Teaching and Learning with Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in the Tall Grass Plains

Kathleen J. Martin, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
James J. Garrett, Fort Berthold Community College

Article comments

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Journal of Native Studies.

Abstract

This article presents the work of American Indian and Indigenous college students in the United States on a native and heritage plant restoration project at a tribal college. It supports an interdisciplinary approach to studying the natural sciences, and situates the acquisition of knowledge within Dakota oral tradition. Students learned about the grass plains environment and Dakota environmental ethics, sovereignty and values from Traditional Indigenous and Ecological Knowledge (TIKlTEK). The "plant tribes" helped their human caretakers learn important qualities of care and respect. Also included is an educational model based on the project and recommendations for the use of narrative in teaching, bridging interdisciplinary studies, and creating learning environments and developing partnerships.