Affirming Indigenous Epistemology Through a Land Curriculum

A Work in Progress
In Collaboration with Lunaape/Lenape Tribal Nation and the Public History Project 

Through a land curriculum, this workshop explores the knowledge, experiences, and histories of the New Jersey Lunaape/Lenape peoples. During this eighty-minute workshop, we will discuss ideas and engage in activities that ground land curriculum and affirm indigenous ways of knowing and decolonization. We will undertake strategies and resources for implementing lessons on indigenous worldviews and land education into your social studies, science, and literacy classes. This workshop aims to provide educators with the theories and practices to plan and deliver equitable lessons that tell a more balanced history and the presence of the Lunaape/Lenape of New Jersey. 

Facilitators:
Natacha Robert is an educator, activist, and artist. She is a current doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University in the department of Curriculum and Teaching. Her research focuses on African-centered education with interests in culturally relevant education and decolonization. She has been an educator for over ten years, teaching Social Studies to middle and high school students with and without disabilities. Working with various community-based organizations, she has created and helped to direct after school programs for Black children and other minoritized youth. She is the founder of Elimu for Liberation, an African-centered educational company that provides resources to parents and teachers to support them in teaching African-centered lessons and content. As an activist and community organizer she has worked with the Westchester Alliance for Black School Educators and the December 12th Movement to raise awareness for and address the myriad of issues facing Black people. Currently she works to help support, raise awareness for, and free political prisoners as a member of the Northeast Political Prisoner Coalition. She is also a member of the Enslaved African Memorial committee, an organization working to build a memorial to honor and remember the Africans who were enslaved in Bergen County, New Jersey. 

Nancy Tavárez is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests focus on social justice education, curriculum, teacher education, indigenous education, multilingual education, and the experiences of minoritized students and families in schools. She has extensive experience in urban education and schooling which include elementary and middle school teaching, school data, professional development, curriculum supervising, and school administration. She is currently a principal at an elementary school in a large urban setting. Her personal background and experience in diverse settings influence her desire to work towards creating more equitable and just schools.