"After Dora Hugs enrolled in a Montana State University program designed to strengthen science education for Native American students, the science teacher at St. Charles Mission School in Pryor, Mont., and member of the Crow tribe decided to invite Crow elders into her classroom.

"One elder related a story about how our ancestors knew about the stars," she said. "Another elder showed how she was taught to tell the longest day of the year and the shortest day of the year."

Hugs said her MSU classes emphasized the importance of making science lessons culturally relevant. The approach was successful, she added, because "the students saw that (science) wasn't just the teacher's point of view."

For these and other efforts, Hugs, 60, was recently named Outstanding Non-traditional Student in the Western United States. She is the first student ever nominated by MSU for the outstanding nontraditional student award."

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MSU grad Dora Hugs makes science lessons culturally relevant (MSU News 6/15)