Building Worldviews Using Traditional Cultures and GIS
The focus of the Place Names Project (PNP) is to build cross-cultural relationships between traditional Bitterroot Salish and Pend d’Oreille world views and science using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and traditional cultures. This will be done by establishing relationships with Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal entities and using their input to identify appropriate and accurate information necessary to develop a culturally responsive curriculum entitled The Place Names Project. Each module will be designed using place-based and inquiry teaching strategies and will align with the Essential Understandings regarding Montana Indians and the Montana State Science Standards. The curriculum generated from PNP will engage students in learning how culture affects one’s view of ecology through personal and familial connections with their surroundings and deliver a better understanding of the relationships which exists between the Salish and Pend d’Oreille people and equivalent lands.
