Webinar - The United Nations and Indigenous Peoples: Advocating for Education
On Sunday, January 24, 2021 from 3-5 the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations celebrated The International Day of Education. Over 400 people registered for the CTAUN webinar: The United Nations and Indigenous Peoples: Advocating for Education. A group of inspired CTAUN planners constructed a roster of Indigenous educational leaders and student speakers, along with Ramu Damodaran and Anne-Marie Carlson hosting, to develop new perspectives of the history of Indigenous Peoples. Educators discovered how the United Nations and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples have been advancing reconciliation and reshaping the education systems on international levels. Since many textbooks lack the journey of Indigenous Peoples, the webinar provided valuable resources and first-hand accounts.
The
webinar began as Anne-Marie Carlson, Chair
of the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations, welcomed everyone and
shared the Land Acknowledgement followed by “13 Anniversary of the Adoption of
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General
Assembly and States.”
Ramu Damodaran
Ramu Damodaran, Deputy Director for Partnership and Public Engagement in the United Nations Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division, the moderator of the webinar, shared how the United Nations has supported Indigenous Education in different parts of the world and he reflected on the careers and contributions of each speaker. Mr. Damodaran’s reflections during the webinar were sometimes informational, sometimes reflective, and always with grace.
Nina Kantcheva, Senior Policy Adviser UN Development Programme (UNDP) presented the Equator Prize Initiative that ensured respect and recognition for Indigenous Peoples sovereignty and traditional knowledge. For over 10 years communities around the world have received this prize, which comes with an award of $10,000, to sustain their nature-based solutions. The UNDP initiative highlighted that the strength of partnerships with Indigenous Peoples was necessary to protect their lands and to combat climate change.
Nina Kantcheva
Chief Wilton Littlechild,, Cree Chief and Lawyer–Alberta, Canada and Former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and member of Parliament, revealed how the separation from parents, removal of language, and the denial of human rights was slowly reversed with the creation of the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Recognition of Indigenous Peoples rights is still a challenge as reconciliation slowly advances. You can watch his slide presentation here:
Dr. Elizabeth Rule, Chickasaw Nation, George Washington University-Professor of Native American Political Leadership Program shared how the GWU program reflected the United Nations vision of bringing communities together and through education ensuring the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Dr. Rule’s innovative program was highlighted by three of her Indigenous students: Allissia Bandin (Tohono O’odham), Ternance Fields (Pawnee), Samantha Harrison (Inupiat). Recognizing these students’ educational journeys shared the impact of Dr. Rule’s innovative program.
Dr. Elizabeth Rule
Dr. Edwin Schupman, Muscogee Nation,Manager of National Education at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian shared how misconceptions and lack of information in textbooks, media presentations, and political dialogue had denied Indigenous Peoples the recognition and respect they deserved. His innovative NK360 curriculum offered by the National Museum of the American Indian would give teachers valuable resources to reshape the deficient school curriculums that exist, to combat racism, and to celebrate differences.
Questions and Answers Ramu Damodaran directed questions to different speakers. It was at this time that one of the speakers recommended that volunteering was an act of reconciliation to share the ways of Indigenous Peoples.
Anne-Marie Carlson closed the webinar with tributes to the CTAUN team of designers and producers.
Reported by Mary Metzger
A recording of the entire webinar can be found HERE
Resources for Educators
1. Reference Resources of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations 2. Lesson Plans and Activities for Non Indigenous and Indigenous Peoples 3. Reference Resources Related to COVID-19
1.
Reference Resources of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
was adopted by the General Assembly on
Thursday, 13 September 2007, by a majority of 144 states. It establishes a
universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well
being of the indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing
human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific
situation of indigenous peoples.
Document
United Nations. (March 2008). Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UNDRIP). Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
Video
The anniversaries of the adoption of
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People reflected
on a variety of achievements and ongoing persistent challenges around the
world.
“10th Anniversary United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” YouTube, 28 Nov. 2017,
“13th Anniversary of the Adoption of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General
Assembly and States.” YouTube, 15
Sept 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYy7Ds2szWk
The United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group
(IASG)
on Indigenous Issues strengthens
inter-agency cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system.WebsiteThe
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is a
high- level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council. The Forum was
established on 28 July 2000 with the mandate to deal with
indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the
environment, education, health and human rights. WebsiteVideos
Chairperson Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, United Nations
Permanent Forum official, refers to the interests and concerns of Indigenous
People.
“UNICEF: Securing the
Rights of Indigenous People.” YouTube,
16 April 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVREa0NJAuE
Despite progress to
protect their rights, many of the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples face
discrimination and threats to their livelihoods and ancestral lands.
“Protecting the Rights and Wellbeing of
Indigenous Peoples.” YouTube, Apr
2, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXz96CvgEy4&feature=youtu.be
The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the
Education 2030 Agenda bring new impetus to ensure that indigenous peoples’
priorities are heard. The document compiles practical examples related to
indigenous peoples’ right to education, extracted from reports submitted by
Member States. WebsiteDocument
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2019). Indigenous peoples’ right to education:
overview of the measures supporting the right to education for indigenous
peoples reported by Member States in the context of the ninth Consultation on
the on the 1960 Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in
Education. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000369698
Video
Remarks by Ms. Yalitza Aparicio, UNESCO Goodwill
Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples, on the conclusion of the 2019
International Year of Indigenous Languages, High-level event, General
Assembly.
“UNESCO: Yalitza Aparicio on the Conclusion of the 2019
International Year of Indigenous Languages, High Level event, in the United
Nations General Assembly.” YouTube,
28 Nov. 2017,
http://webtv.un.org/watch/yalitza-aparicio-unesco-on-the-conclusion-of-the-2019-international-year-of-indigenous-languages-high-level-event-general-assembly/6116525318001/
The
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is commitment to support
the indigenous children in areas that include, but not limited to: health and
nutrition; quality education that ensures their practices and beliefs;
effective, culturally sensitive protection and support; and participation in
the decisions that affect them. This commitment is anchored in the principles
and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). WebsiteDocument
United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) Innocenti Research Centre. (October 2003). Innocenti Digest 11 – Ensuring the Rights of Indigenous Children.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.unicef.org/policyanalysis/rights/files/Indigenous_Digest-Ensuring_Rights_of_Indigenous_Children.pdf
Video
UNICEF
works for the rights of every child, every day, across the globe.
“UNICEF: For Every Child.” YouTube, 11 Dec
2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1xkXZs0cAQ
The
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nation’s
development agency and plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals. WebsiteVideos
The
Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil
society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance
local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient
communities.
“Equator Prize 2020: Community Statement.” YouTube, Sep 29, 2020, https://youtu.be/7QqneOApcug
Equator
Prize Award Ceremony, held on 29 September 2020, honored 10
outstanding Indigenous and local groups from 10 countries, each showcasing
innovative, nature-based solutions for tackling biodiversity, climate change,
development, and poverty challenges.
“ Equator Prize 2020:
Nature for Life.” YouTube, Oct 9,
2020, https://youtu.be/d_as129DW1U
The
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is
also integrated within operational activities and programs at the country
level, affecting the lives of all indigenous peoples.
