This is a brief overview of the collaboration, the timeline of activities, and participation and project requirements.

Storytelling is an important part of traditional Native American culture. It is important to remember that some stories can only be told in the Winter out of respect for the names that can only be told when the snow is on the ground. Please use the references shared on this page in accordance with the respectful practice of Winter only storytelling. As always, it is best to have the guidance of an experienced elder and / or storyteller when planning best use in the classroom. This unit blended the use of traditional knowledge with textbook based science concepts to show the interconnection between them. Many traditional stories give an explanation of plant and animal adaptations that have a scientific benefit for the organism.

This text set focuses on the Anishinaabe names for the Wenabozho Ominisan. Wenabozho is an important Anishinaabe figure, a trickster. Ominisan is the Anishinaabe word for islands. Wenabozho Ominisan (the islands of Wenabozho) is the Anishinaabe way to refer to what is also known as the Apostle Islands archipelago.

As a high school science educator at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe school,  indigenous culture and teachings are incorporated into my instruction as much as possible. This text set was incorporated in my Astronomy class tying in Ojibwe Moons and seasonal constellations with northern Wisconsin phenology. A discussion of text set implementation is also included in this OER.Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School is a Bureau of Indian Education/Tribally controlled school catering to students who are themselves tribally enrolled or descendants of a tribal member.

This culturally-relevant text set offer different perspectives for students to see as well aswonderful conversation starters. Students learn of different careers within the IndigenousWorld. Some of those careers being: Traditional Seed Keepers, Gardeners, KnowledgeKeepers, Storytellers, and More!Dig your bare feet into the soil and feel those connections to your ancestors, the land, theplants, animals, and all things. We are all connected. Let’s work together and connect our pastto the present, for the future... of learning!

The Bayfield High School Ojibwe Language Course focuses on teaching traditional Ojibwe lifeways while using the Ancestral language. Students will learn how the Ojibwe people historically depended on natural resources for their survival. One activity that occurs in the spring is the investigation of Plant Phenology. The students will further their investigation by looking into reasons why the Phenology of certain plants vary. The students will focus on the impact of climate change and how it poses many risks to phenological events in the plants used by the Great lakes Ojibwe. Students will list various plants, research, and record the phenological events of the plants. Students will compare their observations with the previous year to determine if the plants are impacted by Climate change.  Local tribal elders and harvesters provide traditional stories and observations to gain a historical information on plant phenology. Through this activity, Bayfield students learn about how climate change can alter the phenology of some plant species and might impact traditional harvesting.

This unit will use a variety of resources to give students a guide to understanding Treaty Rights and the importance of Treaty Rights to Indigenous peoples. It is important for all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to understand Treaty Rights, how they were established, and how they apply today.

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School has an annual sugarbush within a few miles of the school.  During the Spring sugarbush season, students are bussed to the site, by class, to do the variety of daily tasks required to successfully produce maple syrup.  The LCO middle school students follow the Ojibwe traditions.  They hear the traditional stories, learn words and phrases in the Ojibwemowin language, tap trees, collect and boil sap, chop wood and build fires. The students learn about tree identification, photosynthesis, and aging trees using cross sections.  They also learn about the importance and uses of Maple trees.  The students learn that the environmental conditions needed to make maple syrup are only found in a very small part of the world that includes Wisconsin.  The combination of hands-on exploration and culturally - relevant texts personalize the learning experience for this region.   

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe school is a Bureau of Indian Education/Tribally controlled school catering to students who are themselves tribally enrolled or a descendant of a tribal member. Our school has a close working relationship with the Lac Courte Oreilles College Extension program, including access to the college farm. In an effort to encourage students to learn where their food comes from, make more informed decisions about what they eat and how what they eat impacts the environment, students are introduced to indigenous teachings regarding companion planting of food crops. Though the growing part of this project is long term, students learn about the process of seed development, understand the length of time it takes for a plant to mature and ultimately provide food sources. An additional benefit to this project is that it provides students with a sense of nurturing as they help their plants thrive. 

Through the use of culturally-relevant texts in a 3rd and 4th social studiens unit on Menominee history, students took a deep dive into learning about the significance of the Lake Sturgeon. Traditional stories as well as nonfiction pieces from and about the Menominee people, students experienced the interconnectedness of the people and their environment.An summary of student learning experiences as well as a bibliography of texts are included as part of this OER.

Established in the mid-nineteenth century, Native American Boarding schools were created as an attempt to eliminate traditional Native American ways of life and replace them with mainstream American culture. Often forcibly removed from their families, communities, and stripped of their cultural practices, Native American children experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of those in control of boarding school operations, resulting in intergenerational trauma. These sources bring users into contact with documents that help give them a sense of what life was like for students who attended Native American boarding schools. These sources also give users an understanding of the national perspective of how Native Americans and their culture were targeted.

This unit will use a variety of resources to show issues related to Indigenous lands, explain some of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas history and discuss how the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas is going about reclaiming tribal traditional lands, and how Indigenous people have a traditional, cultural, and spiritual connection with the lands that they reside on.This unit will use a podcast, youtube video, news articles, and traditional storytelling in hopes the students will be able to see the importance of gaining knowledge. After this unit they will learn about the Power of Indigenous Knowledge!