Education Resources

School Curriculum Ideas/ Youth and Adult Resources
Focus on Natives of the Bay Area with some California and General Information Resources as well.

(You can also explore: Thanksgiving Educational Resources if interested)

Curriculum (Grades K-12)

Ohlone Curriculum by Beverly R. Ortiz, Ph.D. (endorsed by Association of Ramaytush Ohlone with Bay Miwok Content); including an Environmental Study through Ohlone Worldview (Grade 6): “Living with the Land” with a field session at Crissy Marsh in SF (2015)

Redbud Resource Group Education:

Native Curricula by Native People including:
“Acorns all Around Us; Experiencing Our World” : 7 Lessons including slideshows and activities (Grades K-2)

“Native Perspectives: Everyday Lessons: Help your students build relationships with the place they live”: 6 Lessons including slideshows, songs, worksheets, videos, activities, and a final project (Grades 3-8)

“Healthy Ecosystems Feed Healthy Communities”
Section 1: 8 lessons about Biodiversity in California’s Oak Woodlands
Section 2: 7 Lessons about Native Foods and Nutrition
(Grades 6-9)

“Ethnic Studies Support; From Erasure to Visibility”; Explore Native existence, resistance, and plans for the future. 7 Lessons including slideshows, reading materials, and a final project. (Grades 6-12)

“Weaving the Future, Confronting the Past: California’s Complex Origins and Native-Settler Relations: an Introduction to the California Indian Genocide” (Grades 8-12)

Prof. Dev. Video for Teachers: (90 min.) Native Geography and Ecology: "Native Perspectives, Every Day Lessons. Teachers explore ways to integrate geography from a Native lens into the classroom, and collect suggestions for age-appropriate texts and resources for incorporating Native voices into multiple subjects." (Grades 4-8)

"Save California Salmon": TEK Curriculum; Fire and Forests, Rivers and Fish; Estuaries and the Delta; Oceans; Climate (Grades 5 -8)

Guide to Creating Land Acknowledgements in the Classroom: by Trelasa Baratta, An explanation of land acknowledgements with examples and steps to take with students to create one that is well-researched, respectful, and meaningful; includes a 20 min. Mini-Webinar.

Celebrating Native Empowerment during Women’s History Month (Mar. 2023)
“5 Ways to Indigenize Your Curriculum”; Tips for integrating Native perspective into your lessons by Trelasa Baratta (Pomo), Curriculum Developer; 1) Start with Native Geography; 2) Create a collaborative land acknowledgement; 3) Have open conversations about the genocide of Amerivan Indians…with conversations on resilience and the ability to survive and rebuild. 4) Create an environment of respect and reciprocity with the 3 R’s; 5) Incorporate the outdoors.” (Sept. 2022)

California Indian Museum and Cultural Center (located in Santa Rosa, not within Ohlone land but a great resource and place to visit to learn about other Indigenous groups in California.)

Curriculum:

The 6 P’s: (slides) Place, Presence, Perspectives, Political Nationhood, Power, Partnerships
Ishi Exhibit Curriculum: “Ishi, a Story of Dignity, Hope, and Courage”; Materials and 6 Videos: slides with historical information, images, discussion and review questions, and vocabulary.
California Information Enrichment Kit with Teachers Guide and 32 slides; Includes lessons on history, photos of cultural artifacts, “Acknowledging California Indian Perspectives and Recognizing Stereotypes and Historical Bias”, songs, games, basket weaving; Recommended books and stories.
Healthy Ecosystems Curriculum: “Healthy eating…starts with conscious land stewardship…For many Native peoples, the abundance and availability of traditional food sources relies on the health of these ecosystems. Biodiversity in California’s oak woodland ecosystem is supported by local Native peoples, and has been since Time immemorial.” Includes: “Methods for supporting a resilient ecosystem; Impacts of over-consumption, industrial development, and natural disasters on ecosystem resiliency; How Indigenous foods support a healthy diet.” Subjects: Environmental Science, Nutrition, Mathematics, English Language Arts Grades: 6-9

Bay Area Tribe Websites
(Look for information about history, culture and current events; articles, pictures, and videos):

Amah Mutsun Ohlone (of parts of Santa Cruz County Gilroy, and Coyote Valley area)
Lisjan Ohlone (of the East Bay): Villages of Lisjan & Sogorea Te Land Trust (of the East Bay)
Muwekma Ohlone (primarily of the East Bay and South Bay area)
Ramaytush Ohlone (of the San Francisco Peninsula)
Tamien Nation (of southern Santa Clara county and parts of Santa Cruz)

