If you were raised in California, perhaps you remember choosing a mission to learn about and subsequently constructing a model out of popsicle sticks or clay during your fourth-grade year. Today, learning about the California mission system continues to occupy a central place in fourth grade curriculum despite new understandings of the cruelty wrought against Indigenous peoples by the Spanish via the mission system throughout California. One of the major problems with the way the missions are taught is that this history is largely told from the point of view of Franciscan missionaries, effectively erasing Indigenous perspectives.
On Saturday, November 7, over 100 people gathered virtually for the 12th annual Amah Mutsun Speaker Series hosted by the UCSC American Indian Resource Center, for a presentation titled: “Critical Mission Studies Research: Telling the Truth.”
A compelling program included a talk by Professors Judith Scott and Renya Ramirez, and HCP director, Dr. Daisy Martin, about their ongoing work to transform current 4th grade curriculum on the California mission system to decenter settler colonialism and infuse the curriculum with Indigenous perspectives. Dr. Rob Cuthrell described his work transcribing the papers of ethnologist John P. Harrington, who worked with Amah Mutsun tribal members in the 1920s and 30s. Dr. Martin Rizzo, California state parks historian, discussed his forthcoming book which documents the Indigenous peoples’ survivance in the face of inconceivable violence of Mission Santa Cruz in the 1800s. In their own ways, each of these projects is key to infusing Indigenous perspectives in order to transform the ways that we understand the mission system and California’s history more broadly.
From www.illuminatives.org Native Now
Teaching Native American Heritage Month
During this Native American Heritage month, we also share this initial short list of resources for integrating Indigenous perspectives into your curriculum.
Learn more about the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band here.
Find recommended children’s literature, or use this list of picture books about and by Indigenous peoples hand selected by Professor Judy Scott and her sister, Donna Scott (Cherokee Nation).
Are you thinking about how to teach Thanksgiving with your students? Here is an Illuminative lesson for 3-5th graders that goes with this video reading of Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message.
Are you a fourth grade teacher interested in learning more about the California missions? Check out these scholarly works.
Get involved with The Critical Missions Project
The Critical Missions Project at UC Santa Cruz, sponsored by the UC system wide Critical Missions Studies is working to challenge dominant views of mission life in the Central Coast region. Our UC Santa Cruz project is a collaborative effort with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, UC Santa Cruz Native scholars, and the History and Civics Project at UC Santa Cruz. The project includes professional development, oral histories, and creating an online repository of curricular resources.
Are you interested in joining us? We are especially looking for teachers to review or pilot curricula, illustrators and web-designers. Contact us at thehistoryandcivicsproject@ucsc.edu. We want to hear from you!