Open-access learning materials will be in classrooms next school year
June 25, 2025
ESPAÑOLA NM – The LANL Foundation and the NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN) are proud to announce the forthcoming launch of the Indigenous Science Initiative (ISI), the nation’s first open-source, national and state standards-aligned science curriculum centered on Indigenous knowledge, values, and learning practices. Set to be piloted in classrooms this fall, the initiative directly addresses urgent calls for culturally relevant education for Native American students and their peers.
This work is part of a broader effort to transform education in New Mexico and beyond—especially in response to the 2018 Martinez v. Yazzie court decision, which found that the state was not meeting its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education to Native American students and other historically underserved groups. The ISI is a direct response to that call, aiming to provide an academically rigorous and culturally sustaining curriculum that reflects and respects the identities of the students and educators it serves. The initiative also aligns with the LANL Foundation’s mission to support and grow educators and educational leaders by transforming systems to foster inquiry-driven, inclusive, and highly effective learning environments.
For the past two years, the LANL Foundation and NISN have worked together to develop the Indigenous Science Initiative, a collaborative curriculum-design project led by seven Teacher-Designers from across New Mexico and Arizona, grounded in community wisdom. The middle grades science curriculum covers grades six through eight, reflecting Indigenous stories and perspectives, emphasizing climate science, and embracing inquiry-based learning.
“Science instruction has historically been treated as ‘acultural,’ but we know that science and knowledge systems are anything but. Students and educators thrive when they have access to learning that reflects their stories, their communities, and their experiences.”
– Paul LeFrançois,
LANL Foundation K-12 Program Coordinator
Each teacher designer is developing materials specific to their grade level, with support from in-person and virtual workshops, community-led design processes, stipends, and access to resources. The final curriculum will include a comprehensive program design narrative, a yearlong plan, and four unit plans per grade level. The materials are aligned with the New Mexico STEM Ready! Science Standards, which are based on the national Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
“This is not just a curriculum—it’s a way of honoring Indigenous education that looks seven generations ahead.We want students to engage deeply with science while also seeing themselves reflected in the work. That’s how you build knowledge, confidence, and relationship with place.”
– Diane Katzenmeyer Delgado,
NISN Director of Curriculum
The curriculum themes are deeply rooted in Indigenous values and local knowledge. Sixth grade centers around ideas of intergenerational learning, community engagement, and understanding seasonal changes. Seventh grade focuses on systems thinking and the belief that we hold responsibility for the planet we live on. Eighth grade explores reciprocity, preservation, and traditional ecological knowledge, encouraging students to develop strong relationships with the land and to serve as good relatives within their communities.
“It’s so important for students to experience lessons that reflect them, and that’s what we’re working toward here,” said Tylar Rodriguez, a teacher co-designer of the sixth-grade curriculum and teacher at Phoenix International Academy. “Our three main goals are making sure this curriculum is community-based and driven, place-based and localized, and to identify the key principles of Indigenous Science.”
Each unit explores core ideas through lenses of relationships, identity, culture, and reciprocity. For example, students might examine water systems and their cultural importance in the “Relationships” unit, or investigate historical land use and ecosystems in the “Identity” unit. Other units explore storytelling and Indigenous tools as ways of understanding air, life systems, and sustainability, culminating in final units that invite students to build knowledge through gardening, communal service, and land-based practices.
The ISI curriculum will be launched in select partner school districts during the 2025-26 school year and later released as an open-access resource for educators across the country and the globe. Teacher-designers will also lead trainings and convenings to guide other educators and school leaders in rolling out the curriculum.
Educators from throughout New Mexico and North America gathered for three days of in-person teaching and learning this summer at The Native Literature and Indigenous Science Symposium in Santa Fe. In addition to shared land-based learning experiences, participants took part in either a Native Lit or Indigenous Science track, learning about each curriculum through experience.
Click here for more information about the Indigenous Science Curriculum and to receive updates.
About the LANL Foundation
Since 1997, the LANL Foundation has been investing in education, learning, and human potential in Northern New Mexico. Through diverse programming and collaboration with key partners, the LANL Foundation works to ensure that all New Mexicans have the skills and confidence they need to be self-sufficient lifelong learners who are engaged in their communities. LANL Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of students’ access to academic and technical opportunities, leading to quality jobs by supporting college and career readiness in schools, districts, communities, Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations. For more information visit: lanlfoundation.org.
About the NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN)
NISN is a community of Indigenous schools and partners across the nation. Since 2015, NISN has been steadfast in its commitment to creating a long-lasting impact through community design rooted in Indigenous genius. Culturally relevant education, continuous reflection, and improvement guide the work. The Network comprises thirteen schools in five states, partnering collectively to transform communities through a three-year Fellowship opportunity, facilities and operations development for schools, a resource hub for curriculum development, youth empowerment, Native language initiatives, and the Indigenous Educators Corps program. To learn more, visit nacainspiredschoolsnetwork.org