Introduction

[ciencias1]

Hi everyone,
I am a non-Native high school science teacher and work in a city-wide program for Indigenous students.  Many students in the program are Ojibwe or Dakota, but there are also members of other Indigenous groups from across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala.  I am doing my best to make the curriculum and instruction culturally responsive for my students.  I have three questions:

1  Our district encourages integration of some spiritual practices in the classroom and I am curious about how people in this forum would feel about a non-Native doing these things.  It feels like it could be cultural appropriation to me. 

-Starting class by smudging, teaching students to smudge who have not been exposed to this practice at home
Is it most appropriate to have students lead this?  Should I be participating in this? Is this actually part of all North American Native cultures?  Or would this not be appropriate for students from some Nations?

-Making tobacco offerings when taking students on a sacred sites tour
Again, should this be student-led?  Should I participate?  Is this actually part of all North American Native cultures?  I have heard some cultures offer cornmeal, but if we are visiting Dakota sacred sites, should they follow Dakota custom and offer tobacco? 

-Teaching students the Seven Grandfather Teachings
Where did these come from?  I am not sure these are even traditional to Ojibwe culture since the district said they had them translated.  Are they originally Dakota?  I feel uncomfortable teaching this as a pan-Indian thing if it is actually culturally specific. 

2.  I am also struggling with the content of the classes.  I want the students to explore both Western and Native science, but don't want to introduce content (especially sacred or seasonal content) that it is not appropriate for me to talk about.  I can be a learner alongside my students, but not a cultural mentor.  I am wondering about sharing information from books like Plants Have So Much To Teach Us .  https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Have-Much-Give-All/dp/0816696764
That book includes many stories related to the plants that are part of the Anishinaabe science of those plants, and some include spiritual content.  I am wondering if I should only use the text to present the information, not include this type of information at all, or try to find someone from the community to share similar information with students?  I don't have any illusion that I understand enough to teach that content myself (only an elder with that firsthand cultural knowledge could do that), but I think it is important that students know it is out there so they can seek out those elders in their communities and continue passing that knowledge to future generations.     

3.  Due to family experiences with boarding schools and ongoing genocide, many Native students don't know their own spiritual traditions, and some of them end up getting information from plastic shaman websites, or taking on practices from a different Native culture (eg. a Navajo or Pipil student taking on Lakota spiritual practices and beliefs).  How can I help educate students about plastic shamans and that they prey on Native people as well, not just white new agers?  Are there any videos or articles targeted to Native youth on this topic?

I have learned a lot from reading posts here and am very grateful for any advice or resources you can share. 

[WINative]

Greetings,

I am glad your asking and not just doing, I feel it's most appropriate to seek out elders, spiritual leaders, and cultural teachers from the community your in. If the majority of your students are Ojibwe or Dakota seek out those people, you might not get someone from each students tribal background, but it makes a huge difference your making the effort. Indigenous students need to be taught their culture from legitimate Indigenous people and sometimes it doesn't matter if their all different tribes, since those leaders know how to bring them together.  If you state your location, I'm sure some of us can even suggest specific people there. Good Luck!

[ciencias1]

Hi WINative,
Thanks for your reply.  I am in the Twin Cities, MN.  It makes sense that the students need to get their knowledge from culturally-appropriate sources. It will take time to build relationships in the community, and I don't want to burn any bridges right away by attempting to teach things that aren't mine to teach. 

I want to make sure the students learn from people who are legitimately seen as elders in their communities.  I was at a language workshop this summer that I thought was legit and then found out that one of the presenters was a person of distant Indian ancestry and viewed in the community as misrepresenting the language and cultural practices.  This person volunteers at schools, and families have had to go through the painful process of correcting the misinformation provided to their children.  That made me realize I need to be very careful because the people who offer to come and teach are not necessarily the best people to teach.  I would be grateful for any suggestions you have. 

[Defend the Sacred]

Have your students bring in their own Elders to speak to the class. As a non-Native you should not be teaching these things or leading any ceremonies or "rituals". Smudging is not universal to all Nations and non-Natives should not be doing it. The only universal practice is praying, and not everyone does it in the same way. Don't rely on any books you choose yourself. Only use books written by Native scholars that the community they speak for vouches for. Have community leaders that the in-person community vouches for come in and speak to the students.

[WINative]

I would suggest Mitch Walking Elk from the Twin Cities area, I say run his name past your community members or parents to make sure it's ok, and you can find him on Facebook.

[ciencias1]

Hi Defend the Sacred,

Thanks for your post.  It feels right to me to step back and refrain from participating in or leading practices that are not my own.  It is interesting because our district is actively encouraging non-Native teachers to carry out these practices.  Teachers are expected to participate in smudging and making tobacco offerings as part of the teacher PD and are given smudge kits to take back to the classroom.  We were repeatedly assured by trainers from our students' communities that this is not cultural appropriation, and that participating shows respect for student cultures, but it did not feel right to me.  Our school even has an all-school smudge the first week of classes out on the football field, and that is viewed by most people as a great opportunity for cross-cultural sharing, but now I'm not so sure.  I can't imagine that these practices have not brought objections from community members in the past. My guess is that these types of practices continue because the district hires predominantly non-Native teachers and they think at least this way students will be given a space for these practices and not accuse the school of suppressing their practices.  I will go with my gut and what I know is correct and hope people don't misinterpret my opting out as meaning I don't value students' cultures and spiritual practices. 

You make a good point about the books.  I only selected books from our district's Indian Ed library, searched for critical reviews online and used the American Indian Children's Literature blog, but you are right that I don't know how the authors are viewed by my students' families or other local community members besides the Indian Ed staff.   It is hard because a lot of traditional ecological knowledge is part of the oral tradition and not meant to be learned from books, so from that perspective I shouldn't use them at all.  But then I am afraid the students would get few opportunities to see their own cultures' sciences reflected in the curriculum.   I don't yet have many personal connections in the community, and even people who are willing to come in can rarely stay for 5 hours to work with all the classes.  This is my first year in this program (I have always worked in programs for immigrant and refugee students in the past, but I asked to join this program because my colleagues refused to teach the Native kids and I wanted to work with them). 

I know it would be much better if the students had a teacher from their own community, and I will continue to advocate for that, but for now they have me.  Last year, over half the students in the program failed science, and I was asked to develop a more culturally responsive curriculum to try to increase engagement.  I had to write and submit it last year to be allowed to teach it, before I even got to work with the students, so I know it will change as I get to know the kids and families better.  Over time, I hope that family and community members will feel safe and welcome to come share their knowledge in our classes, but I know that won't come overnight.  So I am trying to figure out how to help students explore the science traditions in their own cultures, meet professional scientists from their communities, as well as learn how both Native and Western sciences can be used to understand and address problems facing communities (eg. food sovereignty, ecosystem management, energy generation and pollution, etc.).  I think I am trying to go too fast and I need to slow down and let the students and their families guide the content of the course based on what they want and need, rather than what I or the district think they need.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and helping me reflect. 

[ciencias1]

Hi WINative,
Thanks for the suggestion.  I will follow up on it with the students and their families.  I appreciate your help!

[chachonee]

You have many Native American elders living in the Twin Cities area and one that might help you is my cuwi(Aunt) Betty Greencrow. She is listed in the St. Paul, Mn., area. She is a elder and well educated.