Seminar: Ethnoecology of Indigenous Foods: Re-learning our Local Food Systems
Program: DINÉ
Subject Area: Science
Grade Level: 4th
Year of Publication: 2025
Abstract
This interdisciplinary STEM unit explores Indigenous plants through the lenses of STEM and
Indigenous knowledge, also known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Traditionally, the
Diné (Navajo) people approach plants with respect and intention. For them, the relationship with plants is deeply spiritual, reciprocal, and rooted in the concept of Hózhó: living in balance, beauty, and harmony with the natural world; where plants are not just resources, they are relatives and teachers. Each plant carries a purpose and a story, often tied to ceremony, healing, and survival.
Throughout the multi-week unit, students will learn about a native plant (yucca, family
Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae) that grows in many areas throughout the Southwest United
States, including in Dinétah on the Navajo Nation.