Native Pathways Program: Ways of the River

Taught By:

In Native Pathways Program: Ways of the River, students will study the nature of watersheds and how they have shaped human societies and how humans have reshaped watersheds. We will explore the interplay between the geographic and ecological elements of rivers with metaphorical and symbolic representations. Rivers and water have always been central for Tribal communities and have played a vital role in Indigenous understandings of “place.” Historian Nick Estes states, “The Oceti Sakowin [Lakota] and the Indigenous nations with which has shared territory…are as much defined by Mni Sose [the Missouri River] as they are by their own political, cultural, and social relationships to its life-giving waters.” We will examine how Tribes have developed extensive relationships with waterways across millennia and how they articulate these complex ties. Beyond their immediate physical and social ecosystems, rivers are also arteries of exchange. Humans have navigated waterways for travel and trade for thousands of years Through place-based experiential learning, historical records, storytelling. Rivers connect people and allow them to develop new connections across vast geographical expanses. This program is rooted in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest and will examine how these waterways have been essential for creating global networks.

Indigenous and Tribal communities have also stewarded watersheds for millennia. As Dina Gilio-Whitaker notes, “The very thing that distinguishes Indigenous peoples from settler societies is their unbroken connection to ancestral lands.” These close connections have not only generated extensive ecological knowledge but also foster a place-based responsibility and reciprocity to ensure the well-being of the human and natural worlds. Tribal communities’ relationships with rivers and waterways are especially relevant today, promoting environmental advocacy fighting for clean water, habitat restoration, climate change preparations, even legal personhood for bodies of water. Throughout the quarter, students will contemplate and reflect on their personal connections with water through place-based experiential learning, historical records, and storytelling.

Students are expected to attend classes with their site faculty during the week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9:30pm and attend/participate in the NPP “House of Welcome” Longhouse Gatherings for three weekends a quarter. NPP offers a 12-credit core studies option and an option for 16 credits that includes the core studies and an additional 4 credits for either a capstone project or other program-related work.

Freshman and Sophomore students will participate in the Yellow Cedar section of the program for 12 credits only and will cover exploratory and introductory material.

Junior and Senior students will participate in the Red Cedar section of the program for 12 or 16 credits and cover more advanced material.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 – Native American and Indigenous Studies: Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Exploratory to Advanced

4 – Environmental Humanities: Pacific Northwest Geography, Exploratory to Intermediate

4 – Creative Writing: Indigenous Literature and Storytelling, Exploratory to Advanced