History
In 2004, the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) published its nationally focused K-12 curriculum, Lessons of Our Land.  Since then, various local and state curriculum adaptations have been completed, including statewide adaptations in Montana, Minnesota, and Idaho.  In 2010, with funding from the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, ILTF entered into a contract with California professional development and curriculum development expert Jared Dahl Aldern, who founded the Land Tenure Education and Restoration Project at Prescott College and began to work with North Fork Mono Tribal Chairman Ron W. Goode to develop a series of California adaptations of the curriculum, presented here as Lessons of Our California Land.

Vision and Purpose
The vision of our project is for K-12 schools and California Native American tribes to implement locally adapted, community-based, standards-aligned versions of Lessons of Our California Land throughout the state. The purpose of the project is to use standards-aligned curriculum to increase students' understanding of the history and meaning of California land and appreciation for the motivations and knowledge of California Indian people who engage in land tenure, planning, and use issues.

Project Goals

• Build partnerships that draw on the     expertise of tribes and schools to create dynamic curriculum and learning experiences for K-12 students
• Develop curriculum that helps all students understand and articulate the cultural and historical context of Native American land issues throughout California
• Support the implementation of local, community-based curriculum that helps students meet academic content standards in English-Language Arts, History-Social Science, Visual and Performing Arts, Science, and other subjects

Who We Are

Jared Dahl Aldern, Ph.D. coordinates the Lessons of Our California Land (LOCL) curriculum program.  He is Director of the Land Tenure Education and Restoration Project, a faculty member at Prescott College, and a Visiting Researcher with the Comparative Wests Project at Stanford University's Bill Lane Center for the American West. He has also taught American Indian Studies courses at Palomar College and San Diego State University. A former elementary, middle, and high school teacher, he has developed community- based curriculum for several K-12 schools, directed professional development institutes for the California History-Social Science Project’s Fresno and San Diego sites, and reviewed professional development programs for the State of California. Aldern, who blogs at www.jareddahlaldern.net/blog and comparativewests.stanford.edu, holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and graduate degrees in History, Environmental Studies, and Sustainability Education from Prescott College.

The Honorable Ron W. Goode is the Tribal Chairman for the North Fork Mono Tribe and the principal content consultant for LOCL.  He is a life member and past member of the Board of Directors for the Sierra Mono Museum. Mr. Goode is retired as the Outreach Consultant for the Dropout Prevention Program of Fresno Unified School District. He is also retired as an Adjunct Instructor for the State Center Community College District in American Indian Studies.

Indian Land Tenure Foundation program officer Terry Janis, Oglala Lakota,  established the LOCL curriculum program. Janis joined the Indian Land Tenure Foundation as a program officer in 2004. In this role, he develops, monitors and evaluates the Foundation’s grantmaking programs as well as collaborates with ILTF’s partner organizations on special initiatives to fulfill the Foundation’s mission.  Janis holds a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College, a master’s in education from Harvard University, and a law degree from the University of Arizona.