Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

Designing Curriculum to Honor Tribal Legacies in the Studies of Lewis and Clark: An Epic Journey of Healing

Project ID: J8W07100048

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: University of Oregon

Fiscal Year: 2010

Initial Funding: $48,426

Total Funding: $187,446

Project Type: Education

Project Disciplines: Cultural

National Park: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Principal Investigator: Pavel, Michael

Agreement Technical Representative: Basch, Richard

Abstract: This project is collaboration to initiate curriculum development planning for the Lewis and Clark Tribal Legacy Project. It will create a framework for a curriculum to share through teacher workshops that integrates the legacy of tribes present for thousands of years in the area now known as the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail into the study of Lewis and Clark. It is important that the voices of these tribes are heard in the classroom. The major ideas and concepts of the curriculum will align with Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail interpretive themes, as well as themes determined by a Cultural Education Council to be significant to tribes as they tell their stories about what the Lewis and Clark Expedition meant to them. The project will result in a survey and assessment of existing Lewis and Clark Curriculum from an Indian perspective, creation of the Cultural Educator Council, development of a framework for the Lewis and Clark Curriculum from an Indian perspective, and development of a framework for a model workshop for educators. The project will create educational web content and related educational resources that will assist educators nationwide to integrate Native American culture and history into the study of Lewis and Clark. These resources will serve classroom educators as well as the educational programs of state and national parks, museums, cultural centers and universities. The project will provide a unique opportunity for tribes to promote respect for native cultures and languages, the environment, and a shared future.