Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

What I’m learning: Indigenous Land Lessons

Nov 06, 2024

In hindsight, I probably could have guessed that I would need a week off during parent-teacher conferences, which happened last week. Lesson learned! Additionally, you may have noticed that some of my publications times have become more inconsistent as the new school year started. Moving forward, my plan is to publish 2-3 essays a month on Wednesday afternoons. Thanks for understanding.

November

As early as 1916, the state of New York celebrated “American Indian Day” after advocacy to acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous nations.
As part of the bicentennial in 1976, President Ford declared “Native American Awareness Week.”
In 1986, Congress began requesting that the president declare one week in the autumn as “Native American Indian Heritage Week”.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint resolution declaring November to be “National American Indian Heritage Month.”1

Last spring, I attended a training titled, “Tend, Gather, Grow,” a plant-based curriculum that blends learning about native plants and Indigenous cultural traditions. I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of what there is to learn, and this year I’ve been focusing on cedar trees, both for myself and in my classroom. Near the beginning of the school year, I asked our district’s Native Education Coordinator, a Suquamish tribal member, to teach a lesson to my history classes about the Indigenous relationship with the land. Among other things, she taught about cedar. Here’s an overview from Tend, Gather, Grow: Tree Communities -

“In Northwest Native traditions, cedar is associated with kindness and generosity. Salish names for Western red cedar include “Long Life Giver,” “Tree of Life,” and “Grandmother.” All parts of cedar are highly valued by Northwest Coastal Native Peoples, including the wood, bark, roots, branches, and leaves. Cedar provides many gifts to people from birth to death. The inner bark is prized for its durability, flexibility, and water resistance. Soft fibers have been used for diapers, clothing, mats, napkins, and towels. Native weavers create ornate baskets and hats from narrow strands of cedar bark. Branches and long roots are traditionally made into rope, fish traps, binding material, and baskets. Trunks are made into grand longhouses, swift and rot-resistant canoes, and art including welcome poles. Protocols (customs or cultural guidelines) for when and where to harvest, as well as how to honor cedar trees, are still practiced.” 2

In practicing generosity as part of the lesson, she offered each student a roller ball of cedar oil as reminders of kindness and generosity. Since then, we’ve been using the oil bottle as our talking piece during class meetings to anchor ourselves in the lessons of cedar.. It’s been a remarkable reminder for myself and my students to be kind and generous with our words while sharing in the circle.

The following is a story, told by Roger Fernandes, about the kind guidance of Grandmother Cedar:

As I’ve leaned into this concept, it has reminded me of the nurse logs that I’ve been fascinated with since visiting the Hoh Rainforest (in Olympic National Park) a few years ago. Nurse logs are fallen trees that act as nurseries for the new growth that could have a more difficult time growing on the mossy forest floor. These logs provide essential nutrients for the new growth to thrive and provide a number of needed resources for a variety of forest animals. I continue to be in awe when I think about the ways these plants grow right on top of the nurse logs. When I first learned about this, I was struck by the generational resilience and interdependency that it demonstrates. Now that I’m learning more about cedar, I can see the kindness and generosity as well.

Among other things, we have much to learn from Indigenous cultures about tending to and caring for the land.

If you would like to honor Native American heritage, the following are some ideas:

Learn about the ancestral land you inhabit. You can type in an address, zip code or area on this Native Land Map to learn about local indigenous territories .
Visit your local tribal cultural center or museum. If you can’t go in person, visit their website to learn more.
Learn from Indigenous leaders. I personally love to read books by Indigenous authors. One of my current favorites is Kaitlin B. Curtice, who is currently publishing a series of picture books (I love picture books!) about each season. The winter and summer books are available now, and the spring book is available for preorder.

Help us learn more: Which Indigenous leaders do you recommend following or learning about? What are additional ways to celebrate and honor Native American Heritage Month (and perhaps what stereotypes and/or tropes do we need to make sure we challenge or avoid)?