For the 2023-2024 school year, students in Madera South High School’s historical literacy course plan to conduct oral history interviews with Madera County indigenous people. In their research thus far, students have found that most historical accounts of native peoples are written from non-native perspectives. The goal of this oral history project is for local tribal members to share their histories in their own words. While Madera Method projects have traditionally focused on narrative retellings of the past, students this year want to acknowledge and embrace the rich tradition of oral storytelling practiced by local indigenous groups. For this project, students will record oral history participants as they share their stories. Those recordings would then be transcribed and the transcripts from all interviews would be combined into a book-length volume to accompany audio recordings.
If you are a Native American in the Madera County area and are interested in sharing your story as part of this project, please contact us through MaderaMethod.com/contact-us or email MSHS Historical Literacy teacher Valerie Shelton at valerieshelton@maderausd.org.
