# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CR6toBbrhIv
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20303744-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/9874cf7c16.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-07-29T16:13:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

At Indian Community School (ICS) in Franklin, Wisconsin, students are thinking about what they want the world to look like seven generations from now. 

Serving American Indian students in greater Milwaukee, ICS focuses on teaching kids about what it means to be living in an urban American Indian setting, says Jason Dropik, the head of school and a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The school, which has been in operation for 50 years, represents all tribes from Wisconsin, along with other federally and non-federally recognized tribes beyond the state’s borders.

Through the school’s curriculum, students connect directly with tribal communities, such as through field trips to Menominee nation in Keshena, Wisconsin where they study the migration story of American Indian people who lived there. 

Food sovereignty within the indigenous context is also a major focus of the school’s environmental curriculum, says Dropik. Students learn about the history of gaming and fishing as a tool for survival, along with ways to cultivate healthy, sustainable food sources like planting wild rice along the banks of a local river. And for more than a decade, fourth-grade students at the school have been keeping a garden, growing corn, bean, and squash—the “three sisters” or sacred foods in Oneida culture—and have planted maple trees to learn about harvesting sap. 

“[We want] to provide for our families in ways where we don't have to use processed foods, things that have chemicals in them that have been detrimental to our tribal communities,” Dropik explains, referencing obesity rates, diabetes, and other health concerns.

#EnvironmentalEducation #InquiryBasedLearning #PlaceBasedLearning #MiddleSchoolTeacher #HighSchoolTeacher

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 537
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 10

## Tags

placebasedlearning, middleschoolteacher, inquirybasedlearning, highschoolteacher, environmentaleducation

---
Copyright (c) Gondola