CORVALLIS, Ore. — Shortly after the inaugural workshop on incorporating Indigenous studies into Oregon outdoor education, a Portland-area educator approached the presenters with a question.
“The curriculum was presented as if nobody lived in Oregon prior to white people. She asked, ‘What would it look like if we blew up the curriculum and started over?’"
Her school district hosted an annual fourth grade overnight trip along the Oregon Trail, but the curriculum focused solely on the white settler experience.
“The curriculum was presented as if nobody lived in Oregon prior to white people,” said Spirit Brooks, research, evaluation and assessment coordinator with Oregon State University Extension Outdoor School.
“She asked, ‘What would it look like if we blew up the curriculum and started over?’” Brooks recalled. She and co-presenter Leilani Sabzalian (Alutiiq), an assistant professor of Indigenous Studies in Education at the University of Oregon, offered suggestions.
The educator formed an advisory group and, over two years, the team stripped down and rebuilt the curriculum to reflect the shared history of the land before the arrival of Lewis and Clark and white settlement.
“They brought in members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and other stakeholders, including educators well-versed in ethnic studies, school board members committed to the work, and an equity, diversity and inclusion consultant familiar with outdoor education,” Brooks said. “They refocused the whole program so it was more land-based, described Indigenous peoples who lived on the land prior to white settlement, and acknowledged that Indigenous peoples live here today. It is now a much more culturally responsive program.”
From workshops to an online course
The success of that and other workshops led Brooks and Sabzalian to co-create a new online course, Critical Orientations: Indigenous Studies and Outdoor Education. Offered through OSU’s Professional and Continuing Education unit, the course now enrolls 193 students and supports outdoor educators in integrating Indigenous studies concepts into curriculum and programming.
While Oregon outdoor school programs serve primarily fifth and sixth grade students, the course’s content applies broadly to outdoor and experiential education. It is open-access, on-demand and self-paced.
The curriculum addresses common assumptions and misinformation about Indigenous people and cultures, particularly in outdoor education. Desired outcomes for educators include:
- Learning to critically analyze how Indigenous peoples and knowledge are included and represented, and the consequences of bias, misrepresentation and appropriation.
- Reflecting on how Indigenous studies concepts can complicate and enrich the work of outdoor educators.
- Discovering alternative curricular frameworks and using self-evaluation tools to adapt content for different contexts.
A framework for rethinking outdoor education
Topics include land acknowledgement, colonization, Native American representation in outdoor education, sovereignty and self-determination, and land-based education. The course is built on the “6 P’s” framework, developed by Sabzalian, to guide educators:
- Place – Recognize that you are always on Indigenous lands, with accompanying responsibilities and actions.
- Presence – Challenge the myth that Indigenous people have disappeared; they still live in Oregon.
- Perspective – Learn from Indigenous peoples and their relationships to the land.
- Political nationhood – Understand that Native nations, including Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, are sovereign and have a political relationship with the state.
- Power – Challenge power dynamics, recognize Indigenous creativity and agency, and avoid framing Native people as solely victims.
- Partnerships – Build and sustain meaningful partnerships with Indigenous organizations and nations.
Centering Indigenous voices
Brooks, a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, attended a meeting of the Oregon Indian Education Association on her second day with Extension Outdoor School, alongside Kristopher Elliott, OSU Extension assistant director who leads statewide Outdoor School.
“We heard that Native Americans had never been invited to talk about outdoor school curriculum or the experiences their kids had,” Brooks said.
From there, Brooks and Sabzalian developed professional development sessions that evolved into full-day workshops. The online course now makes the content accessible to a broader audience.
“We hope that by reflecting on the six P’s and how Indigenous studies concepts enrich their practice, outdoor educators can rethink curriculum that doesn’t misrepresent or misappropriate Native American culture,” Brooks said. “Overall, it helps move the needle toward a more equitable and culturally responsive outdoor school — and education in general.”
Previously titled New resource infuses Indigenous studies concepts into outdoor education
