2014 Summary
The Back to the Earth (BTTE) project engages middle school students from two plateau Tribes from
the areas known as Eastern Washington (the Spokane Tribe of Indians) and Northern
Idaho (the Coeur d’Alene Tribe of Idaho). In its second year of three, the
project creates and implements an integrated STEM experience embedded with
tribal history, culture, and values for the students.
Preparation for Camp
Before
the camps, a great deal of time and energy was spent developing curriculum and
activities for the summer camps, building relationships, and recruiting
campers. During spring 2014, monthly two-hour community meetings were held with
the STOI and CdA communities (CdA meetings started in fall 2013) for the
purpose of curriculum development. In addition, project team members also had more informal meetings, at least monthly, with
Tribal educators to develop camp lesson plans once the
community identified daily camp goals, activity themes and student learning
objectives. As the project team
and community groups worked together some very deep lessons were learned about
tribal-university partnerships.
The CdA Family First Night was
held in February 2014. The activities focused on canoes and other traditional watercrafts.
It was a wonderful learning opportunity and great fun for everyone, with some
even walking away from the event very wet! Students in the Spokane Community
(grades 3-5) participated in the classroom BTTE recruitment activity – a Fish Smoker
Engineering Challenge - culminating with a “Family STEM night” that was
attended by over 130 parents, students and siblings.
Week 1: STOI Camp
In
the four days of camp, STOI campers did everything from participating in
talking circles to a scavenger hunt, learning about and exploring food webs, and
visualizing how they can help their community and the earth, 10 years from now.
Tribal members, elders, and scientists shared historical, cultural, and
scientific content, as well as leading rich experiences for the campers. On
the last day, there was a feast of salmon, fry bread
made with camas, rice, and huckleberries for dessert. Although the Spokane
BTTE summer camp endured some rainy weather, it did not hinder youth
from having fun and learning about native foods and their preparation, as well as how they interact in the
ecosystem.
Week 2: CdA Camp
In the four days of camp, CdA campers experienced
cultural practices (prayer, smudging, using the four directions), learning
about the history of the Lake, conducting water quality tests, and
collaborating on stream restoration projects. Throughout the week
campers learned about the Tribal significance of
cutthroat trout and followed the trout along a journey through Lake Creek.
Campers were asked to consider how water quality could impact the trout
and learned about the ways the Tribe is working to improve the water quality and
habitat for the trout. Campers reflected on ways
they could become stewards of the land and water in their community. They
applied what they had learned to engineer their own restoration design on a
model size section of a creek. On the last day, campers created stakes and placed
them in the ground to represent their commitments to the earth and their
community.
Week 3: Combined Camp
The three days of combined
camp started with a splash – a river-rafting trip! Throughout the experience, campers learned about the
Tribes’ connections to the river, and their shared history. Campers stayed in
tents at the camp, told stories and enacted skits by the fire, and made
s’mores. Campers learned more about food webs and build model restoration
streams. In groups, they brainstormed a land-use scenario and were challenged
to think about the values and needs of multiple stakeholders (i.e., the
environment, Tribal values, farmers, community members). A scavenger hunt and
closing meal capped off the time together on the third day.
Campers’ Reflections
Twelve
representative campers were interviewed a few weeks after camp about their
experiences at the BTTE camps. They shared stories about camp, what they
learned, how their camp experiences affected their level of connection to their
community, and what they might like to do at camp next summer. It seems they
remembered the active, fun, and silly times the most! These campers clearly felt
much more connected with their communities. They learned about their historical
language, water, environmental history, and environmental restoration.
Camper Survey Results
Campers completed surveys
before and after camp with common items intended to measure physical, mental,
spiritual, and emotional changes, as well as intentions and future plans. The
after-camp survey included inquiries about camp experiences and the impact of
camp experiences. Forty-eight campers were matched on the survey, pre and post.
Nearly all campers agreed that:
- They understood more about how land use has affected
water and fish
- They cared more about protecting this place
- They felt safe at camp
- They loved exploring new places
- Camp inspired them to do more to protect and take
care of the earth (more STOI then CdA campers agreed with this)
Campers’ favorite activities
were recreational – rafting, swimming, playing with friends, canoeing and
boating. Significant pre/post gains were made for the following statements or
areas:
- I feel connected to this place
- I can collect information on the quality of water
- I can make a good model for restoring things in
nature
- Studying how to restore land and water in the future
- Studying how to make models/engineering in the future
Compared
with the CdA campers, campers from the STOI community showed greater gains in
self-ratings of understanding why water quality is important and in the
importance of learning about the history of their communities.
Community Reflections and Recommendations
Community
recommendations after camp were forward-looking. Logistical recommendations
included having two combined weeks of camp (instead of three weeks) and having
a daily facilitator at the camps. Ideas for STEM/cultural activities included
greater language use, more journaling, more focus on oral traditions of the
tribes, and perhaps incorporating teepee making. Social/ community-level
recommendations included setting stronger expectations and boundaries at camp, smaller
camper groups, more emphasis on prayer, and more inclusion of families.
Final Reflection
The preparations for
camp, carried out through rich community partnerships, were essentially
supported by the groundwork of Year 1 BTTE. The camp recruitment events were
wildly successful, delivering fun, engaging and participatory activities that integrated
community, culture, and STEM. During the camps themselves a myriad of community
members, Tribal elders, Department of Natural Resource experts, school
teachers, student mentors, and project team members joined their hearts and
talents to create these experiences for the campers. Campers experienced being
part of the earth: connecting with the rain, sun, land and water; relating to
wind, water, fire, and earth; connecting to mother earth, father sky, and the
next seven generations; understanding restoration and stewardship; and making a
heartfelt commitment to the earth. Campers came to understand the culture and
history of their communities more deeply; they learned from adults and tribal
elders, they listened to stories of the history of their Tribes. Participating
as members of their communities, campers practiced prayers, blessings,
gratitude, smudging, and made stakes embodying the four directions. Campers
learned about traditional medicines. Spiritually, campers learned and used
their heart-sense, meditated, envisioned how their ancestors lived, and
envisioned their community’s healthy future – connected to a healthy earth.
Campers joined in ceremonies like the stake ceremony, and camp celebrations.
Camp mentors developed as leaders and role models for their groups, they built
trust with each other, communicated and listened to each other, and worked
together as a group.
Campers grew and developed in many
ways while at camp. Physically, they explored new places; used their senses and
knowledge of the earth to locate things as a team; discovered the clay used for
making pottery; went rafting, swimming, hiking, and boating (some campers
overcame their fears in doing these things); and of course, played outdoors,
had fun, and experienced joyful times with their friends. Campers learned more
about STEM and about culture: learning about local and native plants, fish,
water bugs, leaves, food, micro-organisms; land use effect on water and fish,
the food chain, fish shocking, pollutants in the water like heavy metals, water
quality (using scientific methods); environmental science in stream modeling,
engineering stream restoration; problem-solving: creating land management
solutions for multiple stakeholders; and history of tribal people and
traditional practices. Overall, many committed groups of people gave much of
themselves to build trust and understandings, and to work towards the benefit
of all touched by the BTTE camps.