Native American Culture

(HIST X422  1.5 units)

Don’t miss this chance to hear about what it being done to preserve and revitalize Native American cultures. Phil Klasky, professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University and Director of the Storyscape Project of the Cultural Conservancy, an indigenous rights organization and tribal elder Matthew Leivas Sr. (Chemehuevi), will discuss local Native American history and cultural preservation in this two-day field class.  Klasky and Leivas will focus on how tribal communities are reclaiming their languages, stories, songs, and ancestral lands. Participants will learn about the Salt Song Trail Project and view the award-winning film (Best Documentary Short/2005 American Indian Film Festival) The Salt Song Trail. The instructors will also share their efforts to protect the sacred landscapes of the Southern Pauite people of Southwest, which includes the purchase of land for a nature and cultural preserve. Participants will learn about the connection between cultural preservation, environmental protection, and the revitalization of traditional indigenous farming techniques and foods. On Sunday, Leivas will perform some of the Chemehuevi songs for the class at the Oasis of Mara.

The Cultural Conservancy:  www.nativeland.org  Indigenous Environmental Network:  www.ienearth.org

If you are a member of JTNPA/PINE you will get a $10 discount off every Desert Institute class. Please enter the registrants name exactly as it appears in our membership database. If you are not a member you can become one here. Simply add membership to the cart and choose the discounted class in the options above.

Each participant is required to bring a signed Desert-Institute-Participant-Agreement.pdf to the class. Download it here.

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