Introducing students from the Duck Valley Reservation to the NCA
Birds of Prey NCA Partnership (BOPP) partnered with BLM, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, and the Owyhee Combined School to introduce students from the Duck Valley Reservation to the NCA.
BOPP coordinated a field trip to Dedication Point and Celebration Park, where students, tribal elders, and BLM and BOPP staff discussed the wildlife and landscape features that make the NCA unique. During the field trip, tribal elders and students had the opportunity to discuss native perspectives on concepts like conservation and sustainability.
BOPP also provided art supplies to an after school project at the Owyhee Combined School, Braves After Hours, where students created videos, paintings, and hand-made drums inspired by their visit to the NCA and their interactions with tribal elders.
Project Abstract
This project offers Tribal youth an opportunity to learn from their elders and create a tribally-derived interpretive product. Native Americans would describe and portray, in their own words and products, what National Conservation Lands mean to them.
Often times, non-Natives interpret the American Indian perspective without fully engaging the Native American community for their philosophy or beliefs regarding “wilderness, conservation, sustainability, and preservation.” This tribal interpretation will provide a platform for American Indian youth, informed by their elders, to convey what they have learned about their own traditions and teachings as it relates to the natural resources and the land. It will provide an outstanding teaching environment that will result in unique interpretive products which will be multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-faceted.
