The Collaboration
Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science. is a five-year cross-cultural collaboration involving Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), and four Native community partners. The communities graciously shared their restoration stories and their voices throughout the exhibitions and the overall project.
An abundance of thanks to our Native partners:
- Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
- Pacific American Foundation and Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society
- Tulalip Tribes
Special thanks to the Roots of Wisdom Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board, and Portland Public Schools Title VII Indian Education Program.
To encourage other organizations to pursue similar work, we created a legacy document to share our experiences and insights from working on Roots of Wisdom.
Partners
Many thanks go to all of the project partners, advisors, community leaders, and youth advisory board members who worked together to create this project. Their willingness to share their insights, time, stories, and hopes for the future are the heart of this project and will touch visitors around the country.
Indigenous Education Institute
David Begay
Nancy Maryboy
Ashely Teren
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation
Wenix Red Elk, CTUIR Department of Natural Resources
Randall Melton, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
David Cozzo, Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources
Hawaii
Herb Lee, Jr., Pacific American Foundation and Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society
VerlieAnn Malina-Wright, Pacific American Foundation and Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society
Tulalip Tribes
Tessa Campbell, Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Inez Bill, Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Tulalip Tribes
Hank Gobin, Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Partners
Pamela Woodis, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian
Katherine Krile, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
OMSI Team
Advisors
Joanne Jones–Rizzi, Science Museum of Minnesota
Karen Kitchen, Program Manager, Portland Public Schools Title VII Indian Education Program
Dennis Martinez, Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration Network (IPRN); Takelma Intertribal Project (TIP)
Margaret Mathewson, Ancient Arts Center, Oregon State University
Charles Menzies, University of British Columbia
Darren Ranco, University of Maine
Theodore Williams, Northwest Indian College
Links
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
This exhibition was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1010559. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
OMSI acknowledges and gives thanks to the communities and participants involved in the Roots of Wisdom project for sharing their knowledge and voices. In respect for the partnership, the following organizations hold a perpetual license to reproduce and disseminate the content contained on this website for non-commercial purposes. Attribution must be given to the Roots of Wisdom Project Team when publishing or presenting substantial quotations and/or references. Additionally, all material attributed to specific parties should be cited appropriately. In all cases this notice should remain intact.
Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
Indigenous Education Institute (IEI)
Pacific American Foundation
Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources (RTCAR)
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI)
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society