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Connecting geology and Native American culture on the
reservation of Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, USA
GSA TODAY | AUGUST 2015 Darryl Reano and Kenneth D. Ridgway, Earth, Atmospheric,
and Planetary Sciences Department, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA; dreano@purdue.edu, ridge@
purdue.edu
STEM education focused on the perspectives and needs of
Native American students is a missing element in the current U.S.
educational system (Barnhardt, 1997). Consequently, very few
Native American students pursue careers in the STEM disciplines,
especially earth science (Beede et al., 2011). Ironically, many
Native American students eventually learn that earth science is a
tool their ancestors used for thousands of years and that a general
mastery of science and engineering skills can benefit and help
maintain their communities. Most Native students, however, see
no connection between Western science and the goal of preserving
their cultural identities. If STEM faculty, teachers, and other
scientists can better explain the links between traditional indig-
enous knowledge, Western science, and community needs, we
contend that this approach would attract more Native American
and other underrepresented students to earth science.
Earth science is especially relevant for Native communities
because it ties directly into the landscape, which often has sacred
implications for Native communities, and also to the natural
resources that they need in order to function and prosper. An
understanding of the geologic framework of tribal lands is vital
not only for present-day resource management but also for future
long-term decision making that will benefit future generations of
Native communities. These important links between Native
communities and earth science can be nurtured and strengthened
by integrating them into education. Previous research has docu-
mented preliminary success in attracting Native students to
geoscience courses that incorporate indigenous knowledge, Native
worldviews, and culturally appropriate curricula (Semken and
Morgan, 1997; Gibson and Puniwai, 2006; Palmer et al., 2009).
The purpose of this article is to present an example to the earth- community member recognizes a stratigraphic horizon with
science community of how a geologic discipline, in this case stra-
tigraphy, can be presented in ways that have cultural relevance for
a Native community. The example comes from the Native
American community of Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. The first
author is a member of this community and grew up on the Acoma
reservation. The intent of this paper is to motivate fellow earth-
science faculty and teachers to explore how their research special-
ties can be put into cultural terms that are beneficial for a Native
GSA Today, v. 25, no. 8, doi: 10.1130/GSAT-G235GW.1.
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community. While geologic concepts are universal, cultural
concepts are specific. Our approach, therefore, requires efforts to
develop an understanding of a person’s culture in order to effec-
tively communicate geologic concepts to that individual (e.g.,
Semken, 2005). Our example of integrating traditional knowledge
(culture) and Western science is specifically for the tribal commu-
nity of Acoma Pueblo, but the general approach that we advocate
is applicable to other indigenous and land-based communities
(e.g., Riggs, 2005).
Acoma Pueblo is a National Historic Landmark and is the
oldest continually inhabited village in the United States.
Generations of Acoma people have lived atop the mesa in west-
central New Mexico making pottery, building their homes out of
rock and mud, and farming the land at the base of the mesa.
The Acoma community is literally embedded in the stratigraphy
of the eastern Colorado Plateau. Knowledge of specific rocks and
their uses has been passed on between generations for thousands
of years. Few non-Native scientists, however, have interacted with
the Acoma community and so no connection exists between the
Western concept of stratigraphy and the cultural framework of
the Acoma community.
Figure 1 is an example of educational material that connects
the local stratigraphy (lithologies, thicknesses, and stratigraphic
relationships) with Acoma cultural uses of specific geologic
formations. The Western scientific viewpoint is represented by
the stratigraphic nomenclature used by geologists to differen-
tiate specific formations and their depositional environments
(Fig. 1A). The Acoma Pueblo community member’s perspective
of the local stratigraphy is represented in terms of cultural uses
of specific intervals of the stratigraphy (Fig. 1B). Instructors can
use this figure to illustrate the Western scientific concept of
stratigraphy/depositional environments and immediately
link this information to traditional Acoma cultural knowledge
and uses of different geologic materials. After the student/
implications for the community (e.g., the formation used in the
construction of their homes—the Dakota Sandstone), our intent
is that they will begin to recognize the same stratigraphic
horizon and its potential use in different parts of the reserva-
tion. This recognition, in turn, develops the Western scientific
concept of stratigraphic correlation.
Such usage would be an example of place-based education
(PBE), which has been successful as a framework for teaching