Sacred Geography & Sacred Land Sites

Published on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

Grades: 9th - 12th Grade

Lesson: 3
Unit: 1: American Indian traditional land values
Subject: Cultural Arts
Achievement Goal: Describe how traditional land values and sense of "place" and location inform
the cultural identity of native peoples.
Time: Multiple class periods

Lesson Description:
This lesson—or, more accurately, series of related lessons—seeks to introduce students to the
relationship between geography and cultural identity

Teacher Background:
This lesson is composed of three parts: the study of location; "sacred geography"; and the integration of
traditional knowledge and the study of geography and mapping to conserve and restore the native land
base.

Through these lesson themes, students will be introduced to how traditional land values and knowledge
inform the cultural identity of native peoples. Secondarily, these lessons will also convey to students
that the study of geography is not merely the memorization of state capitals or the location of countries
on a map. By perpetuating this misconception or doing little to contradict it, educators miss an
opportunity to introduce an engaging and important subject that is highly relevant to the daily lives of
students. For Indian students, the study of geography is particularly important due to the relationship
between cultural identity and land. As stated in a March 26, 2004 article in Indian Country Today,

Arguably, the genius of American Indians and of indigenous peoples generally is their intense
attachment to and study of their places of origin and occupancy - the homelands. Among study areas of
interest, Native land researchers, scholars and activists are finding a compatible, productive and useful
discipline in geography, in the study of their lands with all the new tools available to modern science -
but with the clear intention of generating models that emerge from their own traditional knowledge
branches. Numerous efforts and initiatives activated throughout the Americas reveal that the
Indigenous Geography movement is well under way.

Additionally, this lesson will introduce students to cultural history research skills and the seminar style
of learning in which students lead the discussion of texts and key ideas.
Teacher Preparation Resources:

For a brief overview of the discipline of geography, review the American Association of
Geographer's "What is Geography".
Review Darren Bessett's lesson plan "Introducing the Geographical Theme Location", found at
Resource for Teaching about the Americas (RETANET).
This lesson/project will enable students to explore the significant locations in their own
community and will introduce the students to the inextricable nature of culture and place by
examining the Taos Pueblo and their sacred Blue Lake. If the "Cultural Reporter" Kit is not
available, there is an online resource on conducting oral history at the Smithsonian Center for
Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
To inform the students of the scope of the project and your expectations, create a handout with
information on oral history research, project standards, and a project time line.
To help introduce the concept of sacred geography, review the resources at Sacred Land. You
may want to consider purchasing the "In the Light of Reverence" films produced by the Earth
Island Institute, which also created an extensive teacher's guide and the Sacred Sites Reader

Copyright © Indian Land Tenure Foundation, 2014

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 Sacred Geography & Sacred Land Sites
Published on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

available free online. At a minimum, for this lesson download a PDF copy of Peter Nabokov's
"Sacred Places of Native America", pages 27-33, and Dorothea Theodoratus and Frank LaPena's
article "Wintu Sacred Geography", pages 61- 68, in the Sacred Land Reader.
To introduce students to the integration of the study of geography and traditional native
knowledge, download and copy the following articles for the students to read before the in-class
seminar: "Indigenous Geography as discipline arrives". Indian Country Today, March 26, 2004.
To teach students about the pros and cons of integrating traditional knowledge with a study of
geography and mapping, download "Managing Hopi Sacred Sites to Protect Religious Freedom",
pages 53 - 59, Sacred Land Reader.
Download the introduction to AMN's publication "Chief Kerry's Moose" for students.
Review the information at the Aboriginal Mapping Network's (AMN) website for information about
how First Nations in British Columbia are using maps based on cultural practices and knowledge
to protect their lands.

Student Activity:

1. After providing a brief overview of the discipline of geography for students, assign the students
the project of exploring their community's cultural history by researching a specific location
within the community through historical and oral history research. Ask the students to form
groups of three or four for this project and work in-class with the students while they select a
location to research.
2. While the students are working on their project outside of class, continue to introduce the
geographic theme by introducing students to the concept of sacred geography by assigning the
students the readings from Earth Island Institute’s Sacred Land Reader. If the "In the Light of
Reverence" videos are available for in-class viewing, select a section for the students to watch.
Conduct an in-class discussion of what sacred geography means and how "place" in Indian
communities is a source of strength and a source of conflict.
3. Devote a class period to conduct a seminar based on the three readings about the integration of
traditional native knowledge and the study of geography. Students must come prepared to
discuss these readings in order for the seminar to be successful. Inform the students to also
come to class prepared with questions or insights into the readings to discuss with their class
mates. The educator should mediate and perhaps guide the discussion, but the seminar
discussion should mostly be done by the students themselves. Sometime during the discussion
should be devoted to the tension between sacred geographical knowledge, mapping, and
traditional oral history.

Evaluation:

1. The evaluation for this unit should be based on a combination of the result of the students'
cultural history and location project and their participation in the in-class seminar on the
integration of traditional native knowledge and geography.
2. The extent and depth of the project will be dependent upon the vision of the educator, but there
should be a clear understanding of how place informs the culture and identity of a community in
the project.
3. The quality of students' participation in the seminar should be evaluated based on the use of the
readings in class to stimulate discussion or to support arguments and ideas.
4. The point of the seminar is not to come to a "right" answer or conclusion, but for students to
flesh out the complexities of the issues themselves through a synthesis and discussion of the
texts.

Lesson Resources:

Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel Wildcat, Power and Place, Indian Education in America, Fulcrum
Resources, 2001.
Resource for Teaching about the Americas, University of New Mexico's Latin America and Iberian
Copyright © Indian Land Tenure Foundation, 2014
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 Sacred Geography & Sacred Land Sites
Published on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

Institute
American Association of Geographers
Smithsonian Institute Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Sacred Lands Project, Earth Island Institute
Indian Country Today Media Network
Aboriginal Mapping Network

Source URL: http://www.lessonsofourland.org/lessons/sacred-geography-sacred-land-sites

Copyright © Indian Land Tenure Foundation, 2014

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