Document
United
Nations. (2009). The United Nations
Development Group’s Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://unsdg.un.org/resources/united-nations-development-groups-guidelines-indigenous-peoples-issues
Videos
Nemonte
shares her clarity of purpose, as president of the Waorani of Pastaza and a
co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance. She protects the Waorani’s ancestral home
in Ecuador from immediate destruction.
“Nemonte Nenquimo, Time
List 2020.” YouTube, Sep 25,
2020, https://youtu.be/L42ZY_wmscM
Edwin Shupman refers
to the American Indian Responses to
Environmental Challenges as an interactive educational resource that
teaches how four Native nations are addressing environmental issues in their
homelands.
“Teach In 2020: American
Indian Response to Environmental Challenges.”YouTube, Oct 9, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUrI3DRYi6w&feature=youtu.be
Winona
LaDuke LaDuke (member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg of the White Earth
reservation) is an internationally known activist working on issues of
sustainable development, renewable energy, and food systems.
“Teach In 2020
Keynote—Winona LaDuke: Water and Food Justice.”YouTube, Oct 9, 2020,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVbi-W0Z7T8&feature=youtu.be
In 1882 the Danish
researcher and teacher Sophus Tromholt travelled to Northern Norway took
photographs of the native inhabitants of the Sápmi area, formerly known as
Lapland.
“People
of the Sapmi: Northern Norway.” YouTube, Apr
28, 2018, https://youtu.be/ya6yw7RPjGg
Tara Houska is a tribal
rights attorney in Washington DC. She’s also former Director at Honor the
Earth, the indigenous environmental justice group. Tara is of Couchiching
First Nation, bear clan, and in late 2016, she called Morton County North
Dakota home for six months.
“Tara Houska: The Last
Holders.” YouTube, 1 Aug
2019, https://youtu.be/4J7qxGJV_Og
An introduction to the
Sami history, culture and language.
“My
People: The Sami People.” YouTube,
29 May 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIU7KEis3w&feature=youtu.be
2. Education Resources of Non Indigenous and Indigenous Peoples
The
educational resources are a sample from different countries around the world,
including: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States of America. By
using or adapting the core lessons and activities, your students may address
essential questions regarding indigenous people. For example, New Zealand has
already established the sustainable Action
Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 to recover from COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia
Grade:Foundation – Year 10
Subject: Science
Title: Australian
Curriculum: Science Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and
Cultures Cross-Curriculum Priority
Description:
Aboriginal
Peoples and Torres Strait islander Peoples have worked scientifically for
millennia and continue to contribute to contemporary science and provide the
opportunity to embed a uniquely Australian perspective into the Science
curriculum.
Resource:
Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (November
2019). Australian Curriculum: Science
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross-Curriculum
Priority. Content elaborations and
teacher background information for Foundation to Year 6. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/5653/ccp-tbi-f-6-ver5-online.pdf
Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (November
2019). Australian Curriculum: Science
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross-Curriculum
Priority. Content elaborations and
teacher background information for Years 7-10. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/5157/ccp-tbi-7-10.pdf
Canada
Grade:K-10
Subject: Title: Shared Learnings:
Integrating BC Aboriginal Content K-10
Description:
The
resource focuses on the diversity, depth, and integrity of the cultures of
British Columbia Indigenous peoples. The curriculum helps teachers bring
Indigenous knowledge into the classroom in a way that is accurate, and gives
Indigenous students a sense of place and belonging in the public school
system.
Resource:
Aboriginal
Education Enhancements Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Education.
(2006). Shared Learnings: Integrating BC
Aboriginal Content K-10. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/aboriginal-education/shared_learning.pdf
Grade:K-12
Subject: All
Title: British Columbia:
Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in K-12 Curriculum
Description:
These
documents reflect implicit and explicit references to Indigenous Knowledge
and Perspectives throughout the K-12 Curriculum. Educators may use this
resource to easily access where Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives
intersect with the curriculum in every area of learning at every grade level.
Now,
with the education transformation, there is an attempt to incorporated
Indigenous perspectives into all parts of the curriculum in a meaningful and
authentic manner.Resource:
Ministry
of Education, Government of British Columbia. (October 5, 2020).Indigenous
Knowledge and Perspectives in K-12 Curriculum. Retrieved December 25,
2020, from
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/indigenous-education-resources/indigenous-knowledge-and-perspectives-k-12-curriculum
Grade:6
Subject: Meaningful
Reconciliation
Title: What Can I
Contribute to Meaningful Reconciliation? Teaching and learning about
residential schools.
Description:
Reconciliation
is both an individual journey as well as a collective journey. Our hope is
that this resource will support our students in learning the history present
within our community, create intercultural understanding of our complex
communities, and help build the unknown future ahead.
Resource:
The
Critical Thinking Consortium. (n.d.).What Can I Contribute to Meaningful Reconciliation? Teaching and
learning about residential schools. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, fromhttps://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/reconciliation/meaningful_reconciliation.pdf
New Zealand
Grade:Y1-Y13
Subject: All
Title: The New Zealand
Curriculum
Description:
The
New Zealand Curriculum is a statement of official policy relating to teaching
and learning in English-medium New Zealand schools. A parallel document, Te
Marautanga o Aotearoa, serves the same function for Māori-medium schools.
Although they come from different perspectives, both give effect to the
partnership that is at the core of our nation’s founding document, Te Tiriti
o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi.
Resources:
Ministry
of Education of New Zealand. (2015). The
New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
file:///Users/macuser/Downloads/NZ%20Curriculum%20Web-1.pdf
Ministry
of Education of New Zealand. (2017). Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
file:///Users/macuser/Downloads/Te%20Marautanga%20o%20Aotearoa%202017.pdf
Grade:Early childhood
education, schooling system, tertiary education institutions
Subject: All
Title: Action Plan for
Pacific Education 2020-2030
Description:
The
Action Plan’s release coincides with a world changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The vision for this Action Plan is ‘diverse Pacific learners and families are
safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations’. This was
developed following a series of conversations across New Zealand with Pacific
learners, families and communities.
Resource:
Ministry
of Education of New Zealand. (July, 2020). Action Plan for Pacific Education
2020-2030. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
file:///Users/macuser/Downloads/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum.pdf
United States of America
Grade:Pre K-13+
Subject: All
Title: Native Knowledge
360° Essential Understandings about American Indians
Description:
The
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Native Knowledge 360° Essential
Understandings about American Indians is a framework that offers new
possibilities for creating student learning experiences. Building on the ten
themes of the National Council for the Social Studies’ national curriculum
standards, the NMAI’s Essential Understandings reveal key concepts about the
rich and diverse cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Native
peoples.
Resource:
The
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). (n.d.). Native Knowledge 360° Essential Understandings about American
Indians. Retrieved December 25, 2020, fromhttps://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/lessons-resources/search-resources
Grade:K-12
Subject: Science
Title: A Handbook for
Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum
Description:
For
many Indigenous educators, a culturally responsive science curriculum has to
do with their passion for making cultural knowledge, language and values a
prominent part of the schooling system. For non-Indigenous educators, a
culturally responsive science curriculum has more to do with adjusting
teaching strategies to make a place for such knowledge, and coming to value a
new perspective. It too has to do with addressing science standards and
finding the knowledge, strategies, and support needed to carry out this work
together.
Resource:
Alaska
Native Knowledge Network, Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI), and the
Alaska Department of Education (2000). A
Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum. Retrieved December
25, 2020, from http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/publications/handbook/handbook.pdf
Grade:Elementary, Middle School, High School
Subject: Language
Title: Rising
Voices/Hótȟaŋiŋpi: Learning the Lakota Language
Description:
The study
guide has activities for teachers of classes in schools where Lakota is not
taught, but also many exercises for teachers in schools that do have required
Lakota language classes.
The
teacher’s guide has three main sections: Comprehension exercises, expansion
activities, and Lakota language exercises.
Resource:
Rising Voices/Hótȟaŋiŋpi. (2020). Study Guide. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
Grade:Elementary, Middle School, High School
Subject: Music
Title: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings –
Indigenous People in the World
Description:
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the
nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of
the United States. The organization is dedicated to supporting cultural
diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation,
preservation, and dissemination of sound.
Resource:
Smithsonian Institution. (2020). Folkways Recording. https://folkways.si.edu
Grade:K-2
Subject: History
Title: Shawnee: Who We Are
Yesterday and Today
Description:
Students will explore
various components of identity within the context of the Piqua Shawnee Nation
of Alabama, the Shawnee Nation prior to contact, and various Shawnee tribes
across the United States. Students will explore what identity means from a
personal individual and collective level, and relate various components of
identity to indigenous peoples. Students will analyze various primary
and secondary sources to understand in a deeper way the identity of the Piqua
Shawnee Nation today. Students will collaborate with tribal members and
classrooms across the state and nation, as well as their peers, in exploring
the identity of this nation. Through purposeful research, reflection, and
collaboration, students will shatter their own misconceptions about
indigenous peoples while creating ways to education their community regarding
the rich identity of the Shawnee Nation today.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Shawnee: Who We Are Yesterday and Today.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/shawnee-who-we-are-yesterday-and-today
Grade: K-2
Subject: History
Title: We Are Still Here:
An Introduction to Native American Communities in Southern New England
Description:
These lessons will be taught near the
beginning of a semester long study of Native Americans in Southern New
England. Students will be introduced to some of the tribal nations in
Southern New England, including Wampanoag, Narragansett, Niantic, Nipmuc and
Mohegan. By examining and discussing photographs and images on their tribal
websites an other social media, students will have the opportunity to reconsider
many preconceptions they may have about Native Americans today. Students will
learn about Strawberry Thanksgiving using the children’s book Strawberry
Thanksgiving written by Paulla Dove Jennings (Niantic and Narragansett) and
illustrated by Ramona Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag). These lessons will serve as
a reference point throughout the study as we consider aspects of culture and
tradition in contemporary native communities.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.We Are Still Here: An Introduction to Native American Communities in
Southern New England. Retrieved December 25,
2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/we-are-still-here-introduction-native-american-communities-southern-new-england
Grade: K-2
Subject: History
Title: Stories We Use to
Understand Our World: Exploring Native American Deeptime Stories and Geology
Explanations
Description:
In this unit, 2nd grade
students will explore two ways that we tell stories in order to explain the
world around us. By focusing on a mountain that is (just about!)
visible from the school, students will connect with the cultural importance
of deep-time stories as a way to understand our landscape. This will be
compared to a geological explanation of mountains. Students will engage
in multiple ways with both types of stories–through listening, analyzing,
illustrating, telling (the story), and comparing. A collaboration between the
classroom and library, this unit includes extension activities in the art
classroom and sets the stage for a connected writing project. Students
engage with local native culture and history and are encouraged to nurture a
deeper respect for traditional tales. A “Read and Analyze Nonfiction
Chart” is used to scaffold a mini-research process, allowing students to
confirm their prior knowledge and uncover misconceptions.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Stories We Use to Understand Our World: Exploring Native American
Deeptime Stories and Geology Explanations.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/stories-we-use-understand-our-world-exploring-native-american-deeptime-stories-and-geology
Grade:K-2
Subject: Language Arts and History
Title: People of the First
Light
Description:
Students compare and contrast traditional to contemporary
cultures and languages of Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribe using
primary and secondary sources.
Students compare and organize daily life and responsibilities of
family members, identify forms of sustenance, horticulture, and special
occasions, discuss self-identity through kinship and clans of the Wampanoag
people.
Students critique and find similarities of oral traditions and
folklores used for culture teachings, explore how Native American names,
labels, or phrases are used worldwide, and analyze their own language to
identify factors that lead to language loss and the effects of the loss.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.). Teaching Native American Histories.People of the First Light. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/people-first-light
Grade:K-2
Subject: History
Title: Indian People Still
Exist: Bridging the Knowledge-Gap That May Persist Among Elementary School
Children to Show the Continuous Link between 17th Century Patuxet Wampanoag
to Present-Day Wampanoag
Description:
During a fall unit within the Second Grade “Journeys” social
studies curriculum, students focus on the 1620/21“encounter,” exploring the
differences between aspects of daily life of the English and Wampanoag
People, as well as the story about [according to current scholarship] their
encounter and subsequent “Harvest Feast”.
The following unit addresses the fact that although many of the
Wampanoag traditions have been absorbed into mainstream society and even
disappeared, some have been maintained. The Wampanoag project to
revitalize their language is a concrete and meaningful example of how not
only do “Indians still exist today,” but that aspects of their culture still
live on. This will be addressed in light of the fact that all cultures,
including those with which the students identify, evolve in order to survive
throughout technological and other influences over time.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.). Teaching Native American Histories. Indian People Still
Exist: Bridging the Knowledge-Gap That May Persist Among Elementary School
Children to Show the Continuous Link between 17th Century Patuxet Wampanoag
to Present-Day Wampanoag. Retrieved December 25, 2020,
from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/indian-people-still-exist-bridging-knowledge-gap-may-persist-among-elementary-school-children-show
Grade:K-5
Subject: U.S. History,
Painting, Dance
Title: Language of Place:
Hopi Place Names, Poetry, Traditional Dance and Song
Description:
This
is a three-lesson ELA curriculum unit, which
guides students’ exploration of Hopi language forms in order to help them to
understand the Hopi’s centuries-old relationship with the land and the
process of growing corn.
Lesson 1 uncovers the Hopi homeland through maps and
place names. Students examine regional place names of their own home
communities and create personal maps;Lesson 2 involves a close study of contemporary Hopi
poet, Ramson Lomatewama. Students analyze how Lomatewama’s uses figurative
language to describe his intimate relationship with the land;Lesson 3 pursues corn as a symbol manifested in Hopi
song and traditional dances. Students analyze examples of these in order to
expand their cultural awareness.
Resource:
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). (n.d.). Edsitement! The Best of Humanities on the
Web.Language of Place: Hopi Place Names,
Poetry, Traditional Dance and Song.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/curricula/language-place-hopi-place-names-poetry-traditional-dance-and-song
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Picture This: An
interactive read aloud of 1621: A New Look At Thanksgiving
Description:
In this lesson, students will sketch what they think the first
Thanksgiving looked like, and they will share their sketches and thinking
with a nearby partner. Following this, they will participate in an
interactive read aloud of 1621, A New Look at
Thanksgiving, where they will listen to the story, analyze
the pictures, and answer and discuss document based questions that are geared
to enhance their understanding of the First Thanksgiving. After the story is
read, students will again sketch what they think the first Thanksgiving
looked like and compare their sketches. The hope is the new and accurate
information from the book will alleviate stereotypes based off of perpetuated
misinformation.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Picture This: An interactive read aloud of 1621: A New Look At
Thanksgiving. Retrieved December 25, 2020,
from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/picture-interactive-read-aloud-1621-new-look-thanksgiving
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Water and Life: An
Introduction to the Lands of the Wampanoag
Description:
Our students have a
relationship with land and water. As humans we have a relationship with the
land and water. What does that relationship look like? Students will reflect
on their connection with water as they begin to learn about the cultural
identity of the Wampanoag Nation through the reading of primary and secondary
Wampanoag sources.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Water and Life: An Introduction to the Lands of the Wampanoag. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/water-and-life-introduction-lands-wampanoag
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: First Contact
Mini-Unit
Description:
This mini-unit will give
students a deeper understanding of the impact of Colonization on the Native
Peoples of the New England area. Students will- understand that Native
Americans exist in the present, be able to explain the differences of land
usage between the English and the Native population, and understand how
Colonization affected/decimated the Native population. Bonus objective-
students will understand how the Wampanoag tribe is reclaiming their language
through linguistics, language programs, and research.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.First Contact Mini-Unit. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/first-contact-mini-unit
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: New Encounters:
Asking Questions and Inferring Motive from Prime Sources
Description:
In this three-day lesson,
3rd-Graders will be guided through a primary source describing an encounter
between California Coast Miwok and the English privateer Sir Francis Drake.
Starting with a roleplaying activity (Alien Greeting Game), students will
experience and reflect on the confusion that can occur when people from
different cultures meet for the first time. Then, through excerpts from the
journal of Frances Fletcher, the chaplain aboard the Golden Hind, students will
develop a list of research questions. The lesson ends with a connection to
the Doctrine of Discipline, which reveals the true motive of Sir Francis
Drake and other European colonizers. Please note that this three-day lesson
takes place in the middle of a unit on Coast Miwok, so the students already
have some familiarity with the topic.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.New Encounters: Asking Questions and Inferring Motive from Prime
Sources. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/new-encounters-asking-questions-and-inferring-motive-prime-sources
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Elder Interview
Project
Description:
Fourth grade students will
interview elders from the Wampanoag and Mohican Nations. They will
first learn how the interview process works, and practice interviewing their
peers. Students will learn about the history of the Wampanoag and
Mohican Nations so they will have needed background information on the
Nations being represented by the elders they will be interviewing.
Students will develop questions in advance of each interview. These will be
sent in advance to the elder who will be visiting the classroom. On the day
of each interview, students will each receive a printed question sheet with
space to record their answers. The elder will be introduced, and then
the interview will begin. In the next lesson, the students will each create a
project to summarize and reflect on what they have learned. In the last
lesson, students will give an oral reflection to their class.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Elder Interview Project. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/elder-interview-project
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: California’s
Unratified Treaties
Description:
Students will learn about
and read California’s unratified treaties with the Native nations of the
state; students will map the promised land areas and write about how the
state would be different had the treaties been ratified and honored.
Students will finish by learning about modern Native efforts to reclaim land
in their local area.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.California’s Unratified Treaties.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/california%E2%80%99s-unratified-treaties
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Enrichment Unit: Understanding
Indigenous Historical Trauma Via a Short, Middle Grade Novel, Fatty Legs: A
True Story
Description:
By reading the fictionalized memoir account of Canadian boarding
school survivor Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) in the short, middle-grade
novel Fatty Legs: A True Story and
primary source documents, students can explore topics related to the Doctrine
of Discovery, colonization, boarding schools, historical and generational
trauma of Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous resistance. Students can be
directly taught to look through a lens of empathy to understand both the
unfairness Margaret Pokiak-Fenton experienced as well as the remarkable
strengths that she, and many survivors like her, drew on to resist
acculturation and endure. This collection of lessons assumes students have
very little understanding of present day Indigenous Peoples. Students show
learning in two final projects about boarding schools and their effects: 1)
Compassionate Understanding of a Survivor’s Experience and 2) Historical
Trauma and Resilient Survivance.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Enrichment Unit: Understanding Indigenous Historical Trauma Via a
Short, Middle Grade Novel, Fatty Legs: A True Story. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/enrichment-unit-understanding-indigenous-historical-trauma-short-middle-grade-novel-fatty-legs-true
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Understanding
Ourselves through Objects!
Description:
Students bring in objects
to share with their classmates and then write paragraphs describing objects
that are important to them and their culture(s). This project culminates with
a publishing party, followed by a discussion encouraging students to consider
how.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Understanding Ourselves through Objects!
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/understanding-ourselves-through-objects
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native Americans in
New England Curricular Project
Description:
This lesson sequence
introduces students to the idea of Place. Its focus is on building the
language related to the substantive topic of the peoples’ relationship with
Place. We look at a region as a place in which people needed to adapt and
invent ways to acquire their needs from the environment – food, water,
shelter, and companionship. Students will develop their background knowledge
of Native people of the Northeast region through video, photographs, and
picture books that focus on the Wampanoag people.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native Americans in New England Curricular Project. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-americans-new-england-curricular-project
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Wampanoags Past and
Present
Description:
Grade 3 students will develop handmade books that focus on 3 different
time periods in the history of the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts
(Mashpee on Cape Cod and Aquinnah/Gay Head on the island of Martha’s
Vineyard). (Pre-contact, post-contact and present day.)
In session 1, students will create a pre-test drawing that
shows what they know, at present, about the Wampanoag people.
In sessions 2, 3, and 4 students will view videos about the
transportation, shelter and currency used by the Wampanaog Indians as well as
using information from class discussions to create drawings that illustrate
what they have learned.
The primary goal is to have students evaluate the dissonant
elements of their beliefs as they create their handmade books so that they
can alter their preconceived thoughts about Wampanoag people and replace the
incorrect beliefs with accurate information relating to the past and present.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Wampanoags Past and Present. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/wampanoags-past-and-present
Grade:3-5
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: A Broader View of the
History of Thanksgiving
Description:
These lessons are designed
for intermediate level ELL students in Grade 3 for a small group setting.
