Career Connected Learning

To access the full curriculum, visit the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal.

In order to protect the plants and Native American cultural knowledge and stories featured in the curriculum, we ask that anyone using the materials read the Tend Teacher Guide, watch the Honoring Plants, Places and Cultural Traditions video, and take a multiple-choice quiz on the portal. Consider the plant information and stories featured in the curriculum as gifts, and the quiz as an opportunity to reflect on the generosity, intentionality, and purpose with which it is shared—a means of honoring the work.

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Explore Career Connected Learning

Career Connected Learning (CCL) is part of a holistic education. It is a method where learning in the classroom can be directly applied outside the classroom. CCL stems from hands-on, experiential learning— a traditional style of education for many Indigenous Peoples where students apply learning to real life scenarios and work with mentors.

CCL creates opportunities for understanding and exploring real-world scenarios while establishing a relationship with future career possibilities.The following documents highlight careers related to each of the Tend modules and feature interviews with Native professionals plus books, schools, and other career path resources.

Career Connected Learning Toolkit

Career Connected Learning (CCL) is part of a holistic education. It is a method where learning in the classroom can be directly applied outside the classroom. CCL creates opportunities for understanding and exploring real-world scenarios while establishing a relationship with future career possibilities.

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Cultural Ecosystems

Cultural ecosystems, including camas prairies, saltwater beach clam gardens, food forests, mountain huckleberry meadows, and wetlands, are distinct habitats that Indigenous people have stewarded for thousands of years. Many land management practices, such as burning, weeding, and sustainable harvesting, are utilized to promote the growth of culturally significant plants and animals. This conscientious stewardship helps generate healthy ecosystems as well as human well-being. Given the wide range of existing ecosystems, there is also a wide range of career paths!

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Herbal Apothecary

Herbal medicine has always been a medicine of the People. Since antiquity, knowledge about how to harvest, prepare, and preserve healing remedies has been passed from elder to child, family to family, and community to community. There are many pathways toward using plants for medicine including learning how to care for your own family and community, following a career in health care, growing and wildcrafting plants, making and selling products, and empowering others through education.

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Northwest Tree Communities

Learn about tree-related jobs! This resource feature interviews with Native professionals plus books, schools, and other career path resources.

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Wild Food Traditions

There are many pathways toward using wild foods for nutrition and connection including foraging, cooking, eating together, growing plants, practicing health care, teaching, building community health, and advocating for equitable food access.

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Tend, Gather & Grow

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