For millennia, Native peoples have used stories to unlock learning. Stories introduce cultural humility, expose cultural biases, and show us how preconceived notions influence how we learn and retain information. When we harness the power of stories in our learning and development programs, we can better understand our audience and build inclusive learning, using the Native American culture as an example.
This session will use a storytelling method to introduce how cultural considerations and lived experiences can influence how one learns. Through mini-lessons and stories, we will experience a cultural way of teaching from Indigenous cultures. We will see, for example, how Native American stories often include elements of nature to teach a lesson, showing our connectedness to all things and helping in knowledge retention by relating the lesson to a visual aid.
PRESENTER
Fawn Sanchez is Shoshone-Bannock from Fort Hall, Idaho, and is Carizzo-Comcrudo, an Indigenous tribe in Mexico. Fawn is a Learning and Development professional, having spent 11 years at Amazon managing learning strategy across several technical programs and global organizations. Fawn currently manages learning programs on Native American cultural awareness at Tribal Tech, LLC. A diversity thought leader, Fawn previously led the Indigenous Peoples ERG at Amazon for 7 years. Fawn is an AISES Sequoyah Fellow, and a member of the Indigi-Genius AI Board of Directors, providing culturally relevant AI/ML educational programming to Native youth and educators. Fawn is a mentor and speaker with Ignite Worldwide, an organization that creates equity in STEM careers and works to bridge the digital divide and remove barriers to accessing STEM education in underserved communities. Fawn is a 3rd generation Army Veteran and served 8 years of active duty in the US Army. Fawn has a BA in Journalism, an MA in Human Resource Management, an MBA, and a PHR Certification, and is an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, and certified in AI for Business Essentials. Fawn lives in the Seattle area with her children Eli and Isabella.
Use our community event submission form to add your event: