Indian Canyon is an important resource for school
districts throughout the Central Coast area. Elementary
school students learning about California history come to
the Canyon to experience where the Costanoan lived and
continue to live, to hear their stories and history, and,
most importantly, to meet living California Indians, a
people who are as much a part of California today as they
were 1 50 years ago. During each school year, several dozen
elementary and high schools from San Francisco to San Luis
Obispo bring students to Indian Canyon. For many schools,
this trip is an annual event. Students and teachers prepare
for the trip by malting a pledge to the Earth which they
speak at a gathering in the Canyon.
The Canyon also offers an invaluable
resource for college and graduate school students interested
in California history, Native American Studies,
conservation and natural resources, community studies, and
other disciplines. At any given time the Canyon is
host to a half dozen researchers and interns from colleges
and universities throughout Northern California. Some of
theirprojects have included: preparation of cultural
materials for the Living Museum, stream and native plant
restoration, census studies, and cultural histories.
The Village House will augment students’ experience of
Indian Canyon by serving as a teaching site and by allowing
for more winter and spring school visits.
