Tribes and U.S. Territories Service-Learning Programs

Source: John Guffey, August 2008.

The safeguarding of traditional values by Indian Tribes and U.S. Territories peoples, the cultivation of those values in ways which address the needs and build upon the assets of the community, and the transmission of values between generations are the over-arching themes of service-learning programs funded by Learn and Serve America within this sector. From under this educational canopy, myriad projects have emerged in an ever-growing display of diversity, creativity, and determination among Tribes and Territories across the country using service-learning to engage learners in what matters most in their communities.

"Service-learning is a teaching and learning method that upholds a commitment to appreciating the assets of and serving the needs of a community partner while enhancing student learning and academic practice through intentional reflection and responsible civic action." — Service-Learning Companion, Dawn Duncan and Joan Kopperud, 2008

Standards for quality practice

The Service-Learning K-12 Standards for Quality Practice, released in March of 2008 at the National Service Learning Conference, are provided here in summary form as a generic reference for all service-learning programs. (See http://nylc.org/sites/nylc.org/files/standards.jpg for details.)

The Standard for Quality Practice are:

• Meaningful service
• Link to curriculum
• Reflection
• Diversity
• Youth voice
• Partnership
• Progress monitoring
• Duration and intensity

These standards and indicators were vetted through a series of "reactor panels" convened nationwide by the National Youth Leadership Council and RMC Research Corporation. The panels were composed of young people, teachers, school and district administrators, community members, staff from community-based organizations, policy-makers, and others interested in service-learning.

While indicative of service-learning programs within the general school setting, the national standards lack context and connection with indigenous people. The four traits of service-learning from Dawn Duncan and Joan Kopperud's Service-Learning Companion, in combination with values drawn from Joseph Marshall's, The Lakota Way, form a stronger, more supportive link with the people and programs of Indian Tribes and US Territories.

This framework emphasizes community relationships, personal growth and storytelling as key standards of service-learning:

• commitment to community partnership
  cantognake – love: place and hold in one's heart
  icicupi – sacrifice: to give of oneself, an offering
• learning and academic practice
  wowacintanka – perseverance
  wayuonihan – honor: integrity, honesty, upright character
  woohitike – bravery: having or showing courage
  cantewasake – fortitude: strength of heart and mind
• intentional and reflective thinking
  wowicake – truth: that which is real, the way the world is
  woksape – wisdom: to understand what is right and true, to use knowledge wisely
• practice of civic responsibility and reciprocity
  unsiiciyapi – humility: to be humble, modest, unpretentious
  wawoohola – respect: to be considerate, to hold in high esteem
  waunsilapi – compassion: to care, to sympathize/empathize
  canteyuke – generosity: to give, to share, to have a heart

Learning in relation:

• Native ways of learning are recognized as being rooted in the context of community.
• Traditional values are still strong and can form the basis for significant educational content and practice.
• Native knowledge of the natural world is based on relationships and mutual respect, or interdependence.
• The world of nature and culture is holistic and one part is not more important than another. All parts interact and cannot be reduced to individual elements.
• Service-learning, like traditional values, finds its basis in direct, interpersonal relationships and the development of community in the context of place or environment.

Model programs and project examples

1. Safeguarding traditional values: These types of programs seek to engage students with learning that involves the active preservation of traditional values which are too often marginalized or left out entirely of many educational curricula. Examples include programs focused on:
   • Environment and ecology
     

     Briggs Recycling – Cherokee Nation. Included the students putting on a play, The Wartville Wizard, to raise community awareness of environmental issues.
     www.thepeoplespaths.net/Cherokee/News2004/May2004/CNO040523Briggs-ServiceLearning.html

     Whittier Elementary Junior Master Gardner Program. "The Junior Master Gardener gives kids exposure to nature," said Whittier second-grade teacher Melissa Brown, who sponsors the program. Students turned a school courtyard into an outdoor classroom, including constructing a butterfly habitat, in order to study different plant types, climates, and interactions with animal life.
     muskogeephoenixonline.com/blogs/MollyDay/2008/03/vermicompost-with-junior-master.html

     Oneida Nation Kids for Composting. A project which included rejuvenating neglected gardening space, the program increased composting, gardening and community involvement at the Oneida Elementary School.

   • Health

     Chief Leschi Schools Safe Futures Initiative. The Safe Futures Community Schools program partners with several local community organizations to encourage and improve sobriety, community service, mental and physical health, family education, and individual worth.