Joseph Bruchac conceived them to supplement reading lessons using the
biography Squanto’s Journey. Students will begin this unit by sharing
their existing understandings and common myths about the U. S. Thanksgiving
holiday. Students will view a video clip of a contemporary Wampanoag
Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving. Students will be introduced to
Wampanoag history during the growth of colonization as well as gain awareness
of contemporary Wampanoag life in MA. They will engage with primary and
secondary sources and make inferences to construct historical understanding
about Wampanoag and Pilgrim life during the 1620s. Students will
consider the perspectives of Wampanoag and English characters as they make
story boards that re-tell the story of events leading up to the “first
Thanksgiving.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.A Broader View of the History of Thanksgiving. Retrieved December 25, 2020,
from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/broader-view-history-thanksgiving
Grade:6-8
Subject: U.S. History
Title:
Native American Cultures Across the U.S.
Description:
Children’s literature,
movies, and other media often perpetuate generalized stereotypes, whether
positive or negative, in their representations of Native American peoples.
Teaching children about the First Americans in an accurate historical context
while emphasizing their continuing presence and influence within the United
States is important for developing a national and individual respect for the
diverse American Indian peoples, and is necessary to understanding the
history of this country.
Resource:
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). (n.d.). Edsitement! The Best of Humanities on the
Web.Native American Cultures
Across the U.S.Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/native-american-cultures-across-us
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Decolonize your mind;
Re-examine Native Narratives in History
Description:
Students in our area of
Northeastern Pennsylvania (modern-day Pocono Mountains region along the
Delaware River) will learn how the indigenous communities that lived in our
area still influence the land around us today and that they have shaped our
state and have been shaped by our state.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Decolonize your mind; Re-examine Native Narratives in History. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/decolonize-your-mind-re-examine-native-narratives-history
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Manifest Destiny and
the Doctrine of Discovery
Description:
Students in our area of Northeastern
Pennsylvania (modern-day Pocono Mountains region along the Delaware River)
will learn how the indigenous communities that lived in our area still
influence the land around us today and that they have shaped our state and
have been shaped by our state.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery. Retrieved December 25, 2020,
from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/manifest-destiny-and-doctrine-discovery
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: You’re Telling Me the
Thanksgiving Story is a Lie? How Do You Know That?
Description:
Students in our area of Northeastern
Pennsylvania (modern-day Pocono Mountains region along the Delaware River)
will learn how the indigenous communities that lived in our area still
influence the land around us today and that they have shaped our state and
have been shaped by our state.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.You’re Telling Me the Thanksgiving Story is a Lie? How Do You Know
That?Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/you%E2%80%99re-telling-me-thanksgiving-story-lie-how-do-you-know
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: The Debate on the
Iroquois’ Influence on the U.S. Constitution
Description:
The creation of the U.S.
Constitution was considered revolutionary and unprecedented for the 18th
century. The Founding Fathers have been cited to pull inspiration from
ancient Greeks and prior European thought, however, the influence stopped
there. Counter to the colonial mindset conscious, recent scholars have sought
to prove that the Iroquois influenced the creation of the U.S. government by
namely comparing their Great Law of Peace to the Constitution. Other
historians refute that assertion. This lesson asks students to not simply
argue whether or not the Iroquois influenced the Founding Fathers, but rather
why would someone choose to refute or confirm the influence? This serves as a
gateway to a discussion on historical trauma by illuminating how Americans
have denied, discredited, or even erased the contributions of indigenous
nations to the United States.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.The Debate on the Iroquois’ Influence on the U.S. Constitution. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/debate-iroquois%E2%80%99-influence-us-constitution
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Our Story, Our History:
A Reimagining Through Poetry and Primary Source
Description:
This middle school project
is a re-examination of the traditional Thanksgiving story in several parts.
First, students are asked to activate prior knowledge as the whole class
writes a version of the Thanksgiving story. Students will then research and
collect facts on English Settler and Wampanoag lifeways, including analysis
of primary source documents. Web resources and a booklist are included in
these materials. From their research, students will write summary paragraphs
on the two cultures and an opinion paragraph wherein the student chooses to
live in one culture. Templates and organizers included in the project handout
help students to build a three-paragraph essay. Finally, students will turn
research into poetry when they choose an English or Wampanoag identity and
write an ode to that individual’s life, weaving historically accurate
information and the small details of poetic form into their tributes. At this
point, the project may optionally become cross-curricular with art, drama,
and technology.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Our Story, Our History: A Reimagining Through Poetry and Primary
Source. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/our-story-our-history-reimagining-through-poetry-and-primary-source
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native American Reclamation-
Intervention Lessons
Description:
This collection of lessons
centers around the topics of language, education, and cultural
identity. I have put them together with my 7th grade Reading
Intervention group in mind, but the texts could be utilized in any Humanities
course looking at these topics and/or contemporary Native American
culture. Incorporating reading fluency and comprehension strategies
throughout, students will discuss a pre- and post- survey related to the
topic, read an extended periodical article about Wampanoag language
reclamation efforts, watch the documentary We Still Live Here on the same topic, read or listen to an
NPR piece about the legacy of Native American boarding schools, read a
newspaper article about a recent Mashpee High School graduate, and they will
have the opportunity to send an audio ePostcard to someone in a native
language and explore the Our Mother Tongues website.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native American Reclamation- Intervention Lessons. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-american-reclamation-intervention-lessons
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Language of Social
Studies
Description:
This project is intended to
bring awareness of how diverse and plentiful Native American languages were
pre-contact and the effects of colonization on Native languages from
pre-contact to present. Students will take an in depth look at the
Wampanoag language revitalization that is happening with the Wampanoag tribe
in Eastern Massachusetts. In order for students to create an
understanding of how the past affects the present and connect these units to
their lives, students will look at how they are affected by local language
policies in Massachusetts.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Language of Social Studies. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/language-social-studies
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Indian Identity and
Cultural Survivance
Description:
The objective of this
series of lessons is to get students thinking about the current-day presence
of Native people within New England, and by extension, throughout the United
States. Due to the common comment that “there are no Indians living here,”
these lessons will bring to the fore the cultural existence, persistence, and
dynamism of the indigenous peoples of New England. Students will begin with a
simple self-assessment about their knowledge of and stereotypes about
Indians/Native/indigenous people (terms used interchangeably). After and
through class discussion, students will work individually, in small groups,
and collectively to watch a Youtube video, examine primary sources (treaties
and property deeds) to gain an understanding of the persistence and cultural
survivance (a term they will learn) of the indigenous peoples of North
America, specifically nations of the Northeast and the Wampanoag people.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Indian Identity and Cultural Survivance.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/indian-identity-and-cultural-survivance
Grade:6-8
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Evaluating Fiction
About Native Americans
Description:
7th and 8th grade
students will learn to use an online database to identify literature about a
topic and to read literary reviews by authoritative sources. Students
will then compare the reviews of an award-winning book about Native Americans
from published sources with a review written by highly regarded Native
American academic to understand that there is often more than one viewpoint
and that all literature should be read critically. Finally, students will
practice finding reviews from differing perspectives using other novels about
Native Americans. These lessons will take place during three separate
visits to the library during which students learn best practices for
selecting literature for independent reading. The lessons will be
relatively short since students will also need time to select and check out
books.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Evaluating Fiction About Native Americans.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/evaluating-fiction-about-native-americans
Grade:Grade: 6-12
Subject: U.S. History,
Painting, Dance
Title:
Not “Indians,” Many Tribes: Native American
Diversity
Description:
Analyze archival documents to assess the ways
in which the environment is reflected in cultural practices. Assess how geography, culture, and history
influence differences between Native Americans then and now. Illustrate how and why stereotypes and
generalizations misrepresent group identities and cultural heritage.
