11A - Native Earth | Native Sky: Curricula That Interweaves Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Western Science

Abstract: The Native Earth | Native Sky (NENS) project strives to co-create inclusive Science curricula that value both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Our primary goal is to collaboratively build with Oklahoma Native Nations culturally-relevant earth-sky STEM curricula that will increase the understanding of and interest in STEM fields for Indigenous middle school students. We seek to achieve this by interweaving Native stories, language and culture with STEM principles so students may better identify with the concepts. The theory of Two-Eyed Seeing (TES) refers to “learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing, and to using both these eyes together for the benefit of all” (Bartlett et al., 2012, p. 335). TES is a valuable framework for authentically tying cultural stories with science.

The proposed workshop includes an overview of TES and how it can be employed when developing curriculum, a presentation of the NENS lesson Tvshka and Walo, and an introduction to other NENS curriculum pieces. Interactive strategies for the lesson include a collaborative presentation board, discussions, and time to individually explore resources.

During the presentation, participants will hear the traditional Choctaw story Tvshka and Walo and explore the variables that may impact the journey made by two Choctaw boys as they pursue the Sun. Participants will conjecture a possible path the boys may have taken across North America and revise the path as new variables are introduced and explored. Variables will be discussed and investigated including the position of the Sun in the sky throughout the seasons of the year, the amount of daylight available throughout the year, and the age of the boys as they progress on their journey. Artifacts collected during our implementation of the lesson with middle school students will be shared to facilitate discussion.