In 2017, the Oregon Legislature enacted
Senate Bill (SB) 13, now known as
Tribal History/Shared History.
This law directs to Oregon Department of Education (ODE)
to create K-12 Native American Curriculum for inclusion in Oregon public schools and to provide professional development to educators. The law also directs the ODE to provide funds to each of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon to create individual place-based curriculum. For years the state has been missing a critical opportunity to fully leverage the strengths, assets, and contributions that our Native American students bring to their communities. The lack of accurate and complete curricula may contribute to the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps between Native American and other students.
Native Americans lived in this state since time immemorial, long before it became Oregon. How can we teach youth about Oregon history without including the voice of Oregon's Native American peoples – both past and present? This general lack of knowledge about Native American people extends to curricula - thus the need for Tribal History/Shared History. Each nation has a distinct origin story, worldview, and timeline of their history and contemporary context. However, much of that information has been presented to the general American public from a non-Native American perspective, filled with clichés, misconceptions and falsehoods. The ODE partnered with representatives of the nine federally recognized Tribal governments in Oregon to create the Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon. These nine essential understandings have been created to serve as an introduction into the vast diversity of the Oregon Native American experience.
TH/SH Curriculum Professional Development
-NEW- Professional Development from collaboration with WestED and the Office of Indian Education is now available through Canvas. Please visit the Tribal History/ Shared History Curriculum Professional Learning Modules that will take you through a series of self-paced segments that will help you deepen your knowledge of the TH/SH curriculum and the nine Federally Recognized Tribes in Oregon. The modules will also build your capacity to use best practices to implement the lessons. They offer support for both leaders and classroom educators. The modules were developed in partnership with and Advisory Council of Indigenous educators in Oregon.
TH/SH Community of Practice
This meeting will provide a platform for educators to share best practices when delivering the TH/SH lesson plans. This will be a great resource for educators to share experiences. The zoom link can be accessed by all educators, curriculum developers, and administrators! Please feel free to share with those interested! We will meet on the second Wednesday of the month from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Our next seheduled meeting is on January 14th, 2026.
Join by Zoom:
Lesson Plans
Thank you for utilizing the Curriculum Materials and Lesson Plans found in the accordions below. ODE contracted with Education Northwest to create lesson plans for grades K–3, 4, 5, 8, and 10, informed by the Essential Understandings and aligned to state standards. Critical orientations for Indigenous studies curriculum focus on Place, Presence, Perspectives, Political Nationhood, Power, and Partnerships. These lessons embody Indigenous teaching and learning approaches and provide culturally responsive learning opportunities specific to Native American histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences.
The SB 13 Tribal History/Shared History lesson plans will be updated as necessary as revisions are completed. Please continue to check the website to ensure you are accessing the most current lesson plan(s) available. We are also actively in the process of translating all materials into Spanish. Currently, approximately 90% of the lesson plans have been translated and are in the process of being added to the accordions.
Please be aware that many lesson plans, slide presentations, and supporting materials contain website links that may have expired due to changes made by host sites. We are aware of the potential for broken links and are actively working to update these resources. If you encounter a broken link, please contact Brent Spencer at Brent.Spencer@ode.oregon.gov
Lesson Adaptation Ideas for Comprehensive Distance Learning
Spanish Translations - In the drop down menu, you will find "SP" for Spanish next to the English materials. We are still in the process of completing all the materials for Spanish Translation, so please check back if the materials you are looking for are not yet listed.
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade