1. Strategies for Including Native Perspectives in Educational
Programming
Presented at the California Association of Museums Conference
February 18-20, 2015 | San Diego, CA
COLLABORATOR: Laurie Egan-Hedley, Director/Curator, Barona Cultural Center &
Museum
AUTHOR: Monica Moncada, CAM Fellow
Our current education system continues to disservice our youth in regards to providing an
accurate story of Native American history--and in our case, the story of Native California. As
educational institutions, it is our responsibility to provide a space for untold stories and
perspectives that enrich and empower our communities. In order to create a dialogue around
how to address this issue, the Barona Cultural Center & Museum provided examples of how
local Native groups and indigenous history can be implemented in educational programming
suitable for all grade levels. Panelists included Barona Cultural Center & Museum staff
members: Director/Curator Laurie Egan-Hedley, former museum educator O’Jay Vanegas and
museum assistant Jennifer Stone; as well as testimonies from Barona Indian Charter School
faculty: Principal Martha Parham and school teacher, Julie Cushman.
This case study will explore how the Barona Cultural Center & Museum worked closely with the
Barona Indian Charter School developing educational lesson plans and curriculums across
several different grade levels satisfying both California State Standards and Common Core. In
the process of creating these programs, the Barona Cultural Center & Museum was persistent
with having extensive, ongoing consultation with Kumeyaay/Diegueño tribal members,
especially in the initial stages of developing the programs. Therefore, the panel also provided
tips on how to approach initial conversations with local Native American groups and tribes;
additional tips on tribal protocol and practices will be reviewed further in the accompanying
blog post to this case study.

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Director/Curator of the Barona Cultural Center & Museum, Laurie Egan-Hedley, began the
conversation by explaining why it is important for students to receive an accurate
representation of Native Californian history in the classroom and the role California museums
can play in providing a space for this history.
First, Egan-Hedley asked the question, “Why do 4th graders study mission history?,” referring
to the fact that it is common for 4th grade students to learn about Native California through the
California mission system. She then further explained that part of 4th grade curriculum is to
learn about Native California, including pre and post-contact political, economic and social
changes that took place in Native American lifeways. Hitting all of the points of the California
State standards (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp, "History-Social Science: California
State Standards 4.2") part of the curriculum commonly includes: visiting the mission, writing a
report, and creating a model of the mission--field trip, research paper and an art project,
respectively. Being an accessible, physical space, it is easy to see why educators continue to
teach about Native California through mission history. However, as mentioned by Egan-Hedley,
a study produced by the National Museum of the American Indian found that “Americans are
misinformed and under-educated about the scope and scale of the seismic loss of Native
American cultures.” Upon presenting this unfortunate reality, Egan-Hedley mentioned that, as
educational institutions, we should acknowledge the genocide of Native American people in
California and be a space where we educate our community about this history without
perpetuating the romanticized views of mission life and history. How then can we achieve this
and what is in it for museums?
To begin the conversation on how museums and community educators can benefit from direct
collaboration, Jennifer Stone presented the educational programs developed between the
Barona Cultural Center & Museum and the Barona Indian Charter School. Both institutions are
located near the Barona Casino, and most of the Barona Indian Charter School students are
non-tribal members whose parents work in the Barona Casino. Many people in San Diego
associate the word “Barona” with the casino and are not aware that native people in San Diego
still exist, which highlighted the need to develop curriculums that had a more accurate
representation of native people. The collaboration began back in 2002 and the museum has

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3
consistently worked closely with teachers in developing curriculum that align topics to state
standards and Common Core.
One of the projects that greatly benefited both parties is the Barona Indian Charter School 7th &
8th Grade Heritage Project, which focuses on the Barona people and the Barona Cultural Center
& Museum collection. The Heritage Project is an opportunity for students to become familiar
with the inner-workings of a museum while learning about native culture. This direct, hands-on
collaboration provided the museum with sustainable educational programs and projects, and
provided the students with a safe space for learning and personal growth. Past Heritage
Projects included: traditional tool making, planting and maintaining a garden with Native
Californian plants, among others. The most recent Heritage 2014 project allowed students to
learn about ethnobotany (http://www.baronamuseum.com/vex/), object handling and housing,
plant research regarding Kumeyaay/Diegueño uses, and preserving plant specimens. The
project was then organized into an online exhibition where students published their research on
the traditional uses of the plant, its ‘lipay name and its English translation, and other
information. This project allowed students to help the museum preserve items that were
collected from the 1978-1982 Elizabeth Windsong Barona Indian Reservation Ethnobotany
Collection adding a lasting educational component that is accessible to the public.
This successful education program was achieved through direct, on-going consultation with
partnering groups. Although long and difficult, consultation can result in empowering and
stronger final products. To provide an insight of how the collaboration with museums affected
the students of the Barona Indian Charter School, two educators from Barona Indian Charter
School, Martha Parham and Julie Cushman, shared their experiences working with the museum
and provided tips for museums when approaching schools for potential collaboration. Martha
Parham presented her thoughts in four words: collaboration, mutual respect, cost-
effectiveness and cultural awareness. She explained that teachers are often busy, especially
those working in the public school system, so the institution should be the one to reach out to
the school in person. Parham recommended reaching out to teachers during the beginning of
the fiscal year when teachers and schools first receive a budget. Since many schools no longer

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4
have field trips nor hands-on opportunities outside of schools, she pointed out that museums
should be mindful of the cost. She strongly believes that museums have the responsibility to
make positive changes in schools. Museums can increase their student’s cultural awareness
and empathy over issues that continue to face native groups and other disenfranchised
communities.
Next, Julie Cushman, provided the perspective of a teacher having the pressure to satisfy
Common Core California State Standards. With the help of museums, Common Core
requirements can be met in a fun, engaging environment. Most of her students come from low-
income backgrounds and normally do not receive an opportunity to visit museums. With the
collaboration, students had the opportunity to learn multiple perspectives outside of the
classroom environment, while still satisfying state standards and Common Core. She also
provided resources for further information to understand Common Core and suggested to look
for the Educator resources in county websites. (Common Core Website)
Museums can affect the way schools educate our students and public. Through this
collaboration among the Kumeyaay/Diegueño tribal members, local educators and the Barona
Cultural Center & Museum, students learned about truthful stories and histories regarding
Native California with compassion, empathy and curiosity. Egan-Hedley encourages that all
museum and cultural institutions in California take a stance in acknowledging disparities in
Native communities and providing a space for Native voice.

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About the Author/CAM Fellow
Monica Moncada graduated from UC Berkeley
with a B.A. in anthropology while dedicating her
last few semesters taking Chicano Studies
courses. Her interest in both fields let her to
pursue work in the museum field and navigate
the museum space to empower communities of
color. She started off work in museums as a
work-study assistant in the archaeology
collections department at the Phoebe A. Hearst
Museum of Anthropology. Currently, she finds herself as the Education and Admissions
Assistant at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. There, she has been given the opportunity to facilitate
Mexican American history to school groups of various ages, while learning more and more
about Mexican History in Los Angeles.