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Native American Studies & Culturally Sustaining Practices
Professional Learning • Curriculum • Consultation • Partnerships
Supporting educators, schools, districts, and community partners in creating culturally sustaining learning environments that honor Native American histories, cultures, sovereignty, and contemporary communities.
Maggie Peters
(Yurok/Karuk)
Learning Specialist: Native American Studies & Culturally Sustaining Practices
mpeters@hcoe.org
Explore the Native American Studies Model Curriculum
Culturally Sustaining Professional Development Support
Native American Studies Model Curriculum Virtual Series
Explore the California Native American Studies Model Curriculum through practical lesson deep dives, best practices, implementation strategies, and opportunities to connect with other educators.
New Fall 2026 Session Dates! Our Best Practices and Deep Dives are being offered again!
TK-12
Best Practices Sessions
- Dates: 8/26, 9/2, 10/14, 11/4, 12/2
- Time: 4:30-5:30pm
Other Professional Learning Topics
The Native American Studies and Culturally Sustaining Practices Learning Specialist provides consultation, professional learning, curriculum support, partnership development, and resource curation to schools, districts, Tribal governments, and community organizations.
Native American Studies
- Introduction to the NASMC
- Implementing the NASMC
- Lesson Deep Dives
- Place-Based Native American Studies
- Teaching California Native History
Culturally Sustaining Practices
- Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
- Cultural Humility
- Culturally Sustaining Curriculum Development
- Native Language Integration
- Cultural Arts Integration
Student Belonging & Well-Being
- Trauma-Informed Practices
- Indigenous Perspectives on Wellness
- Relationship-Centered Practices
- Student Voice and Mattering
MTSS / PBIS / UDL
- Culturally Sustaining Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
- Decolonize Positive Behavior Interventions and Support
- Universal Design for Learning and Culturally Sustaining Instruction
Tribal–School Partnerships
- Meaningful Consultation
- Building Tribal–School Relationships
- Tribal Sovereignty and Education
- Partnership Development
- MOU Development
- Community Engagement
Native Student Success
- Attendance and Engagement
- College & Career Readiness Support for Academic Counselors
- Native Student Data
- Family and Community Partnerships
- Federal and State Law Compliance
Let’s Work Together!
Educational agencies, Tribes, Native-serving organizations, and educational partners throughout California may request on-site or virtual professional development, consultation, problem-solving, and strategic leadership support focused on Native American students and culturally sustaining practices.
Services can be structured as hourly consultations, half-day or full-day sessions, or ongoing weekly support, depending on organizational needs. Support may include:
- Professional development and staff training
- Strategic planning and leadership sessions
- Native American Studies implementation
- Culturally sustaining curriculum and instructional practices
- Tribal–school relationship and partnership development
- Native student engagement, belonging, and success
- MTSS, PBIS, and UDL implementation
- Program and systems problem-solving
- Resource development and curation
- Community and Tribal consultation support
- Grant and program planning
Available statewide in California | On-site and Virtual
Alice Piper as a 15-year-old student at Big Pine High School in 1923.
June 2: The Right to Belong Day of Awareness
On June 2, 1924, 15-year-old Alice Piper, a Paiute student from Big Pine, won her California Supreme Court case after being denied admission to her local high school because she was Native. That same day, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, granting U.S. citizenship to Native Americans — though many were still denied full voting rights for decades. Together, these events mark a pivotal moment in Native civil rights, educational access, and the ongoing fight for belonging.
The Humboldt County Office of Education has created a K–12 Teaching Toolkit to support educators in recognizing June 2 as a day of learning, reflection, and celebration of Native leadership, resilience, and belonging.
Native American Studies Model Curriculum
The Native American Studies Model Curriculum (NASMC) is a series of lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies, and professional development activities to assist educators in teaching about Native American studies. The Humboldt County Office of Education and the San Diego County Office of Education were selected as lead agencies in the development of the NASMC. By design, the model curriculum was developed in partnership with California Tribes, other COEs, and native youth serving organizations. HCOE serves regions 1-3 as noted in map below.
As part of the development processHumboldt County Office of Education hosted 120 community meetings, reaching more than 2,500 participants, across Northern California.
Learn more about the HCOE’s NASMC journey from this ACSA Leadership article:
AB 167 Model Curriculum Projects
Assembly Bill 167, Chapter 252, Statutes of 2021 amended California Education Code sections 33540.2, 33540.4, 33540.6 and 51226.9, for the development and maintenance of model curricula relating to the Vietnamese American refugee experience, the Cambodian genocide, Hmong history and cultural studies, and Native American studies. The California Department of Education shall, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, enter into contracts with county offices of education for the purposes of developing a model curriculum. Work on these projects was slated to begin in 2022 and conclude by September of 2025.