In February, Indian Country 101—a free, online, self-paced tribal engagement training series—was launched by The Whitener Group, a Native-owned consultant group, and The Nature Conservancy in Washington State. This new tool was created as a way to learn more about the history of Native Nations in the U.S. and how to effectively engage and support Tribes in conservation work.
Together, we’ve been building this training over the past few years for conservation-minded folks across Puget Sound. Since the training’s debut and mostly through word-of-mouth, 554 individuals have started the Indian Country 101 lessons:
177 TNC staff
70 Pew Charitable Trust staff
82 WA State agency staff
200+ individuals from other organizations across the United States
The development of the Indian Country (IC) tribal engagement series was grounded in the understanding that you can’t work with Indigenous people in the United States without first outlining the long and complicated history of tribes and tribal governments.
At The Nature Conservancy, we are piloting internal ‘book clubs’ for our colleagues to talk about what they have learned over the course of the 10 hours of training (20 hours if you also take the Washington State-focused lessons). The tools that we developed for our IC 101 Book Clubs are available for individuals or organizations hoping to host their own or reflect more deeply on their learnings.
Conversations that stemmed from the prompts were time well spent. Most were shocked over how little of this history they were taught during their formal education – with some exceptions for more recent graduates. Many of us were struck by how much we didn’t—and don’t—know about the experience of Indigenous people in North America and about the depth and duration of the systematic actions taken by the U.S. government (and others) to undermine, erase and assimilate Native Nations. We also recognized that lack of knowledge reflects that same systematic effort. We acknowledged the living reality of treaties as something that many in the environmental and non-profit world have limited awareness of, thinking instead about them as documents of the past.
Even those who had broad experience in working with Indigenous partners, still felt like they’ve stuck their foot in their mouth from time to time. We are working to approach this learning with humility. The Nature Conservancy is growing and evolving as an organization, and as individuals. Our goal with the book club is to work toward creating a culture of learning and personal growth—being kind to each other while also truth-telling. Our shared challenge is how we might consider our work with Indigenous Landscapes and Communities in ways that are not business as usual but elevate our partners’ sovereignty and leadership in decision-making. We are considering how we might show up differently in both Native and non-Native spaces, and whose burden it is to build this culture within our organization. We welcome conversation about what it means to get comfortable with getting uncomfortable and talked about what our future as an organization looks like if we do this work well:
Equity is integrated into all systems and structures of our organization, with leadership elevating examples of equity and providing resources for the work to happen
Non-Indigenous actors reconcile colonialization, white supremacy, power imbalance, broken treaties
Our institutional norms and incentives lead with humility that respects and honors Tribal sovereignty
Indigenous voices and leadership are leading/advising global work and impact
We embody what it means to be a guest in North America, changing HOW we work
Are you now chompin’ to start your OWN Indian Country 101 Book Club? We’ve got you!
Book club discussion prompts to get the conversation rolling:
What surprised you about this training so far?
Is this new info for you so far, or did you learn about this in school?
Did any part of this training strike a particular emotion in you? Which part and what emotion did you feel?
If we were to do Tribal Engagement well, does it seem like it would require a big mindset shift for your organization or a small one? Why?
Did the training change your opinion about anything, or did you learn something new from it? If so, why?
Compare this to other trainings on tribal engagement that you’ve done. How was it the same or different?
What was your favorite part of the training so far? Did you have a favorite quote or voice that was highlighted? If so, share which and why?
What does it mean to put this into practice within your organization?
What do you think your first step might be to putting tribal engagement into practice within your organization?
Are there things we do/areas of work where you now see a different perspective?
Life After the Book Club. Go do something. The Whitener Group gave us lots of tools. Use them.
Print your Quick Reference Guide. Review the Want to Know More?, Organizations to Know, and People to Know sections throughout the courses. Visit the listed websites on your own.
Go through lessons again!
Attend a tribal event! Be comfortable with being uncomfortable at first if you are!
Find a Native friend that is ok with (as in check with them to make sure you aren't assuming they are ok with spending the time with you to do that) helping you learn more about tribes; you gotta find an in! But don't be fake and weird about it of course.
Buy some Native products! And NEVER EVER EVER again buy any tribal art if you can’t easily tell the tribal artist’s name and tribal affiliation.
IC:101 Quick Reference Guide - an AMAZING excel spreadsheet that consolidates quick tips, critical info, and definitions learned in the training
SAMHSA Culture Card
Social Media Press Kit + Graphic Assets to help spread the word about IC:101
The Nature Conservancy Resources
Indian Country 101 Web Page
TNC Voice, Choice, Action Framework
TNC Human Rights Guide
NOTE: You don’t get any sort of ‘certificate’ for going through this training, but you do get an awesome IC:101 Spotify playlist.
Featured photo: TNC staff gathered in conversation at a retreat. Credit: Hannah Letinich/TNC