Confluence Library

This field guide was created as part of Confluence’s education programs connecting students with the history, culture, and ecology at the Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, WA. It is designed to guide you though what you see, hear, and feel there, and prompt thinking about changes in the landscape.

Read here on how to weclome a Native educator in your classroom for a residency or field trip

“During the winter, I listened to my father telling me Native legends to put me to sleep. He told the legends over and over again. I was covered up with many quilts made by long hands by Mom, Aunty, and Grandma. There would be the crackling of the fire in the wood stove while the winter wind blew outside. I was safe and secure”…Read this article by Ed Edmo on Storytelling.

Indigenous knowledge production happens in various locations and through many methods. Indigenous scholars around the world are prioritizing the teachings of our ancestors and decentering Western frameworks. We are Rachel Cushman, an enrolled citizen of the Chinook Indian Nation, and Dr. Chance White Eyes, an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. We both work within the academy, actively disrupting Western frameworks and colonial structures.

Over the next seven weeks until the week of Thanksgiving, Confluence will be sharing resources centered around the 6 Critical Orientations for Indigenous Studies Curriculum. This post summarizes all the resources from our Intro Week.

This document provides information on virtually welcoming an Indigenous Educator/Artist into the classroom and preparing a class for their visit.

Confluence in the Classroom put together a four pager on key concepts and understandings to do with CIC Native Educators, Oregon State tribal history requirements, and Washington State tribal history requirements. Read and download it here.

To understand more about Confluence in the Classroom, read this educational review by Suzy Watts here.

This is a list of off-site resources that can be helpful for teachers.

Brigette McConville is a cultural educator from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring. She runs Salmon King Fisheries with her husband, Sean McConville.