The article captures a reflective moment between Charles Sams I and his grandson, Charles Sams III, as they explore the nuanced differences between Indigenous and Western educational philosophies. Charles I uses a stone from Iskuulpa Creek to engage his grandson in questions about the rock’s formation and its journey, illustrating a hands-on approach to learning. Charles III reflects on how this method contrasts sharply with Western education, which typically begins with general subjects before leading to specialization. Their shared experiences highlight the importance of understanding one’s context and connections to the world through Indigenous wisdom.
The Native way of understanding is, I'm going to give you something very specific, and then I'm going to teach you the broader world so that you understand where your place is in that broader world.
An Indian education, he explained, is different than a Western one. A Western education starts with a general understanding of the world, encompassing math, science, literature, then hyper-specialization in higher education.
As a child, he attended a Catholic boarding school on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Sams remembers his grandfather saying, 'I was one of those that was sent by my parents. I wasn't taken by an Indian agent.'
#indigenous-education #cultural-wisdom #education-philosophy #nature-learning #generational-knowledge
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