Tend Curriculum Development Team
The Tend curriculum was designed by a team of Native and non-native educators, representing a cumulative 90 years of experience working in tribal communities and a diversity of skills in plant knowledge, Indigenous ways of knowing, holistic nutrition and wellness, innovative teaching techniques, youth advocacy, tribal food sovereignty, graphic design, and evaluation.
Tend Curriculum Review Process
Tend, Gather and Grow has been reviewed for accuracy, ethical harvesting practices, and culturally-appropriate content by members of the Tend team, tribal cohort members, and an expert advisory council supported through a National Science Foundation grant. The Tend team has collaborated with tribal elders and other tribal culture keepers to ensure that information in this curriculum is appropriate to share broadly. All stories and plant teachings are included with permission from the storyteller or plant knowledge keeper. Our team continually learns from and responds to feedback from educators, students, and other community members.
Reviewers
We thank the following people for reviewing the curriculum: Davina Barril (Tlingit), Leslie LaFountaine (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), Tina Jackson (Suquamish), Azure Boure (Suquamish), Myk Heidt, Nora Frank-Buckner (Nez Perce/Klamath), Will Bill Jr. (Muckleshoot), Alice Tsoodle (Kiowa), Nancy Maryboy (Cherokee/Navajo), Harriet Kuhnlein, Michael Vendiola (Swinomish), Shawn Rowe, Jamie Donatuto, and Diana Rohlman. Katie Vincent (former Bastyr Botanical Garden Supervisor) and Dr. Sheila Kingsbury (former chair for Bastyr Botanical Medicine Department) reviewed the Herbal Apothecary Module.
Partners & Funders
This project has been supported through many partners and funders including the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Nisqually Indian Tribe, Puyallup Tribe, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Squaxin Island Tribe, Suquamish Tribe, Tulalip Tribes, National Science Foundation DRL-1812543, Feed 7 Generations, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Urban Indian Health Institute, Center for World Indigenous Studies, Na’ah Illahee Fund, Oregon State University, ESD-113, Nia Tero, Metabolic Studios, University of Washington’s Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health and Center for Conservation Biology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Connecting People with Nature Program, Washington Dental Health, Hancock Forestry, Bastyr University, and the Freas Foundation. We are grateful that this list continues to grow.
Tend Team (bios are below or open the Tend Teacher Guide): Elise Krohn, Mariana Harvey (Yakama), Elizabeth Campbell (Spokane/Kalispel), Charlene Koutchak (Inupiaq/Scandinavian), Charlie SittingBull, Annie Brulé, Dr. Joyce LeCompte Mastenbrook, Kim Gaffi, Tamar Krames, Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot), Aleta Poste (Squaxin Island), Brett Ramey (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), Dr. Rose James (Lummi), Janna Lafferty. Significant contributors include T. Abe Lloyd, Cinnamon Bear (Karuk), Shawna Zierdt (Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians), and Jennifer Herbert (Diné). Additional editors include Clare Follmann, Michi Thacker, Fae Scherling, and Crescent Calimpong.
Meet the Tend, Gather & Grow Project Team
Elise Krohn, M.Ed. is a GRuB educator, author, herbalist, and native foods specialist in the Pacific Northwest. During her 15 years of experience teaching in tribal communities, she has worked with elders and cultural specialists to create successful community gardens, food sovereignty resources, a program on healing addiction, and curricula on chronic disease prevention. Through leading ‘train the trainers’ workshops, Elise has multiplied the number of educators who are teaching about native foods and herbal medicines in tribal communities. She also has over 10 years of experience as a clinical herbalist, and has authored two books and numerous articles on this and related topics. Elise is a Fellow in Ethnobotany and Ethnonutrition at the Center for World Indigenous Studies. Her blog can be found at www.wildfoodsandmedicines.com.
Aleta Poste (Squaxin Island) has dedicated herself to seek the traditional knowledge and cultural values of her people in relation to food and medicine. Bringing this knowledge to the youth has been the driving force of her passion. Aleta has continued her education through the Wild Roots Apprenticeship and Sustainable Small Scale Food Production classes. She recently led a grassroots community effort to restore camas, which helped build an interest in traditional foods throughout her community. This sparked her latest endeavor in her new position as the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Community Garden Program Manager. One of Aleta’s overarching goals is to establish a legacy within her community which supports traditional foods and medicine as the norm. The more this work becomes common knowledge to the youth, the stronger and healthier future generation will be.
Annie Brulé’s career as an illustrator, map designer, art curator, and designer of books has led to a wide range of collaborations with authors, artists, photographers, Northwest indigenous communities and issue-focused non-profits. She excels at drawing out and telling the story of a person, place, or concept, using creative visuals and immersive narratives. Clients include the Smithsonian Institution, Northwest Indian College, Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, Jones + Jones Architecture, and the Community Alliance for Global Justice.
Brett Ramey (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) has worked for 15 years to support health and wellness initiatives in both urban and reservation-based Native communities. This includes teaching courses on traditional foods and climate change at a Tribal University, serving as Director of Traditional Food, Arts and Youth Leadership development programs and implementing community-centered cancer prevention Research Projects through university-based research centers. He is the director of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington, which aims to support students in understanding connections between cultural identity, biodiversity and environmental justice.