Resource:
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). (n.d.). Edsitement! The Best of Humanities on the
Web.Not “Indians,” Many Tribes:
Native American Diversity. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/not-indians-many-tribes-native-american-diversity
Grade:Grade: 6-12
Subject: Literature,
Performance
Title:
“Remember” by Joy Harjo
Description:
The foundation of a 21st-century
American community is shared respect among individuals who come from different
backgrounds, places, and experiences. Native Americans take that concept even
further by valuing all the inhabitants of the earth and sky—animal,
vegetable, mineral, and spirit. As first inhabitants of our land, they set a
model for inclusiveness in light of diversity. In her poem
“Remember,” Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek
Nation reminds us to pay attention to who we are and how we’re connected to
the world around us.
Resource:
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). (n.d.). Edsitement! The Best of Humanities on the
Web.“Remember” by Joy Harjo.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/remember-joy-harjo
Grade: Upper
Elementary, Middle School and High School
Subject: U.S.
History
Title:
Resources Related to American Indian and Alaska Native Communities at the
National Archives
Description:
The
billions of historical documents and other materials housed at the National
Archives throughout the country include information relating to American
Indians from the 18th through the 21st century. The National Archives
preserves and makes available the documents created by Federal agencies in
the course of their daily business. The documents we hold related to American
Indians reflect their interaction with the U.S. Government. Learn how to
locate even more of these important historical records in our Native
Communities Program.
Teaching
activities:
Indian Nations vs. Settlers on the American
Frontier: 1786–1788Lewis & Clark’s Expedition to the Complex
WestThe Settlement of the American WestThe Impact of Westward Expansion on Native
American CommunitiesAssimilation of American IndiansAssimilation and the Native People of Metlakahtla,
AlaskaLa Asimilación y la Gente Nativa de
Metlakahtla, AlaskaPetition Against Annexation of Hawaii
Resource: National Archives.
(n.d.) Docs Teach. The online tool for teaching with documents,
from the National Archives. Resources Related to American Indian and
Alaska Native Communities at the National Archives. Retrieved December
25, 2020, from https://www.docsteach.org/topics/american-indians
Grade:Middle School – High
School
Subject: U.S. History
Title: American Indian Reservation
Controversies
Description:
Reservation
Controversies covers historic issues dealing with American Indian
Reservations in the 1870s. This experience uses problem based learning (PBL),
in which the student is confronted or faced with a real world problem which
has no preconceived right or wrong answers.
Using
various teaching/learning strategies, which include brainstorming, role
playing, and oral presentations, the students access primary sources and
other background sources to arrive at a recommendation, based on the
information. The teacher, librarian, and other support staff act as guides or
advisors through most of the process.
use primary sources effectively to gain an understanding of
the history of government relations, policies, and experiences with American
Indian peoples; andeffectively use primary sources from the Library of
Congress and Congress.gov.
Resource:
Library
of Congress. (n.d.). American Indian Reservation Controversies. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/american-indian-reservation-controversies/
Grade:Middle School – High
School
Subject: U.S. History
Title: Indian Boarding
Schools
Description:
In
the late 1800s, the United States began an educational experiment that the government
hoped would change the traditions and customs of Native Americans. Special
boarding schools were created in locations all over the United States with
the purpose of educating American Indian youth. Most of these schools sought
to suppress any sign of students’ tribal heritage and to “Americanize” them.
Thousands of Native American children were sent far from their homes to live
in these schools and learn the ways of white culture. Many struggled with
loneliness and fear away from their tribal homes and familiar customs. Some
lost their lives to the influenza, tuberculosis, and measles outbreaks that
spread quickly through the schools. Others thrived despite the hardships,
formed lifelong friendships, and preserved their tribal identities.
Through
primary source documents, students explore the experiences and perspectives
of individuals involved in Native American boarding schools.
analyze primary source documents;develop an understanding of issues related to the forced
acculturation of Native Americans through government-run boarding schools;
andexamine different perspectives on the education of Native
American children.
Resource:
Library
of Congress. (n.d.). Indian Boarding Schools. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/exploring-the-stories-behind-native-american-boarding-schools/
Grade:9-12
Subject: U.S. History
Title:
Life on the Great Plains
Description:
In this four-part lesson,
students examine the concept of geographic region by exploring the history of
the Great Plains. In Part I, students gather information about the location
and environment of the Great Plains in order to produce a map outlining the
region in formal terms. In Part II, students examine how the region has been
mapped at different stages in U.S. history and create informational brochures
which reflect the changes the maps mark in the functional definitions of the
Great Plains. In Part III, students compare descriptions of the region, from
the time of the Spanish conquistadors to the early 20th century, and write
their own descriptions based on these models in order to gauge how changing
perceptual definitions of a region reshape its identity and its relationship
to human life. Finally, in Part IV, students compare images of two cultures
that made their homes on the Great Plains, Native Americans and
“sodbusters,” and summarize their distinct ways of life and the
distinctive regional identity each brought to the Great Plains by writing imaginary
letters from a Native American and a sodbuster homesick for the land they
have left behind.
Resource:
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). (n.d.). Edsitement! The Best of Humanities on the
Web.Life on the Great Plains.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/life-great-plains
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Connections to Our
Past with Place
Description:
This is a project based
lesson. Students will use maps, locate places, research information about how
the names came to being and if there is an Indigenous story behind the name.
These places do not necessarily have to have a name on a map but has a name
that it is known within the community. Students will present information in a
written, PowerPoint or poster format. This lesson is written using the Great
Basin but can be adjusted to fit any location.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Connections to Our Past with Place.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/connections-our-past-place
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: The Tecumseh War
& Legacy in Modern Indiana
Description:
Students will then
collaborate in pairs to create an original webpage that either focuses on the
historical events surrounding the war or the modern-day indigenous community
in the same territory. The student webpages will be combined into one class
page, where student work can be viewed and shared.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.The Tecumseh War & Legacy in Modern Indiana. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/tecumseh-war-legacy-modern-indiana
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native American
Cultural Genocide & Reclamation: Examining What Was Stolen & What Can
Be Regained
Description:
Students examine the
history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and research modern cultural
reclamation projects.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native American Cultural Genocide & Reclamation: Examining What
Was Stolen & What Can Be Regained.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-american-cultural-genocide-reclamation-examining-what-was-stolen-what-can-be-regained
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: The History of
Sequoyah Schools: Through the Students’ Eyes
Description:
Students entering Sequoyah
High School in the ninth grade are required to participate in a freshmen
orientation course entitled Social/Emotional Learning. The course acclimates
students to high school life and teaches the history of our school.
This curriculum project will examine the existing historical piece of the class.
