Native Plants, Native Knowledge

PORTLAND, Oregon—Including a Native American perspective on both the Lewis and Clark expedition and the use of native plants is an integral part of Judy Lampi's ethnobotany class at Harriet Tubman Middle School.

"I think students should know the first nations' stories," Lampi says. "And I think it's important that each group of people tell their own story."

Whenever possible, Lampi turns to Judy Bluehorse Skelton. A trained herbalist with a broad knowledge of native plants, Skelton leads students on field trips to identify native plants, conducts hands-on classroom activities demonstrating their medicinal and dietary uses, and helps teachers develop culturally appropriate curriculum.

Skelton's expertise is in great demand. She's an Indian education specialist for the Portland Public School system, a member and mentor of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and an assistant in the Clinic Medicinary at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland. But her most important work, she says, is in creating a deeper context and understanding of Native cultures.

"Things that can appear solely utilitarian to an outsider are actually embedded with a great deal of meaning for Native people," she says. "The gathering of plants, for example, is a spiritually significant and ceremonial act. That is the very heart of the culture, and it gets skipped over, I think, because teachers often find it too daunting.

"Too often, non-Indians view certain objects or activities as mere accessories," says Skelton. "Beadwork, headdresses, face paint, Native baskets—these can be very enchanting, just on a surface level. But they are very powerful, and they all have a deep ceremonial meaning for Native people. It's so important that teachers resist the temptation to trivialize Indian culture, which is what happens when you present these things without acknowledging their full meaning and importance.

"I get invited all the time to give presentations about the Native uses for specific plants," says Skelton, "but for me it's much more important to talk about relationships—that plants are part of who we are. I try to highlight those relationships of interdependence that we have with plant and animal life, rather than giving them a kind of recipe or list of plants and uses that has no context. For Indian people, the physical, spiritual, and ceremonial uses of plants are indistinguishable."

This is a message, Skelton says, that kids are ready to hear. "My observation in working with young people, both in the Indian community and non-Indian community, is that our children are hungry for ceremony. When we're out hiking or if we're in the classroom doing an activity on native plants, they love to hear the stories. Children will leap right to those opportunities to create relationships, and that's as important in education as learning to read, or write, or do math. How to form healthy relationships, how to create a good community, how to create a good life for yourself: That's probably more important, in a traditional Native view of education, than anything else."

This kind of learning often requires stepping outside the classroom and into the larger world, says Skelton. "Many students learn better by doing and by using all of their senses. We need to recognize that there are many kinds of knowledge and many ways to contribute to a community. There are hands-on, project-based activities of all kinds that teachers can do throughout the grade levels that can be very transforming. The study of native plants, out in the field, is a good example. When you extend students' learning beyond the classroom in this way, it gives a broader opportunity for all kids to shine."

This is a lesson, Skelton says, that is clearly visible in the Lewis and Clark story. "Many people bring up the story of the vote that the Corps took to decide on a winter camp, which resulted in the building of Fort Clatsop." It is significant that Sacagawea and York were given equal representation, Skelton says, but teachers and historians often miss the real significance of that vote. "There was a transformation that took place in Lewis and Clark from the beginning of the journey to that moment on the coast. The values and codes that they lived by had been altered by their close connection with nature and the fact that they were living in a very close, cooperative community. When you live in this way, different talents come to light, different kinds of skills and knowledge become valued. Native people were already living this way. What that vote shows is how transforming the journey was for the members of the Corps."

For Judi Lampi, Skelton's visit to her classroom made a lasting impression. "I want my students to respect other cultures, and I want them to be respectful of the connections between plants and human life," says Lampi. "Judy came to the classroom and spoke about these things in a way that made these values very concrete. She brewed a medicinal tea using some of the native plants we had been studying, and she offered a prayer. It really brought home the spiritual relationship we have, or should have, with plants. It was a very positive experience."

STORIES FROM THE RIVER AND THE BANK

Sharing her knowledge of native plants and the important role they can play in our lives is only part of Skelton's work at Portland Public Schools. She also provides guidance and culturally appropriate strategies for handling Native American content in the classroom. With the bicentennial in full swing, Skelton is increasingly being asked to give her perspective on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

"American history has almost always been told from a Euro-American point of view," says Skelton, "and the Lewis and Clark story is no different." Even in many recent books and documentaries the expedition is presented as a straightforward tale of adventure, discovery, and triumph, notes Skelton. "You still see a lot of that kind of language—for instance, that Lewis and Clark 'conquered a new land.' That tells me we still have a long way to go."

Of Nez Perce, Cherokee, and Chickasaw descent, Skelton works closely with schools to develop curriculum that is culturally appropriate and informed by a Native perspective. For Native people, she says, the Lewis and Clark story is understandably complicated and emotionally complex. Skelton makes comparisons between the current bicentennial and the Columbus quincentennial of 1992. "That was a very dark time for many Indian people," she says. "It brought a lot of painful history and issues back to the surface. But it was also a very constructive time for those who were able to take a long-term view. A lot of valuable work was done in establishing the importance of a Native point of view and in helping Native people move beyond anger and victimization to a more empowered place. It was an opportunity for healing and for meaningful dialogue."

The bicentennial offers many of the same challenges and opportunities, especially for teachers, says Skelton. "It's a very complex subject, and there's no way you can quickly or easily reframe the whole issue. It's hard to capture within the limits of the classroom and it can be painful history to share with children: the aftermath of the journey, what happened after Lewis and Clark went back home. But it's a story that needs to be shared. And in a good way, a hopeful way."

One of the ways this can be done is by weaving a current Native American perspective or voice into whatever curriculum one is using with the Lewis and Clark story. "I would love to see curriculum that takes this story and develops discussion questions that encourage critical thinking," says Skelton. "Questions like: What do you think happened to the tribes after the Lewis and Clark journey? Why do you think things happened the way they did? What role does trust play in the interaction between two very different cultures? What does it mean to give your word? These kinds of questions can lead to important thinking about real issues that are still very much with us."

Some educators might question whether the classroom is an appropriate forum for discussing such issues. "I think it is," says Skelton. "Even younger students can think very analytically about Native issues. When I'm in the classroom, even at the fourth-grade level [where these subjects are usually introduced in Oregon public schools], students often ask me questions that go way beyond what the teachers are expecting. They're very interested in these issues if they're presented in appropriate ways, and they're very capable of discussing them."

One example Skelton points to as an opportunity for reframing the Lewis and Clark story is a reevaluation of the space-travel metaphor that many historians have used when talking about the journey. "You often hear historians compare the journey to a trip to the moon," she says. "They emphasize how new and strange everything must have been for Lewis and Clark. But you can also turn that view around. Native people had been here all along; it was home to them. From a tribal perspective, especially for those who had never seen white people before, it must have been like Lewis and Clark came from the moon. When you look at it from that viewpoint, you can present some interesting questions. For example, how would contemporary Americans treat two completely foreign explorers today, compared to how the tribes treated Lewis and Clark? Kids can really relate to these kinds of questions."

Skelton is often asked to provide educators and students with a Native American viewpoint. She sees this as both a privilege and a responsibility, but she is also quick to point out that hers is only one voice. "There are 530 federally recognized tribes within the United States," she says, "which means there are many, many different points of view. It's important to let each tribe represent itself whenever possible." She encourages teachers and administrators to check tribal Web sites and to contact tribes directly, noting that most tribes have cultural liaisons that will visit schools or send appropriate materials. "Tap into the Indian community in your area," says Skelton. "You can't go wrong when you let Native people tell their own story."

Insights From Judy Bluehorse Skelton

STORIES FROM THE RIVER AND THE BANK