By Corvo Rohwer, Puyallup Tribal News
A simple conversation between a Waller Road student, Jesse, and Curriculum Developer & School Liaison Patricia Conway has led to real change at Waller Road Elementary School.
He asked Conway and his principal, John Huson, why his Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock, wasn’t represented alongside the Puyallup Tribal materials, and expressed interest in learning more widely about Tribal cultures.
Following that conversation, Multilingual Education Paraeducator Michael Frederickson and Huson got to work on remedying Jesse’s concern.
“We have the most Native students of any elementary school in the district, so it’s very important for us that those students feel represented here at school,” Frederickson said.
While celebrating Family Cultural Night on May 29, Waller Road Elementary unveiled a new Indigenous American Nations map for permanent display in the school. The map is displayed in the hallway adjacent to other Native education materials for all students to view and use, and was chosen by Frederickson to bolster the school’s representation of its Tribal students.
“In most classrooms we have maps of the United States and globes, and they’re not representative of Native culture, the Indigenous culture,” Frederickson said. “We want that included, and we want it to be permanent. It’s not just something to put up during the month where we celebrate Indigenous people.”
Waller Road Elementary is one of 22 elementary schools in the Puyallup School District, which recently signed a curriculum memorandum of understanding with the Puyallup Tribe with the goal of engaging in meaningful implementation and consultation on education about Tribal culture and history. This Tribal map shows further dedication toward achieving the MOU’s goal and ensuring all Native students at Waller Road Elementary feel seen.
“One thing that came up at our last committee meeting is how do we go beyond what we’re doing now to reach more kids and help them feel represented, and that we’re learning about their Tribe too?” Huson said. “When they see something like this that is related to their culture, they light up. They can say, ‘Hey, that’s me. That’s my family, that’s where I’m from and who I’m related to.’”
Overt and informational displays like the Tribal map show how schools can take the first steps toward achieving their goals of providing stronger Native education by discovering student interests. Conway said in-person consultations between Native educators and students is vital, and gives young people both the opportunity and necessary support to make their voices heard.
“That level of consultation brings forward justice to Native students. Otherwise, maybe (Jesse) wouldn’t have said anything,” Conway said. “Knowing they’re supported by a Tribe, that’s really major.”
The map was designed by Diné (Navajo) mapmaker Peter Klumpenhower, and notably features soft borders to show areas in the 1500s were often shared by multiple Tribes without strict territorial lines. Detailing a wide range of North American land, the map lists more than 400 Indigenous nations including Puyallup and Jesse’s Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock.
“Most of the maps that I had seen in the past were like National Geographic, and they definitely did not seem at all like there was a Native resource or somebody Native involved in the production of the maps,” Frederickson said. “So, I was really pleased to see that this was developed by somebody from the Navajo Tribe.”
While the map is quite detailed, Klumpenhower noted despite the care that was taken to represent as many Nations as possible, some are surely missing due to lack of sources or inconclusive consensus.
As for how Jesse felt, seeing the map installed at his school was a moment of joy.
“When he came up to the map, he was just so pleasantly surprised to see his representation there,” Frederickson said. “I want kids to see themselves in our building.”
Conway said for the educational materials to be elevated into something truly meaningful, they need to extend beyond simply existing on the campus. She said she hopes Waller Road is able to include the map in its curriculum plans for the upcoming school year.
“The bare minimum is establishing a connection to place,” Conway said. “It’s important to make sure that there’s the accountability around how are we going to continue to honor student voices and choice.”
Rather than simply leaving the map up as a piece on the wall, Conway encouraged educators to find ways to build connections between their curriculum and the visual displays, which will hopefully, in turn, lead to higher levels of engagement.
Principal Huson’s vision for the upcoming school year aligns with this goal, and he said he is aiming to ensure Waller Road educators and families are able to find those connections.
“The plan is to help families feel welcomed and create that sense of belonging for families,” Huson said. “It’s important that when we’re doing STI (Since Time Immemorial), we’re learning about a lot of different Tribes, and I think it could be used with our STI curriculum to identify some of the Tribes and where they are located.”
Frederickson added he’s hoping it’s just the beginning when it comes to ways for students to learn and feel included.
“I definitely see it as a starting point and something that we can use to help kickstart kids and creating that sense of learning and belonging at our school,” Frederickson said.
If you’re interested in seeing the map for yourself in more detail, you can visit Klumpenhower’s website at indigamerica.blogspot.com, which includes the digital version of the map along with a full list of citations used in its creation.
