New Opportunities for Sharing Indigenous Knowledge with Tribal Youth

Passing on the traditional values of environmental stewardship and reciprocity with the land has played a role in Indigenous cultures for time immemorial. Though the spirit of traditional learning remains the same, in today’s society, the way information is shared and passed down to the next generation has changed. For example, at the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Ute Online Dictionary and language and culture classes at the Kwiyagat Community Academy provide new opportunities for sharing Indigenous knowledge with Tribal youth.

By working together with Kwiyagat Community Academy and the Tribal Environmental Programs Department in Towaoc, Colorado, we hope to broaden experiential learning opportunities available to Ute Mountain Ute students and young adults. Tree planting events held in the Mancos Canyon provide an opportunity for Tribal youth to learn from their elders about culturally important plants, such as cottonwood, willow, and sumac, that depend on disappearing riparian ecosystems. Through these events, students have an opportunity to care for the environment, which in turn cares for them by providing them with resources for traditional and cultural use. Here, they learn the values of both environmental stewardship and the spirit of reciprocity. Additionally, Environmental Programs interns and Student Navigators participating in these events learn crucial leadership skills while gaining early career experience.

TWP and the Kwiyagat Community Academy plan to cultivate Indigenous plants landscaping around the school grounds in 2023, as well as a classroom curriculum that supports learning about the environment, language, and cultural teachings. The landscaping will allow students to identify culturally important plants, their uses, and their Ute names, while the classroom curriculum will incorporate these teachings into Colorado state learning standards. An Indigenous vegetable garden will provide additional outdoor learning opportunities and inter-Tribal cultural exchange.

Our partnership with the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (ALCC) has allowed us to expand early-career opportunities for Tribal youth as well. The ALCC’s Individual Placement Program supports Native American young adults in internship opportunities, such as those at the Cochiti Pueblo’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Ute Mountain Ute Environmental Programs Department. Interns gain access to career development opportunities offered by Conservation Legacy and the ALCC, while working directly with the Tribal governments in natural resources management. To date, ALCC interns have been involved in traditional harvest planning, threatened and endangered species conservation, habitat restoration, native seed collection, and public speaking in support of Indigenous sovereignty and traditional values.