Reconnecting with Nature and Culture
For Generations, the Ojibwe people lived off the land in what is now northern Minnesota. They harvested wild rice, medicinal herbs, and wild fruits, hunted and fished, collected maple sap and boiled it down into syrup, and built canoes, baskets, and seasonal lodging. Their way of life requires strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of natural systems. In other words, they relied on practical applications of math and science to survive.
In recent years, many tribal members, particularly youth, have not followed these traditional ways and subsequently have not acquired the accompanying skills. Joe LaGarde, historian, explains, “Many children here(on the reservation) enter school convinced they will fail at math and science, and it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Elders on the White Earth Reservation were concerned with high dropout rates, a defeatist attitude among youth, and the lack of connection youth had to their cultural traditions. In the late 1990s, the community at White Earth responded to these concerns by creating the White Earth Reservation Science and Math (WERSM) summer program.
In this hands-on program, the youth explore the outdoors, take field trips, and discuss local natural resource issues. Guided by educators, natural resource professionals and elders, students learn how mathematics and science are used to understand and care for the environment. “The students test soils, sample stream waters and observe wildlife,” explains Joe. “In doing so, they gain a greater appreciation of the importance of the environment to their culture, their lives, and the future of their community.”
Students learn about gardening and plant growth. They test soil and water quality, take measurements of standing trees, sample streams for aquatic life, and learn about land use. In one session, students visited Ottertail River, where they collected water samples and learned to identify fish at a hatchery. On another field trip, they visited the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge and Itasca State Park where they learned about wildlife biology, bird identification and conservation laws. Some students even accompanied Reservation biologist, Doug McArthur, as he rescued an injured trumpeter swan. “The kids here see practical science at work. You can learn it in the classroom, look at a book, but it really doesn’t hit home until you get out here,” explains Doug.
Elders and other tribal members, whom Joe refers to as “cultural advisors,” are an essential part of the program. Along the way they teach the history and traditional uses of natural resources and their place in Ojibwe culture. For instance, during the exploration of a forest, a cultural advisor will tell stories about the forest and show kids what foods, materials, and medicines can be gathered. The youth will study the traditional role of fire in forest management and consequently learn the critical role of Native Americans in fire suppression efforts across the country. The students, working together with the tribal dietician and elders, also plan and prepare a traditional feast for the community using foods on the Reservation. Joe says, “By including cultural advisors as part of the program, the kids learn about who they are. The elders know the families on the reservation and tell the kids about their history.”
The success of the program has been outstanding. Over seventy percent of participants complete the six-week session. In the first year, test scores rose over one full grade-level in mathematics, and some students have expressed interest in pursuing higher education. The community has benefited from new gardens and a plan for a school recycling and composting system.
But the story behind the story deserves telling because it, too, is exemplary. The seeds for the WERSM program were planted with the Circle of Life school at White Earth partnered with Visions for Change (a Kellogg Foundation sponsored venture) to open a dialog between White Earth tribal members and University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and students. In 1998, a bus load of faculty and staff traveled to White Earth Reservation and spent two days learning from the people of White Earth and discussing ways that the university and tribal members could collaborate.
The idea of a math and science camp was raised, and people rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The program evolved through a series of meetings during which the summer session planners got to know each other, developed a comfortable working relationship, discussed roles and cultural aspects 
of the education, and finally identified a curriculum. Critical to the process was a commitment by all involved that the program’s development and implementation be rooted in respect and partnership. “There’s a real respect for all kinds of knowledge and wisdom,” explains Joe. “University faculty bring a certain kind of expertise, elders bring another.”
Truly a team effort, the elders focused on the cultural perspective, a local natural resource manager (also a tribal member) focused on the tribal perspective, and the University of Minnesota team members focused on the logistics of the project. Funding for the initiative was also a team effort. The University of Minnesota Extension Service, the Circle of Life School, the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council, the Rural Minnesota Concentrates Employment Program Inc. (CEP) and Visions for Change provided the funds needed to launch the summer program. Now the partners are working to find permanent funds to continue and expand the program.
By helping youth examine their environment through both a scientific and a cultural perspective, the White Earth Reservation Science and Math Program reconnects Ojibwe youth with their own traditions, history and landscape. The elders hope the careful attention to tribal culture and community will increase the student’s pride in their heritage. Joe says, “WE hope the program has a long-lasting impact on the summer school participants and knits them closer to their community so that they carry the knowledge and strength of their tradition with them wherever they travel in their future lives.”