Salish Kootenai College, in partnership with collaborators, has created a six-unit resource for educators to teach middle school students about the science of food related to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). Each thematic unit includes hands-on activities to enhance students' understanding of food science and Montana's local food systems. The units cover topics such as the molecular science of food, the importance of seasonal availability, and the origins of food, considering geography and culture. Students explore their senses and how they influence food choices, engaging in tasting native plants. A unit titled "Food as Medicine" integrates indigenous knowledge and modern practices around health and healing. Finally, students create a seasonal menu featuring native plants, reinforcing their learning and encouraging practical application. This program aims to connect students to their cultural heritage and contemporary food practices, enriching their educational experience.
The audience will be shown previous presentations, given the purpose of the project, and allowed to create their own presentations for a particular Montana Indigenous group. The topics will be summer versus winter hunting grounds, the distance determined between the two, and the finding of the midpoint of the journey using the Desmos geometry tool. Then the audience will determine the size of the cache pot needed to store the supplies of the tribe for a winter season. Both the midpoint determination and the size of the cache will use geometric tools and formulas. Students in the presentations presented their slides, which also included biological information, as the original project was a cross-curricular project.
