Since Time Immemorial
Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State
Since Time Immemorial is a state-mandated Tribal history and culture curriculum, to support the teaching of tribal sovereignty, tribal history, and contemporary tribal affairs for students in grades PK-12 (Early Learning content also available).
The use of the curriculum has been endorsed by all 29 federally recognized tribes of Washington. Highline has partnered with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to incorporate our local tribal history and resources.
The full curriculum can be found on the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction website.
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is Highline’s closest Federally Recognized Tribe, and as such is our Tribal partner. Muckleshoot membership is composed of ancestral Duwamish and Upper Puyallup People who inhabited Central Puget Sound for thousands of years before non-Indian settlement. The members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe are descendants of these peoples, as a result of their treaties the Tribe, their members and reservation are now known as Muckleshoot.
As a result of signing both the Medicine Creek and Point Elliot Treaty our state and state entities have agreements they must uphold with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, as it is a sovereign Nation.
Learn more:
Land & Peoples Acknowledgement
“It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation.” – Northwestern University
“When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It’s a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future. We carry our ancestors in us, and they’re around us. As you all do.” – Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)
A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment - Native Governance Center
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Highline Public Schools Land Acknowledgement
We begin by acknowledging that we are on the ancestral land stewarded since time immemorial by the Salish people of the Duwamish, Green, White, Cedar, and Upper Puyallup Rivers, many of these giving birth to the contemporary citizens of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. We honor and give thanks that we are able to collectively engage in this conversation on their sacred homelands about the future of teaching and caring for our sacred children and youth.
Language Acknowledgement
As a diverse district we believe language is tied to and a part of culture. That said, we felt it was important to acknowledge the language of the land and the first peoples - Lushootseed
Lushootseed Language Acknowledgement
We honor the ancestral language of these lands and waters and the many tribal peoples who have continued to protect and teach the language. We honor the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for continuing to partner with Highline Public Schools which is located within Muckleshoot’s usual and accustomed territories.