Books:

This Land; Race to the Truth by Ashley Fairbanks (Anishinaabe), Illustrated by Bridget George (Anishinaabe); “This land is your land now, but who was here before? This engaging primer about native lands invites kids to trace history and explore their communities…Who lived where you are before you got there? This Land will spark curiosity and encourage readers to explore the history of the places they live and the people who have lived there throughout time and today.” Aug. 2024 (Preschool- Grade 3)

Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Tlingit): “On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth. Salmon from the stream, herring eggs from the ocean, and in the forest, a world of berries.Through the seasons, they sing to the land as the land sings to them. Brimming with joy and gratitude… they forge a deeper kinship with both the earth and the generations that came before, joining in the song that connects us all…and offers an invitation to readers to deepen their own relationship with the earth.” 2022 (Preschool- Grade 3)

Coyote at the Big Time: A California Indian 123 Lyn Risling, 2013; This is a California Indian counting-book with indigenous cultural traditions about animals getting ready to go to a special dance and ceremony that is still celebrated today. 2013 (Preschool to Grade 1 )

Back in the Before time:Tales of the California Indians, retold by Jane Louise Curry; A book of 22 tales from a variety of California tribes told in an engaging style including creation stories and many animals such as coyote, grizzly bear, weasel, mouse, badger, frog, salmon, and gopher. 2001 (Grades 1-6 )

The Ohlone- Spotlight on the American Indians of California by Charlie Mendoza (December 30, 2017) ages 8-12; “Today, the Ohlone still fight for the preservation of their culture and traditions. This book sheds light on the Ohlone way of life prior to the European arrival and the importance of respecting American Indians' rights.” 2017. (Grades 3-6)

Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basketmaker, by Linda Yamane of the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal, illustrated by Dugan Aguilar (Maidu, Paiute); “Follows an eleven-year-old Western Mono Indian, as she and her relatives prepare materials needed for basket weaving”; Recommendation online: “uses photos instead of illustrations… keeps the practice of basket-making feeling current and reinforces that basket-makers are real people living today. I recommend it especially as a tool for teachers who want to impress upon their students that America's first people and their cultures are NOT long-dead remnants of the past.” 1996 (Grades 3-6)

The Way We Lived: California Indian Stories, Songs and Reminiscences, by Malcolm Margolin: “Before contact, California's Native people comprised five hundred independent tribal groups whose cultural and linguistic multiplicity expressed a sense of incalculable human richness. Reflecting that diversity, this collection of personal histories, songs, chants, and stories draws together a range of experiences from throughout the state and across generations to reveal the continuous Native presence in what is now called the Golden State. Speakers share traditional knowledge such as rites of passage, coyote tales, and dream journeys, and in equal measure they address the devastation that arrived with white people and the challenges that exist to this day—as well as the remarkable revitalization of their cultures over the past thirty years in particular. 1993, Reissued 2017 (Sections good for many grade levels and adults)

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, 2019; “Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples’ resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism. Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity.The original academic text…is adapted for middle-grade and young adult readers.” 2019. (Grades 5-12)

Books for adults, research, or perhaps high school students:

There There by Tommy Orange; "There There explores themes of identity, family, and the impact of historical and generational trauma on indigenous peoples in the contemporary urban culture of Oakland through twelve interconnected narratives". Pulitzer Prize Finalist; NY Times 10 Best Books of the Year: “Powerful…There There has so much jangling energy and brings so much news from a distinct corner of American life that it’s a revelation.” 2018

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange; 2024; "This is both a prequel and a sequel to There There and covers about 150 years of the Bear Shield/Red Feather family of Oakland starting with the Sand Creek massacre and continuing with the aftermath of the traumatic events concluding There There. 2024

A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1810; by Randall Milliken. “…describes the independent Native American nations that lived in the Bay Area, their reaction to Spanish influence, and their choices when confronted with the mission system. It studies the circumstances under which tribal members joined missions, and recounts their subsequent experiences." 1995

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament: by Terry Wildman: “The FNV is a dynamic equivalence translation of the New Testament that captures the simplicity, clarity, and beauty of Native storytellers in English, while remaining faithful to the original language of the Bible.” 2021

The Costanoan/Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area: A Research Guide; by Lauren Teixeira. Ballena Press; “Gives extensive details about sources, and how to access them. Teixeira has put her skill as a librarian and her familiarity with the Costanoan community to excellent use.” 1997

The Ohlone: Past and Present, Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Region, 1994; Ed by Lowell Bean, Phd. First book of its kind. From the Ohlone Scholars Conference (1992). “...remedies a long -standing wrong, the neglect of the Indians of the San Francisco Bay Area in the published anthropological literature, and especially the all-too-common statement in that literature to the effect that the Ohlone (or Costanoans) have long been extinct. Here we have the living descendants of the people found here by the Spanish missionaries and explorers in the 1770s telling us how very much present they are in the 1990s.”

