First-graders at Chehalem Elementary are learning about Native American culture and the significance of powwows this November as part of National Native American Heritage Month.
The Beaverton School District featured the lessons in a video post on its website on Nov. 4.
The school's homepage shows a student displaying artwork of a powwow created during the lessons, which the district said involve exploring Native culture, traditions and Tribal History/Shared History.
The classroom work connects to a statewide mandate. In 2017, the Oregon Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 13, known as Tribal History/Shared History (TH/SH).
The law directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), working with Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes, to create Native American curriculum for all K-12 public school students, according to the University of Oregon's Sapsikʷałá program.
ODE initially developed 45 lesson plans for grades 4, 8 and 10 across five subject areas: English language arts, math, science, social studies and health/PE. The department and tribal partners continue expanding lessons for all grade levels.
Oregon's tribes have also built their own place-based curriculum. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians offers a K-1st grade lesson called "Siletz Lifeways: Let's Go to a Pow-Wow." In that lesson, students learn about the history and traditions of powwows at Siletz, recognize different styles of dance, and work on a poster project about being respectful guests at a powwow.
The district did not specify which tribal curriculum Chehalem teachers are using.
Dr. Charlene Williams, ODE's director of the Office of Indian Education, and April Campbell, assistant superintendent of that office, reminded districts in a November 2024 memo that compliance with SB 13 requires a minimum of one lesson in five content areas per grade level in 4th, 8th and 10th grades. ODE also offers free training modules on the curriculum's nine Essential Understandings through its iLearn platform.
The Chehalem lessons show the curriculum reaching younger students beyond those mandated grade levels. The district has not released details about the teacher leading the lessons or how many students participated.
