Indigenous Curriculum Project Takes Off - Nature Connect Central Oregon

NatureConnect has been working with several of our partners and tribal community members over the last two years towards integrating Indigenous content and knowledge into our outdoor programs. This work was inspired by the Tribal History, Shared History bill that was enacted by the Oregon Legislature in 2017. This bill recognized that as a state, we’ve lacked accurate and complete curricula that shares the history, contributions, and voices of Native American peoples, who have been here since Time Immemorial. Following several years of tribal leaders working to develop lessons centered around Essential Understandings of Native American People, several of our outdoor education partners came around the table with a desire to bring this work into outdoor programs.

These partners, including Trout Unlimited, Middle Deschutes Watershed Council, and Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, work with thousands of students each year with the goal of developing future stewards of our rivers and streams. We’ve all recognized that given that our tribal neighbors have been stewarding this land since Time Immemorial, Indigenous voices have been starkly missing these programs. We believe the these programs will be strengthened by sharing a cross-cultural perspective of place and caring for the land.

With this goal, our partners have been working with the Tribal History, Shared History curriculum, as well as tribal partners to bring Indigenous voices into their programs. This process takes time and has been complex, but we’ve collectively made some strides that are making real impacts in programs. Here are some of our highlights:

Partners are using a ceded lands map (top left photo) to gain an understanding of Indigenous historical presence relative to their communities and field trip sites.
Laurie Danzuka, Native American Success Coordinator with High Desert ESD (also top left) has attended a number of field trips with Trout Unlimited and Middle Deschutes Watershed Council, to share her stories and knowledge.
2,694 students have participated in a classroom visit prior to their field trip that weaves together lessons from Tribal History, Shared History and local watershed information. Lessons have focused on ceded lands, seasonal rounds and food sources, the cultural importance of salmon, Celilo Falls, and restoration efforts by tribal entities.
Upper Deschutes Watershed Council has introduced an activity where students are writing their own Land Acknowledgments at the end of their field days. Students are invited to write a Land Acknowledgement “that honors the Deschutes River and everything that it has provided for fish, wildlife, and communities for time immemorial.” Samples from 4th grades students are shared below…

“I want to acknowledge that the Warm Springs tribe was here before us. The name AshutsWana is for Deschutes River. They lived here.We should honor them. They did not waste a thing. We have to notice the river. The land is everybody’s, not just ours.”

“I want to acknowledge that the Deschutes River gives us water and many other resources. There are Indigenous people in Warm Springs tribes that occupied this land before us so we need to keep it clean to honor them. We need to keep it clean for future generations and animals too. And this is why restoration is important.”

A special thank you to the Gray Family Foundation for funding this project.

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