Currently, students are given historical dates and statistics that are also
displayed on the school and tribal websites. This information softens issues
that occurred throughout our school’s history and overlooks many of the
stories that have been freely shared by alumni who attended the school and
lived on the campus. Through an initial Powerpoint presentation I will
examine several primary source documents from former students. This will lead
to an eight-part discussion and project intended to equip students with an
accurate history of our school and prepare them to search for primary source
documents in their own coursework and research.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.The History of Sequoyah Schools: Through the Students’ Eyes. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/history-sequoyah-schools-through-students%E2%80%99-eyes
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Decolonize Place
Description:
This unit includes three lessons that provide students
opportunities to analyze an article(s) discussing how indigenous history is
not historically accurate through a public display either in a museum or a school
mural.
Students will analyze primary sources pertinent to the history
being conveyed in order for students to critically discern how the
perspective is ahistorical or from a settler colonial perspective rather than
from an indigenous perspective.
Students will eventually write a position paper as to whether or
not the George Washington school mural should be removed due to it possibly
causing historically trauma. With their position paper written,
students will engage in a Socratic discussion grappling with the issues.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Decolonize Place. Retrieved December
25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/decolonize-place
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Whose Land? You be
the Judge!
Description:
This year the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a major decision
concerning Native sovereignty in Oklahoma, potentially impacting every tribe
in the country. Carpenter v. Murphy emerges
out of a murder trial, but the larger story raises issues about the historic
territory of the Muskogee (Creek) nation and contemporary consequences of the
Doctrine of Discovery. Students will learn how legal precedents have resulted
in diminished land claims and tribal jurisdiction. In Oklahoma, the Allotment
Act resulted in the taking of “Indian Territory” promised to the Five
Civilized Tribes after their forced removal on the Trail of Tears.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Whose Land? You be the Judge!
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/whose-land-you-be-judge
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Mapping the Story —
The Power of Perspective
Description:
Students will look at
various maps to identify perspectives, purposes, intended audiences, and
overall messages and implications that are contained in them. We will then
transfer our comments about the maps to a discussion of stories and texts and
how we will analyze, use, and critique what they tell us. Stories and texts
steer us in the same way that maps can, but paying attention to how we are
guided is important to finding our way.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Mapping the Story — The Power of Perspective. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/mapping-story-power-perspective
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts, History and Art
Title: Native New England
Ceramic Traditions Yesterday and Today
Description:
This lesson would be
considered a unit. The goal is to have students look deeply at art of the
Northeast Woodland Native culture both past and present and to see what
meaning they can gain from the exploration to their lives. This skill can be
adapted to any other culture, historical time period for any type of artwork,
traditional, or contemporary. This technique can be very enlightening and
done as a group students can see that everyone will have their own
interpretations of things, but if an understanding can be brought about in
regards to tribally specific meanings people can just begin to understand a
different viewpoint from the dominate culture.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native New England Ceramic Traditions Yesterday and Today. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-new-england-ceramic-traditions-yesterday-and-today
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Compare and Contrast
Early European Contact based on Wampanoag and Coeur d’Alene Experiences
Description:
The interactions between
Native Americans and those of European ancestry was unique to those involved,
particularly when the time of contact and geographic location are taken into
consideration. This project is designed for students to compare and
contrast early contact by looking at the history of the Wampanoag and the
Coeur d’Alene. An element of Coeur d’Alene contact, which has an impact
to be included, is a prophecy by Circling Raven regarding the coming of the
“Black Robes” (Jesuits). Students will be provided readings to serve as
a common base of information from which a class presentation is created which
is then shared with peers.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Compare and Contrast Early European Contact based on Wampanoag and
Coeur d’Alene Experiences. Retrieved December
25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/compare-and-contrast-early-european-contact-based-wampanoag-and-coeur-d%E2%80%99alene-experiences
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: “Trick or
Treaty?” Treaty Negotiations in 18th and 19th Century North America
Description:
When students are asked to
summarize interactions between Indian peoples and Euro-Americans on the North
American continent, they often describe the relations as tenuous, violent,
and one-sided, pointing to the “inevitability” of westward expansion and
dispossession of Indian lands. Indians were often manipulated by treaties
crafted by shrewd, greedy whites. While this interpretation has some merit,
the simple explanation of warfare, deception, and removal does not tell the
complete story and undermines the complexities of the relationship between
Indian peoples and Euro-Americans from the time of contact to the present
day. Historian Colin Calloway argues in “treaty after treaty Europeans and
Americans produced documents…to justify, codify, and perpetuate their
acquisition and occupation of America.” Indian leaders often understood written
treaties had the authority to take away Indian lands, often referring to the
process as “pen and ink witchcraft.” However, far from being “victims”
Calloway maintains Indians participated in the treaty process in various ways
including by signing the agreements, speaking out forcefully, displaying
political shrewdness, negotiating, protesting, and at times fighting in the
“courts of the conqueror.” Calloway reminds us that as “treaty making and
treaty relations changed over time, multiple Indian nations negotiated with
changing Euro-American governments in very different circumstances.” The
collection of treaties below (both those used in this lesson as well as those
available through the online sources cited), provide an opportunity for
students and teachers to examine their assumptions about Native Americans and
their white competitors and to explore challenging and changing relations
which helped to build our nation. During this lesson, we will look at
some specific ways treaty documents reflect attitudes Native American and
colonial or US have towards themselves and one another. We will examine
and analyze documents from three periods which reflect distinct stages in
relations between particular Native groups and Euro-Americans. The first
occurs during America’s colonial period and attempts to establish boundaries
between Natives and British settlers. The second commences the period
of Native American “removal” from eastern lands to Indian
Territory. The third reflects an attempt to “settle” the
Plains and establish the reservation system.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.“Trick or Treaty?” Treaty Negotiations in 18th and 19th
Century North America. Retrieved December 25,
2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/trick-or-treaty-treaty-negotiations-18th-and-19th-century-north-america
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Remembering King
Philip’s War
Description:
In the aftermath of King Philip’s War the Puritans of New
England immediately set out to write the history of this traumatic conflict.
While the initial tenor of these histories adopted the message of the
jeremiad, calling the English to reform their ways or suffer further
judgment, over time the ways in which the war was remembered changed
significantly. Following the undulations of New England history, New
Englanders continued to repurpose this narrative according to their needs.
What began as a story of barbarous savages over time became an epic tragedy
of native extinction leading right up to the present day when the Indigenous
still struggle to be recognized.
