Pacific Northwest Culture & History: Why do the foods we eat matter?
This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members, images, objects, and other sources to help students and teachers understand the efforts of Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest to protect and sustain salmon, water, and homelands. Scroll to begin an exploration of the Pacific Northwest history and cultures.
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This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members, images, objects, and other sources to help students and teachers understand the efforts of Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest to protect and sustain salmon, water, and homelands. Scroll to begin an exploration of the Pacific Northwest history and cultures.
Close

lesson
information


Grades:

9–12

Nations:

Coast Salish, Colville Confederated Tribes, Lummi, Makah, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Quileute, Skokomish, Yakama

Subjects:

Environmental Science, Geography, Government and Civics, History, Social Studies

Keywords:

Pacific Northwest, salmon, usual and accustomed, Washington state, fisheries, treaty rights, salmon runs, dams, pollution, salmon habitat, environment, sustainability, cultures, culture, spawning grounds, comanagement, food sovereignty, foods

Regions:

Northwest Coast, North America


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essential
understandings


Framework for Essential Understandings about American Indians
Building on the ten themes of the National Council for the Social Studies' national curriculum standards, NMAI's Essential Understandings reveal key concepts about the rich and diverse cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Native Peoples. Woven throughout the lesson, the following Essential Understandings provide a foundation for students to thoughtfully understand important connections between foods and cultures.
This resource addresses the following Essential Understandings:
Essential Understanding 1:
American Indian Cultures

There is no single American Indian culture or language.

For millennia, American Indians have shaped and been shaped by their culture and environment. Elders in each generation teach the next generation their values, traditions, and beliefs through their own tribal languages, social practices, arts, music, ceremonies, and customs.

Interactions with Europeans and Americans brought accelerated and often devastating changes to American Indian cultures.

Native people continue to fight to maintain the integrity and viability of indigenous societies. American Indian history is one of cultural persistence, creative adaptation, renewal, and resilience.

Essential Understanding 2:
Time, Continuity, and Change

European contact resulted in devastating loss of life, disruption of tradition, and enormous loss of lands for American Indians.

Hearing and understanding American Indian history from Indian perspectives provides an important point of view to the discussion of history and cultures in the Americas. Indian perspectives expand the social, political, and economic dialogue.

Essential Understanding 3:
People, Places, and Environments

The story of American Indians in the Western Hemisphere is intricately intertwined with places and environments. Native knowledge systems resulted from long-term occupation of tribal homelands, and observation and interaction with places. American Indians understood and valued the relationship between local environments and cultural traditions, and recognized that human beings are part of the environment.

Long before their contact with Europeans, indigenous people populated the Americas and were successful stewards and managers of the land.

Essential Understanding 4:
Individual Development and Identity

For American Indians, identity development takes place in a cultural context, and the process differs from one American Indian culture to another. American Indian identity is shaped by the family, peers, social norms, and institutions inside and outside a community or culture.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many American Indian communities have sought to revitalize and reclaim their languages and cultures.

Essential Understanding 7:
Production, Distribution, and Consumption

For thousands of years, American Indians developed and operated vast trade networks throughout the Western Hemisphere.

American Indians traded, exchanged, gifted, and negotiated the purchase of goods, foods, technologies, domestic animals, ideas, and cultural practices with one another.

Today, American Indians are involved in a variety of economic enterprises, set economic policies for their nations, and own and manage natural resources that affect the production, distribution and the consumption of goods and services throughout much of the United States.

Essential Understanding 8:
Science, Technology, and Society

American Indian knowledge can inform the ongoing search for new solutions to contemporary issues.

American Indian knowledge reflects a relationship developed over millennia with the living earth based on keen observation, experimentation, and practice.

American Indian knowledge is closely tied to languages, cultural values, and practices. It is founded on the recognition of the relationships between humans and the world around them.

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academic
standards


Common Core State Standards
STAGE OF INQUIRY
9–10 Grades
11–12 Grades
Overarching Standards/Summative Performance Task

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1Write [construct] arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1 Write [construct] arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
Staging the Question: Food is More Than Just What We Eat

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Supporting Question 1: Why is Salmon Important to Native People and Nations of the Pacific Northwest?

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.8Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.8Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.9Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.9Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Supporting Question 2: How Do Threats to Salmon Impact Native People and Nations of the Pacific Northwest?

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.AIntroduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.AIntroduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Supporting Question 3: What Actions are Native Nations Taking to Restore Salmon and Strengthen Cultures?

