Cultural & Social Studies
The Since Time Immemorial tribal sovereignty learning uses three approaches:
An inquiry based approach with five essential questions:
How does physical geography affect the distribution, culture, and economic life of local tribes?
What is the legal status of tribes who "negotiated" or who did not "negotiate" settlement for compensation for the loss of their sovereign homelands?
What were the political, economic, and cultural forces consequential to the treaties that led to the movement of tribes from long-established homelands to reservations?
What are ways in which Tribes respond to the threats and outside pressure to extinguish their cultures and independence?
What do local Tribes do to meet the challenges of reservation life; and as sovereign nations, what do local Tribes do to meet the economic and cultural needs of their Tribal communities?
A place-based approach. Our approach encourages teachers and students to address the essential questions in the context of tribes in their own communities.
An integrated approach. Teachers choose how much time to spend on tribal sovereignty content to complete their units throughout the year. The integrated approach provides three levels of learning for each of the OSPI-recommended social studies units, each level building on the last. Tribal sovereignty lessons are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts. Where appropriate, units build toward successful completion of Content Based Assessments (CBA).
This work has been created in partnership with private and public agencies and the Federally Recognized Tribes in Washington State. We express our gratitude to all the contributors to this effort. Without their support and expertise, this resource would not be possible. Please be aware that any adaptations should be considered carefully so as not to impact this thoughtfully crafted content design or introduce any unintended cultural bias. (source: www.k12.wa.us)
Curriculums
Have Questions?
Reach out to any of our Cultural Specialists at 360-965-3100 to ask specific questions about supporting student cultural work.
Chelsea Craig
Lisa Sofie
Kamiakin Craig