Sacred Visions Project

Native Practice—
Education for Care of the Earth

Coordinated by Dr. Arthur Scott of Dominican University, Jeanette Anglin of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok), and Colleen Hicks of the Native American Museum of Marin, this project draws leaders of local native American communities to educate public school teachers and public policy advocates in native practices around the earth and to collaborate on wider implications for environmental justice and policy.  Leaders of California Kashaya-Pomo and Coast Miwok tribes, including personnel from the Native American Museum of Marin, will design a curriculum and lead a summer colloquium for public school teachers on native traditions and advocacy around the environment.  Preparatory research will include participant-observation by researchers and select teachers in celebrations and practices of these native communities, and personal interviews with native leaders and educators.   At the colloquium, native  American educators will introduce the curriculum and make presentations, and educators will reflect on teaching strategies for introducing and developing the material.   Focus groups of participating educators and native leaders will be held during and after the event to reflect on ways that  “native voices” most effectively enter public discourse and education on the environment.   The main emphasis, then, will be on education-action research about this intersection.