Sap to Syrup

Abstract

Native people have faced a history of oppressive government acts that have attempted to destroy native culture and assimilate people. The Ojibwe children of today carry that battle with them, even in preschool, and the following synthesis of research shows that introducing tradition, culture, and Indigenous science in a place-based academic setting can help rebuild culture and language. St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin has a Head Start program located on the reservation. This curriculum project was written to help the preschool children, Head Start teachers, and program introduce language and culture while experiencing the Ojibwe maple sugar harvest. This place-based environmental education curriculum project is a 5-day cross curricular series of lesson plans that is connected to Wisconsin and Head Start academic standards and ingrained in a critical pedagogy of place.