     Turtle Mountain Community College Diabetes SAFE Project. Students at Turtle Mountain Community College are engaged in service-learning relating to the problem of diabetes on the reservation, including fundraising activities to help diabetics who were en directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.
     www.mesacc.edu/other/engagement/2006Conf/Papers/Johnson.pdf

     Fond du Lac Ojibwe School's Walk the Talk in Our Moc's Project. Students developed and carried out a variety of programs including students initiated peer conflict mediation in grades 6-12, mentored elementary students, promoted positive after-school activities for their peers, and helped run a wellness conference where student-selected presenters spoke on alcohol abuse, dating, teen pregnancy, identity and gangs.
     evergreen.loyola.edu/rcrews/www/sl/archives/jul97/0038.html

2. Cultivation of values: The goal of these programs is to bring students into learning experiences that nourish and nurture traditional values within the context of an active involvement with the community. Examples include programs focused on:
   • Community infrastructure
     

     Hannahville Indian Community's Service-Learning Programs. Seeks to provide accurate information about the Hannahville Indian Community; provide accurate non-stereotype information about the Woodland Indians of Upper Michigan; keep abreast of changing technology that will allow the library to better serve the Hannahville Indian Community and other Native American and non-Native American Communities; and provide training to key personnel in digital and telecommunications technology.
     http://www.uptrails.org/about-hannahville-service-learning-for-middle-level-students.html

     Oglala Lakota College Mentoring Project. Wolakolkiciyapi (Living Lakota Ways of Life in Community) builds on the strong desire of students to help their communities address pressing needs among the diverse Native American community in Rapid City and across the 4,500 square mile Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. College students provide mentoring for K-12 students in reservation schools, engage with early childhood programs, and address identified needs including environmental protection, institution building, and human services.
     http://www.servicelearning.org/program/oglala-lakota-college

     NWIC Civic Engagement Courses. Northwest Indian College offer a variety of service-learning courses engaging students with the a community-oriented curricula.
     www.nwic.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=243

     Tohono O'Odham Community College Occupational Apprenticeship Program. TOCC offers apprenticeships in carpentry, electrical, facilities maintenance, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), painting, and plumbing. TOCC President Olivia Vanegas-Funcheon said, "Our apprentices and their instructors are highly committed individuals who contribute to the community in numerous ways. For example, many on-the-job training assignments involve service projects that help people in need. The apprenticeship faculty do an excellent job of preparing their students for a life of learning and service."
     www.tocc.cc.az.us/PDF/TOCC%20Apprenticeship%20Program%20PR%203%202007%20FINAL.pdf

     Taos Pueblo Day School Home Gardens Project. Tierra Lucero's Home Gardens Project (HGP) provided individuals and families in need with the means to grow fresh organic produce in their own backyards — even in the harsh climate, rock-hard soils, and short growing season of Northern New Mexico.
     http://taoscountrydayschool.com/

   • Cultural education

     Various Youth Educational and Recreational Interactions Hosted By Cherokee Heritage Center. An educational partnership between the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee Heritage Center helps area middle school students learn about art, history, and community service.
     www.thepeoplespaths.net/Cherokee/News2005/Mar2005/CNO-CHC050318Learning.html

     Fort McDermitt Paiute/Shoshone Cultural Preservation Projects. Historically, a large percentage of McDermitt, Nevada, has been at or below the poverty level (92 percent in the Native American segment alone). The project involves both students and community members in service activities such as community mapping, conducting community events, identifying potential companies interested in relocating to a rural location, and producing community videos.

3. Transmission of values: Focusing on imparting traditional values to students, these programs emphasize the vital relationships between elders and the next generation.
   • Intergenerational Interaction
     

     Whouy Sze Kiunalth. Through the Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium Learn and Serve Programs, students in Chistochina and Mentasta, Alaska, are exploring ways they can promote healthy choices that will protect and preserve their land for future generations. Elders spent time teaching students traditional Alaska Native values about caring for the land during special community events, in the classroom, and at our summer culture camps.
     www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/Athabascan/Whouy_Sze_Kuinalth/LearnServe.html

     Elder Home Building. Combining class work with community service at Leech Lake Tribal College in northern Minnesota, where carpentry students are building houses for their elders.
     minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/23/leechlakehomebuilding/

Five stages of service-learning:

1. Investigation. Young people research their community problems of interest.
2. Planning. Young people, often working with community partners, plan the ways in which they will meet the community need.
3. Action. All participants implement their plans by engaging in the activities that will meet the community needs.
4. Reflection. At each stage, participants engage in some form of activity that allows them to think about the community need, their actions, their impacts, what worked and did not work, the ways in which their work contributes to the common good, and/or similar types of analytic thinking.
5. Demonstration/Celebration. Participants demonstrate what has been accomplished and follow it with a celebration of the learning.

   Shelley Billig, RMC Research, 2008

Recommended resources

For more information, resources, and training

ACKCO
www.ackco.com
1-602-253-9211
1326 North Central Avenue, Suite 208
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Learn and Serve America (LSA)
www.learnandserve.gov
1-202-606-6879
1201 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20525

Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC)
www.servicelearning.org
1-866-245-SERV (7378)
4 Carbonero Way
Scotts Valley, CA 95066
nslc@etr.org

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
www.samhsa.gov
1 Choke Cherry Road
Rockville, MD 20857

© 2008 Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.
Photocopying for nonprofit educational purposes is permitted.