- About -

The PlaceNames Project was initiated with funding from the Montana Office of Public Instruction (Indian Education for All, Ready to Go Grant, Round Two).

Flathead PlaceNames Project

Envisioned as a bi-cultural curriculum development project using a place-based pedagogical framework, The University of Montana School of Education, Hellgate Elementary, Missoula, Montana, and the Salish ~ Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee committed to a year long curriculum development process with a primary focus on the cultivation of authentic relationships between tribal and non-tribal educational entities.  

The geo-cultural curriculum developed from these efforts is entitled Building Worldviews Using Traditional Cultures and Google Earth. Students explore their “sense of place” and come to know the seasonal round that frame a Salish and Pend d’Oreille worldview.

Fort Peck PlaceNames Project

In this place-based geo-cultural project, The University of Montana, The Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board, and The Fort Peck Community College completed a bi-cultural curriculum for high school students.

Using Google Earth and Giga Pans, students explore the traditional and current lands and culture of the Assinniboine and Sioux; examine the critical role that land-friendly bison play in tribal life and prairie ecosystems; and consider current conservation efforts to sustain Echinacea plant communities. Finally, students examine their own worldviews and identify action they can take to contribute to an ecologically sustainable future for the people, flora, and fauna of the Fort Peck Reservation

These curricula are available on the PlaceNames website and are also being distributed by:

 

 


Our hope is to expand this bi-cultural curriculum development process in future years to cultivate and sustain vital and meaningful relationships with all of Montana's tribes.
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