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.8Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8Evaluate an author's premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
Mapping Informed Action: Foods Still Matter: The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project (Community Organizing)

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
Taking Informed Action Expository-Writing

Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
College, Career & Civic Life–C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
STAGE OF INQUIRY
STANDARDS
Overarching Standards/Summative Performance Task
D1.5.9-12
Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
D4.1.9-12
Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.
Staging the Question: Food is More Than Just What We Eat
D2.Geo.6.9-12
Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
Supporting Question 1: Why is Salmon Important to Native People and Nations of the Pacific Northwest?
D2.Geo.4.9-12
Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
D2.His.13.9-12
Critique the appropriateness of the historical sources used in a secondary interpretation.
Supporting Question 2: How Do Threats to Salmon Impact Native People and Nations of the Pacific Northwest?
D4.1.9-12
Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.
D2.Civ.5.9-12
Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Supporting Question 3: What Actions are Native Nations Taking to Restore Salmon and Strengthen Cultures?
D2.Civ.5.9-12
Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Mapping Informed Action: Foods Still Matter: The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project (Community Organizing)
D4.7.9-12
Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
D4.6.9-12
Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.
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Food is More Than Just What You Eat

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Think about the many connections between foods and cultures. Watch a short video, explore a map, and read an expert's perspective about the relationships between foods and culture for Native people of the Pacific Northwest.
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HEAR
FROM THE
EXPERT:

Shana Brown
Educator from the Yakama Nation

Shana Brown portrait

Essential Connections Between Food and Culture


We have not always gotten our foods from grocery stores or restaurants. Nor have we always been accustomed to eating out-of-season or imported exotic foods. Before shipping, plastic wrap, and packaged meats, we ate what our local environments provided. And we built our worlds accordingly.

The food practices of the Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest do not just reflect their identities; they define their identities. Who we are as a people is reflected in our relationship with the environment, the foods that environment provides, and the individual and collective responsibilities undertaken to care for natural resources. Natural resources are not simply viewed by Native people as commodities to be bought and sold; instead, they are viewed as relatives to be cherished and cared for. Culturally important foods, such as salmon and other fish, reflect the unique histories and experiences of Native peoples, especially the histories and experiences that are connected to landscapes and water.

Because our lives and identities are so intertwined with salmon, many Native peoples in the Pacific Northwest call themselves the Salmon People. From the late eighteenth-century on, European and American arrivals in the Pacific Northwest made it increasingly difficult for our ancestors to maintain their food practices, especially once non-Native diets became so prevalent. The influx of non-Native settlers in the Pacific Northwest, thus, threatened our very identity as Salmon People. Over time, the activities of non-Indian settlers brought about commercial fishing, pollution, habitat loss, hydroelectric dams, and other factors that had a very negative impact on the salmon population and the environment as a whole. Instead of respectfully using and managing existing resources, the newcomers altered the landscape and depleted resources. They also denied Indians access to millennia-old hunting, fishing, and gathering sites.

Despite these challenges, tribal nations have been able to maintain their traditional food practices to varying degrees of success. Today, we see a renewed resurgence of and respect for traditional Native food practices. This resurgence not only complements the survival of tribal peoples, their collective identities, and their sovereignty, but it also supports the changing viewpoints of non-Indian people, who now more frequently accept the essential and sustainable value in the very food practices they once sought to eliminate altogether.

A number of contemporary practices and events reflect and strengthen the revival of traditional indigenous food practices. One such event, the annual Canoe Journey along the Pacific coastline of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington, illustrates the renaissance our nations are experiencing. Once a year, canoes filled with indigenous peoples from all over the world converge on the Pacific Northwest. Native Nations here host these events, and share their stories, songs, foods, and food practices with everyone who has gathered for the occasion. Indigenous participants and canoe families exchange cultural protocols to demonstrate the mutual respect for "homelands" among the gathered people, and particularly for the homelands of the people being visited. Inaugurated by Native leaders in 1989, the annual Canoe Journey event was developed to help tribal youth strengthen their connections with their past and present cultures and environments and, by doing so, strengthen personal identities for the future.

Through the activities and resources of this lesson, you will witness the incredible resiliency and innovation of the Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest in their efforts to protect and cultivate healthy relationships with their relatives—salmon, water, and homelands. And, you will see how foods can define not only who we are, but also who we wish to be.

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Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest Map
Toggle between Native Nations and landscape views to orient yourself to the locations of the nations today and the geographical features of their homelands.
native nations
landscape
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What Actions are Native Nations Taking to Restore Salmon and Strengthen Cultures?

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Explore three short case studies and a video to see how efforts to restore salmon also strengthen Native cultures. First, watch this short video about one Native-led project to restore salmon in the Columbia River.

WATCH SHORT INTRODUCTION VIDEO »

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Why Do the Foods We Eat Matter?

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What did the evidence reveal? Why do the foods we eat matter? Construct an evidence based argument about the connections between foods and culture for Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest.
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Foods Still Matter: The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project

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Discover how the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project organizes, plans, and acts in order to address injustices and strengthen ties to culture.
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