back in their own lives. 

• https://usdac.us/nativeland/

• https://native-land.ca/resources/territory-acknowledgement/ (This is Canadian, where (I believe) this practice began)

• http://landacknowledgements.org/

• http://www.bishoppaiutetribe.com/about-us.html 

Some thoughts about PLACE for instructors, adapted from BEETLES:

Consider your role as an educator in relationship with the place you are in.

a. Take a moment to reflect on our role as educators and our relationship with this place.

b. As environmental and outdoor science educators, we have the opportunity to engage youth with nature and the outdoors in meaningful ways.

c. This opportunity comes with a responsibility to examine our relationship to the world in which we live and to learn from the local Indigenous communities who live and have lived here long before us.

We wish to include Indigenous perspectives and knowledge about being in relationship with the outdoors:

a. It is a complex and worthy instructional goal to incorporate Indigenous perspectives alongside scientific perspectives while respecting learners’ own spiritual beliefs and without engaging in cultural appropriation.

b. We can invite our learners to develop meaningful relationships with living beings (human and nonhuman), with one another, and with the environment.

c. Deepening our awareness of Indigenous perspectives can enrich our observations and interactions with gratitude and reciprocity.

d. Indigenous knowledge can also enhance scientific perspectives.

e. Our activities incorporate some universal Indigenous values and perspectives that enhance observation skills and offer ways for learners to build a thoughtful and holistic relationship with nature.

Consider how you can infuse the values of gratitude, reciprocity, and relationship while making observations:

a. Look at, listen to, smell, or touch the land (and/or water) around us.

b. There’s so much we can learn about our surroundings through careful observation.

c. Our observations can be enhanced if we consider the universal Indigenous values of respect, responsibility, and reciprocity as we observe.

d. We’re going to be interacting with the land, air, water, and living things here.

e. It’s important to think about how we treat nature and the outdoors as we are making observations.

f. Think for a moment about how you might express gratitude and reciprocity as you make your observations.

Think about the kind of relationship and interactions you’d like to have with this place:

a. Let’s try to be respectful as we observe and interact with this place. Being respectful is a way of giving back.

b. Consider how your actions may affect this place.

c. Think about practices your culture, family, or ancestors have or had for interacting with the outdoors in respectful ways and if there are any of those practices you would like to call on today.

d. Think for a moment about what kind of relationship and interactions you want to have with this place while you’re here and in your future.

From the BEETLES Professional Learning Session on Making Observations)