Harvesting Energy from the Sun: An Indigenous Solar Energy Curriculum Development Process

Indigenous communities are commonly located in rural areas and have unique historical, social, cultural, and political contexts. The STAR (Service to All Relations) School, specifically, is located in the rural Southwest near the Navajo Nation and is the first off-grid solar-and wind-powered public elementary/middle school in the United States. The STAR School orients its place-based philosophy and teaching toward the core values of community building, respect, relationships, responsibility, and reasoning. As sovereign entities, Indigenous Tribes have a unique opportunity to advance Native nation building. Similarly, educators have the ability to advance Native nation building within the classroom through curricula. This article shares a curriculum development process in which Indigenous Ways of Knowing inform students’ relationships with the sun and frame how the cycle of solar photovoltaic energy generation can be taught in the context of life cycles, the harvest, and an understanding of the lessons and examples that natural systems teach. Educators’ ability to implement such a curriculum while emphasizing the key advantages of an off-grid photovoltaic energy system for energy security and energy sovereignty for rural Native communities further supports the goals of raising generations of youth with agency to support Native nation building. Place-based solar energy lessons that honor Indigenous Knowledge Systems at the STAR School are discussed.