About Me
Hello everyone, My name is Cesar Villanueva; I am a 24-year-old master's student born and raised in Woodland, California. A few things about me are that I am currently in the Applied Anthropology program at SJSU (San Jose State University). I am also an archaeologist/field tech and have experience working for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Far Western Anthropological Research Group, and Kleinfelder. Lastly, I enjoy football, basketball, hiking, and exploring new foods and cities. As I worked for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, I was inspired to aid in their goal of receiving federal recognition. I wanted to pursue a graduate project that educates young learners about the tribe's past and present while bringing awareness to their presence and struggle.
About My Degree
Currently, at SJSU, I am pursuing my MA degree in Applied Anthropology. The classes for this degree have been a wonderful and culminating experience up to this point; they have given me relevant skills that I can apply to research, write, and develop a curriculum that will provide education for English and Spanish learners. I believe that having a curriculum that is accessible to a larger audience, including English and Spanish speakers, will be instrumental in raising more awareness of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
My Time at NUMU
Cesar working in Trinity National Forest Surveying Burn Scars from the Monument Fire
I am ultimately interning with NUMU as a part of a larger project concerning the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe exhibit; however, I am creating an education-based bilingual toolkit that aligns with the exhibit's main themes that are designed for students in grades 3-5. NUMU, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, SJSU, and I all share the same goal of promoting a deeper understanding of local indigenous art, culture, history, and contemporary issues in Los Gatos and the greater Bay Area and preserving and sharing knowledge about critical issues of federal recognition that the Muwekma Ohlone continue to fight for. I am excited about the opportunity to create a toolkit that links disciplines such as history and art. Both of the exhibitions have developed collaboratively and in the end the toolkit will bridge the gap between both and be used as a lasting resource for NUMU, the Muwekma Ohlone, and local teachers.
While this is my first time creating a curriculum, I have always been interested in teaching. Although this interest began through sports, I was in leadership roles teaching others, and training others. My past teaching experience, such as being an assistant trainer for the I’m Possible Basketball training and as an assistant basketball coach with my father, has helped me understand how younger students take to instruction. Because of this, I feel as if I had a grasp on developing activities and discussions for young learners to explore and work through in this toolkit. As a result of collaborating with NUMU staff members Michèle Jubilee and Alexandra Schindler, my education and curriculum development skills have expanded immensely, and I’m excited to see how teachers and students will use this toolkit.
I will also be conducting a survey in connection with the toolkit. It will be another element of my graduate project, as I will put the toolkit and survey results into a project report. Here I aim to learn what the teachers enjoyed, the students enjoyed, and how and if the Spanish translation was used. This will be instrumental in understanding what can be improved upon to not only aid teaching material for the tribe but for young learners throughout the Bay Area.
Takeaways
One thing that stood out to me while building this toolkit was NUMU's vital inclusion of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s input on the direction of the exhibitions and its central themes while working with many collaborators. It has been a pleasure creating and working with people who are all invested in creating something that will provide young learners with the opportunity to understand the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s story and to participate in learning experiences that will challenge them to utilize their creative minds.
Overall, the internship at NUMU has changed my perspective on museums as a whole. Never once have I thought that I would be able to bridge language barriers with my toolkit and leave something behind that others can continuously add and build upon. Apart from learning that museums create fantastic toolkits, I began to understand how NUMU is an innovative institution that strives to bring awareness to issues in the local community and extended Bay Area. They also welcome people from all walks of life and cater to many audiences. It has a very welcoming atmosphere, and not many museums provide that. Speaking from personal experience, some museums can be very intimidating and pompous. That is not even remotely close to how NUMU operates; it is an institution that has offered an incredible amount of respectful collaboration and learning experiences.
I hope you enjoy the toolkit! If you’d like to connect with me, you can reach out via email at cesar.m.villanueva@sjsu.edu.
-Written by Cesar Villanueva
