4th Annual Indigenous Education Symposium

Our session is rooted in the research of Dr. Gholdy Muhammad's five pursuits in her equity framework for schools: identity, skills, intellectualism, criticality and joy. While the work and practice of essential skills such as "introducing a precise, knowledgeable claim" is necessary in these pursuits, they serve more as the result of rather than the focus of the equitable classroom.

Many Indigenous educators grow professionally through relationships rather than formal professional development systems. Mentorship from aunties, elders, colleagues, and community members often teaches ways of observing, responding, and caring for others that shape how we approach leadership and learning.

This interactive session begins with a personal story from the facilitator’s upbringing on the Navajo Nation, reflecting on early lessons learned from aunties and elders about observation, responsibility, and relational accountability. These experiences introduce the idea that Indigenous mentorship is a form of professional learning that continues to influence how educators design learning environments today.

Participants will engage in guided reflection to identify the mentors and community members who shaped their own approaches to teaching and leadership. Through collaborative discussion and simple mapping activities, participants will explore how Indigenous values such as relational accountability, observation, and collective responsibility can inform classroom design and professional practice.

Aligned with the principles of Indigenous Genius by Design, this session centers community knowledge, teacher expertise, and relational learning. Participants will leave with practical ideas for incorporating Indigenous mentorship and values into their teaching and professional growth.

Our session will be with Cecelia (Acoma) and Shayai Lucero (Acoma/Laguna), Native American Mother and Daughter from New Mexico. Cecelia and Shayai will share their deep knowledge of plant medicine, curanderismo, wellness and regulation strategies so educators and administrators can integrate and nurture themselves on their paths beyond the symposium.

Presentation Objectives include:
* Contemplate ways to integrate wellness into Science curriculum
* Learn about and consider incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives within the classroom
       * We will be working with various plant medicines from making herbal bags, teas, poultices, etc.
* Practice strategies for self-regulation and restoration to mitigate effects of teaching burn-out

What to Bring:

• Wear casual, comfortable clothing
• Water bottle 
• Small bag for personal items, and a notebook/phone for notes

* Wheelchair Accessible

(Photo shown is our graphic description created for a virtual presentation to the Indigenous/Native employees of Cisco.)

Learn about Paloma's experience in NativeLit as a middle school student at NACA and how it has impacted her life. Then will transition to how Paloma and her partner Agalisiga now center Indigenous-centered literacy in their roles as parents, educators, Cherokee language learners, and creators (books and music). Audience members can also ask questions. May be especially beneficial to schools, specifically immersion schools, or other indigenous-centered schools who are beginning their NativeLit programs.

Discover how to treat natural landscapes as living texts in "Our Landscapes: Our Stories." This engaging session features unique insights from a Santa Clara Pueblo tribal member working with the National Park Service alongside an experienced classroom teacher. You will learn practical strategies to connect your students to storytelling, cultural identity, and intergenerational wisdom. Join us to explore the rich cultural landscapes of our National Parks and learn how to meaningfully integrate local Indigenous knowledge and geographic history into your Native Literature and Indigenous Science curricula.

In this session, participants will consider how science can provide an opportunity for meaningful ways to incorporate service opportunities for students to directly inform and impact their community. Participants will look at a variety of practices to make learning visible that offer students genuine and authentic opportunities to demonstrate their learning. Participants will ground themselves in a service mindset and consider how science classes can better support stewardship of the Land.

In this session, participants will learn about the story of the Indigenous Science Initiative, from early days in 2023 to the launch of the open-access curriculum. There will be an opportunity to hear the story of the project as well as to explore the resources and start thinking about how to adapt or localize the resources in diverse contexts.

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Please find session materials in the Google Drive Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-uafT0Qvvlhyx7T8VxxhVCwsuJvGrbDF?usp=sharing

In this hands-on session, participants will explore storytelling as a way to understand identity, culture, and what it means to be American. Through interviews, stories, poetry, and photography, participants step into the role of the student, experiencing how personal and cultural narratives reveal diverse perspectives. Together, we will honor and respect that each person’s definition of “American” is unique, and leave with practical strategies to bring land-based, identity-centered storytelling into any classroom.