Pedagogy and Creativity: Land, Water, Fish

This program is designed for students committed to fostering a collaborative learning community and exploring career paths grounded in cultural arts and education, environmental stewardship, Indigenous Science, food sovereignty and social justice, performance, creative research and collaborative work with Indigenous communities and Tribes from western Washington and Alaska Native villages. Students interested in best practices in public and Tribal education, the creative arts, or social work, could research, review, critique, and report on the perspectives of Indigenous scholars in these fields and how those perspectives relate to Indigenous knowledge connected to land, water, and fish. As a learning community, we will prepare to work effectively in institutions that have historically viewed Indigenous peoples and their cultures as deficient and have attempted to force them into the mainstream. Students will research laws and policies to understand why impacts differ across geographic regions in the United States and Canada, from treaty times to the present, and select topics for in-depth creative research.

Using the River of Culture template to identify historical moments and contemporary Indigenous issues, students will apply this information to a creative research project. Creative research may take the form of digital storytelling (film, image, audio), community interviews, a performance project (dance, music, theatre), or a visual art practice. Students will have opportunities to participate in practicum workshops in movement, drawing, media, and Indigenous arts.

As a dynamic learning community, we will pose essential questions to understand how Tribal people integrate Indigenous knowledge, skills, and experience into academic and creative work, language and cultural preservation, and the development of entrepreneurial opportunities for their people and neighbors. Students will explore essential questions regarding contemporary issues that continue to deprive American Indians and Alaskan Natives of land, economic opportunities, treaty rights, natural resources, religious freedom, repatriation, and access to and protection of sacred places. Together, we will delve into the history behind the headlines and track contemporary practices of resistance, resilience, and resurgence.

This program is coordinated with Greener Foundations for first-year students in fall quarter. Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s in-person introductory student success course, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. 

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies (may vary each quarter)

3 - Law and Policy in American Indian History
3 - Environmental Stewardship
3 - Performance and Cultural and Indigenous Arts
3 - Creative Research: [credits dependent on student project]
4 - Indigenous Studies: North America