SL.6.1

The Role of Harvest Days

HSS 6.2.9, HE Grade 4: Practicing Health-Enhancing Behaviors, HE Grade 5: Decision Making, SL.6.1, SL.6.5

This lesson examines the modern efforts of Native communities to restore food sovereignty and traditional ecological practices. Students will analyze case studies of partnerships with local agencies and learn how these initiatives address environmental challenges and cultural revitalization. By designing an advocacy campaign, students will actively engage with the concept of food sovereignty and reflect on its role in creating sustainable, culturally rich communities. This lesson explores the seasonal Harvest Days celebrated by California Native communities, focusing on their cultural and ecological significance. Students will learn about traditional foods, their harvesting methods, and the ways these practices strengthen community ties. By creating a poster for a specific Harvest Day celebration, students will connect traditional food practices to the broader concepts of food sovereignty and environmental stewardship.

Artwork by Jackie Fawn © Save California Salmon

Activism: Land Back

SL.6.1, SL.7.1, SL.8.1, W.6.2, W.7.2, W.8.2, W.8.4, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.7, HSS 8.8, HSS 8.8.2, HSS 8.8.5

The relationship between Indigenous peoples and land in the U.S. is deeply rooted in cultural, ceremonial, and historical connections, which have often been disrupted by colonization, forced assimilation, and land dispossession. Concepts such as Tribal sovereignty, land stewardship, and land back movements emphasize Indigenous peoples’ inherent right to govern themselves, care for ancestral lands, and reclaim access to natural resources. These efforts are grounded in values of cultural revitalization, environmental conservation, and self-determination, often in contrast to policies like land acquisition through unratified treaties, residential schools, and the use of public lands for military, resource extraction, or restricted conservation purposes.

Nae-rew Martin, Maggie Peters, and Pakuni Martin © Maggie Peters

Understanding the Complexities of Native Identity

RI.6.1, RI.7.6, RL.8.4, SL.6.1, W.7.9, ELA Grade 6 : Craft and Structure, HSS 8.1

This lesson invites middle school students, who developmentally are focused on self discovery and identity, to reflect on stereotypes and simplistic ideas about who Native people are. Using powerful video content from Redbud Resource Group, the lesson helps students explore how Native identity is shaped by history, culture, family, and government policy. Students will examine how colonization, forced assimilation, and the invention of systems like blood quantum have made it harder for some Native people to access their traditions or even be recognized by their own communities. Guided by thoughtfully designed slides, students hear from tribal enrolled and not enrolled Native people testify to their personal identities, engage in youth poetry analysis, and reflect on personal identity mapping activity.

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