HSS 8.8.2

“Light Up the Darkness, Yurok Territory” © Louisa McCovey

Yurok Land and the California State Parks

RI.6.7, WHST.6-8.7, HSS 8.8.2, WL.CM1.N: Interpretive Communication

This middle school unit offers teachers a meaningful and engaging opportunity to bring California’s Indigenous history and contemporary partnerships into the classroom through the lens of the Yurok Tribe’s work with California State Parks. Through four thoughtfully designed lessons, students will explore the ancestral and present-day relationship between the Yurok people and the lands now known as Sue-Meg State Park and the Chah-pekw O’ Ket’-toh Visitor Center in Humboldt County. The unit highlights themes of land stewardship, cultural preservation, Yurok language integration, and historical reexamination, and introduces students to the significance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in caring for the land.

“Mortar holes Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park.” Wikimedia Commons. 9/3/11.

California Indian Geographies: Reading Maps and Mapping Space

HSS 8.8.2, L.9-10.4

This lesson introduces students to the important concepts of Indigenous geographies and mapping in California. The lesson covers the historical and political context of mapping and uncovers its relationship to U.S. invasion and ongoing occupation of California Indian homelands. The lesson covers 4 key terms and analyzes 3 significant California Indian places in order to demonstrate mapping to students beyond a one dimensional understanding of what maps are. The lesson includes videos and a creative in-class activity where students will get the chance to draw their own map of California.

Photo © Frank Tuttle

Feathers - A Primary Material

RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.7, HSS 8.8.2, Connecting—Anchor Standard 11, 7.VA:RE8, 8.VA:RE7.1

This lesson invites students to explore the deep and enduring connection between humans and feathers, focusing on their cultural and artistic significance in Native California. Feathers have long held a central place in Native life, symbolizing both celebration and spiritual balance within a once-thriving ecosystem teeming with birds. Students will discover how feathers served not only as striking artistic materials but also as powerful expressions of identity, ceremony, and ancestral tradition. Through thoughtful observation, note-taking, and discussion, learners will examine the observable qualities of feathers, understand how and why specific feathers were chosen, and explore how feathers were combined with other natural materials to create meaningful cultural objects. With beautiful images, a traditional story, and interactive reflection, this lesson offers a window into the sophisticated ways Native California tribes honored and utilized this cherished natural resource. Teachers will find this opportunity to connect students with Indigenous knowledge, environmental awareness, and the power of cultural expression.

TEK Estuaries Save California Salmon 2022 © Jackie Fawn

California Tule

W.6.8, SL.8.1, HSS 8.8, HSS 8.8.2, HSS 8.8.5, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5

This lesson explores the significance of the tule plant in both cultural and contemporary contexts. Tule is an important plant in California, known by various names depending on the land and people associated with it. In the Central Valley, the most common species are Schoenoplectus acutus (Common Tule) and Schoenoplectus californicus (California Bulrush). The name "tule" is derived from the Spanish settlers who adopted the Nahuatl term "tōllin," used by Indigenous people in Mexico City, to refer to the plant they encountered in California. Tule grows in wetland environments such as ponds, lakes, marshes, and along shorelines of rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas. Historically, tule thrived across California, particularly in freshwater habitats. However, due to colonization, much of its habitat has been reduced by water diversions, drought, and development. As a result, tule is now primarily found in protected areas like state and federal parks, although California Indians face restrictions on gathering it in these locations. Before European settlement, tule was central to the culture and economy of California Indian tribes. It was used in a variety of ways, including for ceremonial purposes, transportation, hunting, and food preparation. Tule’s versatility allowed it to be woven into baskets, mats, clothing, and shelters. Many tribes, such as the Kumeyaay, crafted tule boats for hunting whales, while others used tule decoys for waterfowl hunting or wore tule skirts during ceremonies. The traditional harvesting and use of tule were guided by Indigenous practices, and multiple tribes often shared wetlands, managing them through tribal laws. Despite the challenges faced by tule due to colonization, it continues to be an essential plant in the cultural practices of California Indians, with its legacy preserved through modern generations.

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.

“American Dream Machine” (C) 2016 Harry Fonseca Collection, Autry Museum; 2016.10.1

Imagining the Native American Native California Artists Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu)

HSS 5.8, HSS 5.8.6, HSS 8.8, HSS 8.8.2, Connecting—Anchor Standard 11, 1.VA:RE7.1, 5.VA:RE7.1, 6.VA:RE7.1, 8.VA:RE7.1, PROF.VA:RE7.1

In this lesson, students will explore the life and artwork of Harry Fonseca, a celebrated Native California artist of Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, and Portuguese ancestry and a citizen of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. Fonseca used his art to express identity, honor Native traditions, and respond to historical events like the California Gold Rush. Through vibrant paintings, symbolic imagery, and recurring figures like the trickster Coyote, Fonseca’s work invites students to think deeply about storytelling, cultural resilience, and how art can be both personal and political.