The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area: by Malcolm Margolin, “ One of the most ground-breaking and highly-acclaimed titles that Heyday has published, The Ohlone Way describes the culture of the Indian people who inhabited the Bay Area prior to the arrival of Europeans." 1978

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History "Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non‑Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late 20th-century. He argues that...Native nations helped shape England’s crisis of empire; the first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior; California’s Indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War; ... and 20th-century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy. Blackhawk’s retelling of US history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the US and revealing anew the varied meanings of America. " 2023

We Are The Land: A History of Native California; By Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr., 2021, University of California Press.
“...centering the long history of California around the lives and legacies of the Indigenous people who shaped it. Beginning with the ethnogenesis of California Indians, it recounts the centrality of the Native presence from before European colonization through statehood…and in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.“

Open Space Trust: 13 Books that will make you rethink California’s Indigenous history: by Matt Dolcas, Nov. 1, 2021; “Our staff came together to share our favorite books on California’s Indigenous people, worth the read if you’re looking to better understand the true stories of our home state’s first nation.”

Jonathan Cordero's Reading List from the Ramaytush website:
Sovereignty
"Congressional Power and Sovereignty in Indian Affairs" by Michalyn Steele (2018)
"They Were Here First: American Indian Tribes, Race, and the Constitutional Minimum" by Sarah Krakoff (2017)
The White Possessive by Aileen Moreton-Robinson (2015)
Colonialism, Coloniality, and Settler Colonialism
Red Skin, White Masks by Glen Sean Coulthard (2014)
The Transit of Empire by Jodi A. Byrd (2011)
On the Coloniality of Power by Anibal Quijano (2024)

Decolonization (I suggest that these be read in order as listed)
"Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native" by Patrick Wolfe (2006)
"Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor" by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang (2012)
"Colonising White Innocence: Complicity and Critical Encounters" by Alissa Macoun (2016)
Indigenous Resurgence
Peace, Power, Righteousness by Taiaiake Alfred (2009)
As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (2017)
Alternative Visions for the Future
The End of the Cognitive Empire by Boaventura de Sous Santos (2018)
Epistemologies of the South by Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2014)
The Failure of Modern Civilization and the Struggle for a Deep Alternative by Claudia von Werlhof (2011)

Videos:

“The Big Time”: Ohlone video to show current celebration and values of the Ohlone. (Grades 3-5 or older; focus on Ohlone in the present and has kids who share.)

NPS Video: Real California History; “Gregg Castro (Ramaytush Ohlone) explains the history of California that is often not taught: the treatment of Indigenous tribes, and the lasting impacts.” 3.25 min. (Grades 4-12)

Dr. Jonathan Cordero and Greg Castro video presentation “We are OF the land” with Fine Arts Museums of SF; Ohlone Land Acknowledgement series (Aug. 2022; shown at FCCPA at forum on 5-29-22)

Foothill College Archaeology Instructor Mark Hylkema: “Indigenous history in the Bay Area” (70 min video)

History and Heritage: Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area”; Alan Leventhal webinar by Los Altos History Museum

Palo Alto Historical Association Website: Videos including a talk by Alan Leventhal.

San Jose’s Native American Health Center: video Land Acknowledgement

Stanford Professor Michael Wilcox: “Muwekma Ohlone- Landscapes, History and the Narratives of California” (57 min.)

Stanford grad student Ariel Bobbett: Juristac lands (4 min video)
(Available to use for teaching to bring support to the sacred Juristac lands in Santa Clara County.)

Stanford Historical Society: “Searsville before Stanford” by Laura Jones, a Stanford archeologist that teaches about the indigenous peoples as well as Spanish and Mexicans. (4-27-22)

UCC of Minnesota: Roxanne Gould, an Indigenous speaker, and Emily Fries, a UCC pastor, speaking about the “Doctrine of Discovery” which established a spiritual, political, and legal justification for colonization and seizure of land not inhabited by Christians in 1100.(28 min)