Local Learning starts with local partners to shape curriculum and archive use

Rathje said Local Learning’s projects begin with local partners, asking archivists and fieldworkers which items they consider most special and which stories they want amplified. She cited examples including work with Washington State Parks on Mount Saint Helens, New York Folklore with the Seneca Nation, History Miami Museum, Vermont Folklife, and Oklahoma State University, and described how partners’ priorities shape curriculum themes such as ecology, civil-rights history and seasonal rounds.

That local-first approach, Rathje said, produces heterogeneous curricular sets that reflect each partner's questions and community needs. She emphasized that working with local archivists and fieldworkers also speeds discovery of powerful interview excerpts and helps ensure ethical, community-centered pedagogy.