Charlene Rubinstein (Inupiaq) first sparked a life-long relationship with plants as a child in the woods and wild berry fields of her home in Kenai, Alaska. While in Los Angeles, she was involved in the management of multiple grassroots and cultural arts education projects in the community, schools and at The Music Center of Los Angeles. In Anchorage, as the Community Affairs Producer for the first urban Native radio station, she produced radio pieces on current Alaska Native issues. After receiving her Masters in Nutrition at Bastyr University, her passion for rural and community health continued in Nome and Kotzebue while doing nutrition education and completing her Dietetic Internship (and subsequently licensure as a Registered Dietitian). She writes and blogs about family life, medicine making and traditional foods.
Charlie Sittingbull is a middle school science teacher with North Thurston Public Schools. She serves as the science department lead at her school, teaching 7th and 8th grade Biology and Chemistry. Charlie graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s in Science Education, and certificates in Restoration Ecology, and Education, Environment, and Community. She earned her Washington State teaching certificate from Saint Martin’s University in Secondary Science and Secondary Humanities. Charlie completed over two years of training in Traditional Plants and Foods, and is a trainer for Since Time Immemorial curriculum. She continues to work within her district and with local tribal members to integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems with NTPS Science Education. Charlie is passionate about engaging students in science through the story and experience of salmon. She engages students with overarching science standards through the plants, places and people that are so intimately connected with our local salmon and their journey.
Elizabeth Campbell (Spokane) is a Native Plants Educator and herbalist who is passionate about the cultural revitalization of traditional foods and medicines. She grew up harvesting native foods with her family. Elizabeth has developed curriculum and led tribal community classes and train-the-trainers workshops across Washington State since 2009. She also taught weekly classes for the Northwest Indian Treatment Center’s Traditional Plants Program and managed their ethnobotanical gardens for five years. She managed the Shelton Farmers Market for two years, increasing overall market sales each year by 25%. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the Evergreen State College with special emphasis on the Practice of Sustainable Agriculture and Native American Studies. She currently runs an organic farm with her family in Shelton, Washington and continues to work towards increasing tribal food sovereignty.
Janna Lafferty is currently a Ph.D. candidate in critical food studies and environmental anthropology at Florida International University, and a researcher with the Center for World Indigenous Studies. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Religion from UC San Diego and an M.A. in American Religious History from Duke University. Her dissertation focus deals with food sovereignty and settler colonialism in the U.S., and she recently published a book chapter in an edited volume on place-based perspectives of food in society. Janna is committed to education and interdisciplinary learning that bridges nature-culture divides. She has taught and developed undergraduate courses and worked with a range of students as a professional tutor in Seattle.
Dr. Joyce LeCompte earned her doctorate in environmental anthropology from the University of Washington in 2015. Her dissertation research focused on the deep history and contemporary politics of mountain huckleberry stewardship in Puget Sound Coast Salish territory. Joyce teaches college level courses in ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and environmental anthropology, and is also deeply committed to community based teaching and writing. Her current research is examining the history, current conditions and future trajectories of terrestrial cultural ecosystems of the Salish Sea.
Kim Gaffi is the Co-Founder, past Executive Director and current Director of Youth Programs at GRuB (Garden Raised Bounty). In serving the organization for more than nineteen years, Kim has had the opportunity to grow an idea from its seed into a community-loved and supported organization. Kim earned her BA in Community Development and BS in Environmental Science from the Evergreen State College and loves thinking about and working on the intersection of humans and the natural environment. She brings her passion for experiential education & food justice as well as her skills in group facilitation, organizational development and educational policy.
Mariana Harvey is a member of the Yakama Nation and resides in Tacoma, WA. She graduated in 2008 from Fort Lewis College with a BA in American Indian Studies. She is the NW Program Manager for the Native Youth Leadership Alliance, which invests in young Native leaders to spark culturally based community change. Mariana also serves the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) Youth Committee which is dedicated to increase the leadership capacity in tribal youth across ATNI member tribes. She is a contributing affiliate to the Northwest Native Plants and Foods Collective which aims to catalyze the indigenous foods and medicines revolution by raising awareness, mobilizing communities and supporting culture. Mariana has studied through Elise Krohn’s Wild Roots Apprenticeship since 2013, completing three certifications focused on plant medicine, native foods nutrition, ecology and the spirit within Native plants and foods.
Dr. Rose James (Lummi) is owner/operator of Cedar Rose Consulting. She has taught undergraduates at University of Washington biomedical research ethics for five years. Her work focuses on ethics of conducting research to the health and resiliency of tribal and urban Indian communities. As part of this effort, Dr. James has made important contributions to respectful partnerships between university scientists and tribal groups working together on pharmacogenetic and substance abuse behavioral interventions. She is currently collaborating with local Washington tribal groups to plan and implement community driven projects around sustaining traditional indigenous food systems and healthy diet interventions.
Tamar Krames is an artist and educator dedicated to facilitating cross-cultural dialogue and creative expression. When not painting and illustrating, Tamar designs and delivers professional development to teachers K-12 as well as pre-service teachers. Her workshops focus on second language acquisition and how collaborative teams of teachers can empower multilingual youth through engaging, culturally relevant, and rigorous instruction. Tamar is most inspired by innovative curriculum development that cultivates critical thinking in young people.