In this lesson students will learn to distinguish between the
categories of history and memory by examining the way that King Philip’s War
has been remembered over time. More specifically, they will analyze five
images and explain how these primary sources reveal change over time.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Remembering King Philip’s War.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/remembering-king-philips-war
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Recognizing
Perspective in Primary Sources
Description:
This project provides an introduction
to recognizing which perspectives are missing from primary sources; it uses a
1660 land deed as a text. Students are asked to think critically about how
the content of the primary source might be different if its author was not a
white male land-owning literate English person.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Recognizing Perspective in Primary Sources. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/recognizing-perspective-primary-sources
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Overcoming Stereotypes and
Recovering Native Perspective: One Community’s StruggleDescription:
This three day lesson will
allow students to explore the meaning of the word respect and how it applies
in the context of a Native American Mascot and the history of Native/English
interactions within a local school district. Students will have an
opportunity to explore the contested meaning of various symbols, examine
primary sources and historiography, as well as read a historical essay on
King Philip’s War and how it has been remembered in the Nashoba Regional
School District. Students will then write letters to the local school
committee about whether they would propose changing the mascot of their
school district.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Overcoming
Stereotypes and Recovering Native Perspective: One Community’s Struggle.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/overcoming-stereotypes-and-recovering-native-perspective-one-communitys-struggle
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native Americans,
Rousseau and the French Revolution
Description:
Students will analyze the
writing of Rousseau “A Discourse- Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the
Inequality Among Mankind” and summarize his analysis of the lives of native
Americans. Students will then read some contemporary accounts of Native
Life in New England as a point of comparison to pick out similarities and
differences to Rousseau. In the end students will write an analysis of
what Rousseau got right and what he misrepresented in regards to his
interpretation of Native Americans to France in a time of crisis and the
implications of the beliefs he inspired.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native Americans, Rousseau and the French Revolution. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-americans-rousseau-and-french-revolution
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native American
Monuments and American Memory
Description:
Students will use primary and secondary sources to explore the
questions: What role do monuments have in our understanding of historical
events? How do monuments reflect the history of the Native
Americans and colonists? How can a statue serve as a memorial of
all the people involved?
This lesson looks at Springfield, Massachusetts, an English
settlement along the Connecticut River that was almost destroyed and
abandoned after an attack by Native Americans on October 5, 1675. According
to legend, a friendly Native American, Toto, warned the residents of the
attack and thereby saved most of them. A statue was commissioned in his honor
with a plaque that summarized the events. Today, his statue still
stands in a remote location but the plaque has been
removed. Students will research the relationship between the
colonists and Native Americans before and after the attack, and the context
in which the statue was erected.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native American Monuments and American Memory. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-american-monuments-and-american-memory
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Native American
Literatures 1600-Present
Description:
This project is the first
four lessons of a quarter unit on American Indian stories, philosophies,
commentaries, and arts, from traditional and contemporary sources. The
overall object is to 1) introduce students to these types of literature and
art, and, by moving from older (17-19th century) forms to
contemporary forms 2) break down the sense of otherness that many non-Indians
may have regarding Native peoples. As well, they will gain an appreciation of
the power of language to bring people together to share our common humanity,
being able to apply that experience to all academic, cultural, and literary
expression.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Native American Literatures 1600-Present.
Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/native-american-literatures-1600-present
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Mashpee Wampanoag Struggle
for Land and Federal Recognition 1977-2007
Description:
For this particular lesson,
I will require students to examine the 1970’s and the “me” generation a bit
deeper. Students will examine the Mashpee case in conjunction with other
reform movements of the 1970’s. While examining environmental reform,
feminism, and the Mexican American experience, I intend to have students
learn about the Mashpee case. It is a major goal to make this topic cohesive
with the others. I do not want this lesson or more importantly Native
Americans, to seem like an afterthought, as this group is too often thought
of.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Mashpee Wampanoag Struggle for Land and Federal Recognition 1977-2007. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/mashpee-wampanoag-struggle-land-and-federal-recognition-1977-2007
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Identity, Place, and
Membership: Contemporary Primary Sources to Accompany Absolutely True Diaries
of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Description:
This unit is intended to
help students explore themes of identity, place, and membership in
communities. This unit is nestled in our broader unit where students
read The Absolutely True Diaries
of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In this mini-unit, students
will use nonfiction texts in various mediums (poems, video, song, and text) to
continue to explore how a person’s identity is composed of multiple
components. Students will also be able to explain that many Native people
continue to exist today and evaluate how places, language, and stereotypes
can influence a person’s identity. Finally, students will write a letter to
the Boston Globe arguing whether the paper should or should not include one
of these sources in the paper in an effort to raise awareness about Native
Americans today.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Identity, Place, and Membership: Contemporary Primary Sources to
Accompany Absolutely True Diaries of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/identity-place-and-membership-contemporary-primary-sources-accompany-absolutely-true-diaries-part
Grade:9-12
Subject: Language
Arts and History
Title: Confronting Stereotypes
of Native Americans
Description:
This series of lessons is
part of a unit on racial and ethnic stereotypes that will include
stereotyping of Native Americans, African Americans and Muslims. The students
will learn to identify stereotypical attitudes toward Native Americans and
why they have occurred and persisted over time. They will identify
stereotypes in the media and learn why it has a negative impact on Native
Americans and on U.S. society as a whole. They will learn that stereotypes
are often unconscious and discuss strategies to reduce them. They will also
learn that Native Americans are still here and can be found all over the
U.S., both inside and outside of reservations and students will conduct
research on current issues that are of concern in contemporary Native
American communities across the country.
Resource:
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Smith College, and Aquinnah Cultural Center. (n.d.).Teaching Native American Histories.Confronting Stereotypes of Native Americans. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from
https://teachnativehistories.umass.edu/confronting-stereotypes-native-americans
Grade:High School – Adult
Subject: Social Studies,
Drama, and Language Arts
U.S.
History, Painting, Dance
Title: Acting for Indigenous
Rights: Theatre to Change the World
Description:
Manual
with information, plays, and learning activities based on indigenous issues,
background information, and learning activities using Pedagogy and Theatre of
the Oppressed techniques to raise awareness of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Resource:
University
of Minnesota (n.d.). Human Rights Education Series.Acting for Indigenous Rights: Theatre to Change the World. Retrieved
December 25, 2020, from http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/hreduseries/TB7
Montana Office of Public Instruction Indian Education Division. Directory of Indian Education Programs in Montana 2020-2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021, from http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Indian%20Education%20101/Directory.pdf
3. Reference Resources
Related to COVID-19
International Work
Group for Indigenous Affairs. (03 April 2020). Isolation in the face of Epidemics: A
Survival Strategy for Indigenous People.
Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.iwgia.org/en/news-alerts/news-covid-19/3548-isolation-in-the-face-of-epidemics-a-survival-strategy-for-indigenous-peoples.html
United Nations.
Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (7 December 2020). Indigenous Peoples’ Centuries-long Fight
Against Pandemics. Retrieved January 5, 2021,
from https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/2020/12/indigenous-peoples-centuries-long-fight-against-pandemics/
United Nations.
Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (January 2021). Indigenous
Peoples’ Centuries Long Fight Against Pandemics. Retrieved January 5, 2021, from
https://www.un.org/development/desa/undesavoice/expert-voices/2021/01/50982.html
United
Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (12 October 2020). COVID-19: Indigenous Peoples’ Voices Must be Heard, says UN
expert.
Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26374&LangID=E
United Nations Population Fund.(27
August 2020). What’s Next? Indigenous People and COVID-19 – the Disparate Impact. Retrieved January 5,
2021, from https://www.unfpa.org/events/whats-next-indigenous-people-and-covid-19-disparate-impact
