Agua Caliente tribe, Palm Springs Unified to expand native curriculum in schools

A partnership between Palm Springs Unified School District and the Agua Caliente Tribe of Cahuilla Indians is expanding to teach more students about the region's native culture.

A curriculum designed in collaboration with the tribe is currently being taught to third and eighth graders within the district. This upcoming school year will see the teaching expanded to 11th graders, with plans to expand even further in the coming years.

"As a tribal leader and a tribal member, seeing that being taught in a Palm Springs school district was a very special moment," said tribe Chairman Reid Milanovich. "These are students, youth, that maybe would not be given the opportunity to learn about the original people of this land.”

The curriculum began being taught to students around six years ago. It is meant to provide local students with a sense of the region's history as well as an appreciation for the society that originally lived in the area.

At a joint meeting Thursday between the Palm Springs City Council and the Agua Caliente Tribal Council, tribal leaders gave an update on the program and the success it has had with local students. The curriculum has been lauded, the tribe says, earning an Honoring Nations Award from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

The program has been in third-grade classrooms for six years, with over 10,000 students being taught it; and in eighth grade for four years, with just over 7,000 students being taught, according to a presentation by the tribe.

The tribe hopes to soon provide lessons for students in fourth through seventh grades.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Agua Caliente tribe, Palm Springs Unified to expand native curriculum in schools