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Smoke Signals
JULY 1, 2019
Education Summit explores new Tribal curriculum
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Approximately 200 educators
from two different states filled the
meeting rooms at Spirit Mountain
Casino for the third annual Grand
Ronde Education Summit held on
Monday and Tuesday, June 24-25.
Teachers from all grade levels
came to learn more about the
Grand Ronde Tribe, how to cre-
ate meaningful Native American
curriculum and how to teach new
standards required by Oregon’s
Senate Bill 13.
Acting Education Department
Manager Bryan Langley welcomed
attendees to the event along with
Tribal Council member Steve Bobb
Sr.
Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier,
Tribal youth Nokoa Mercier and
Cultural Education Coordinator
Jordan Mercier opened the summit
with a drum song.
The summit has continued to in-
crease in popularity among educa-
tors, increasing from 90 attendees
the first year to 200 in the third
year.
The primary focus the first morn-
ing of the summit was Senate Bill
13, which required the Oregon De-
partment of Education to develop
curriculum relating to the Native
American experience in Oregon.
This includes Tribal history, sov-
ereignty, culture, treaty rights,
government, socioeconomic expe-
riences and current events.
Curriculum was developed during
the past year by a committee and
will be implemented in school dis-
tricts for required teaching in the
2019-20 school year to students in
the fourth, eighth and 10th grades.
The committee included 18 rep-
resentatives from Oregon’s nine
federally recognized Tribes, led by
Portland-based Education North-
west Consultants, a nonprofit or-
ganization that worked with the
Department of Education to support
implementation of Senate Bill 13.
Education Northwest Practice
Expert Mandy Smoker-Broaddus
and Shoreline Consulting Event
Facilitator Shadiin Garcia updat-
ed educators about the Essential
Understandings of Oregon Native
Americans curriculum.
“These Essential Understandings
are a collection of heart, expertise
and knowledge,” Garcia said.
Grand Ronde Tribal member and
State Indian Education Advisor
April Campbell interacted with
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Tribal member April Campbell, Indian Education Advisor for the Oregon Department of Education, talks with Oregon
State University Extension Services 4-H’s Janet Negele and Jim Pepper Native Arts Council Executive Director Sean
Aaron Cruz during the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Education Summit held at Spirit Mountain Casino on
Monday, June 24.
attendees who discussed their un-
derstanding of topics such as sover-
eignty, time immemorial, lifeways,
history, Tribal government, identi-
ty, language, treaties and genocide.
Smoker-Broaddus said educators
at the conference were the first ones
to interact with the curriculum.
“I’m very excited about this,” she
said. “You are the first group out-
side of the Nations to have this in
your hands.”
After the morning session con-
cluded, educators attended break-
out sessions with Grand Ronde
Curriculum Specialist and Aca-
demic Adviser Mercedes Jones or
Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw
Indians Tribal Culture Director
Jesse Beers, or took a guided tour
of Chachalu Museum & Cultural
Center.
Jones focused on the history of the
Tribe and development of Grand
Ronde Tribal curriculum in local
schools.
“Our kindergarten through 12th-
grade population in Oregon has
become more and more diverse,”
she said. “That means we need to be
mindful about the methods we use
and what we are teaching. We have
to give kids things to identify with.”
One of the projects Tribal educa-
tors completed with Senate Bill 13
funding was to create several chil-
dren’s books that tell traditional
Grand Ronde Tribal stories that
teachers can use in their class-
rooms. The books are free and can
be obtained by contacting the Tribal
Education Department.
Tuesday morning sessions includ-
ed a presentation on sovereignty
from Grand Ronde Tribal Attorney
Jennifer Biesack, Native plant
nurseries with Jordan Mercier and
Native Plant Nursery Supervisor
Jeremy Ojua, connecting with Na-
tive families by Family Services Co-
ordinator Audra Sherwood, federal
Indian policy, and Cow Creek and
Umatilla Tribal history.
“The greatest success in chil-
dren’s lives is getting the parents
on board,” Sherwood said. “No mat-
ter what has happened, that kiddo
is seeking their parents’ approval.”
Sherwood often works with fam-
ilies who have students on special
educational plans at school.
“No matter where that family has
been, we need to remember that
they have value,” she said. “Try to
put yourself in the position of what
in your own culture has changed
the course of your life. … The kids
watch you and are looking for gen-
uine connections.”
Attendees take part in an exercise during the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde Education Summit held at Spirit Mountain Casino.
Curriculum Specialist/Academic Adviser Mercedes Jones leads a workshop
“Grand Ronde Curriculum: Ditching the Single Story!” during the
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Education Summit held at Spirit
Mountain Casino on Monday, June 24.