Here’s how you can celebrate Indigenous Peoples day in your class room
More and more states, towns and cities across the United States are choosing to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day as an alternative to Christopher Columbus Day. Columbus Day was decreed a national holiday in 1934 by President Roosevelt on the behest and efforts of the newly immigrated Italians who were the target of discrimination at that time. The celebration of the Catholic Columbus put them on equal terms with their other European/ White peers. It is not beyond irony that Columbus never set foot in the United States.
The two celebrations — Columbus Day and the Indigenous Peoples Day are also the two perspectives of America. One— Columbus Day affirms the story of a nation created by Europeans for Europeans, while the other— Indigenous Peoples Day emphasizes the native people who inhabited these lands long before the European colonization. The shift from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day is more than political correctness as some of its critics term it as. It is in fact exemplifies the new and ever-evolving understanding of what it means to be American.
We have compiled a few resources for teachers who are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in their classrooms. These resources range from literary to experiential and academic.
1. Literary Resources
Moving away from the colonized and euro-centric version of the Native Americans, these books portray many experiences and tells stories of Native people from their perspectives. Most of the books are written by the Native people of the North America. Sharing these stories with your children, whether they are Native or not, is a great way to teach them about different cultures as well as to make sure that their rich stories are not lost.
Jingle Dancer
Jenna’s heart beats to the brum, brum, brum, brum of the powwow drum in this beautifully illustrated book Jingle Dancer. Written by Cynthia Leitich Smith of the Muscogee Nation, Jingle Dancer is about Jenna’s search for the jingles to add to her dress for the next powwow buy turning to women in her family and community to help her dance find a voice.
Day with Yayah
Set in the Nicola Valley, British Columbia, in Canada’s westernmost province, a First Nations family goes on an outing to forage for herbs and mushrooms. A grandmother passes down her knowledge of plant life and the natural world to her young grandchildren.
Skysisters
Jan Bourdeau Waboose is a Nishnawbe Ojibway from Northern Ontario who based SkySisters on her own childhood experiences and her relationship with her older sister. A powerful tory of two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits’ midnight dance.
Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom
Choctaw storyteller Tim Tingle and artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges who traces her heritage back to her Cherokee ancestors tell a rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage.
Water Protectors
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption — a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.
When We Were Alone
A young girl begins to notice things that make her curious. Her grandmother long braided hair, beautifully colored clothing, another language ? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where all of these things were taken away. This is a story about a difficult time in history and, ultimately, one of empowerment and strength.
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People
An adaptation of Indigenous human rights activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s acclaimed academic text An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by curriculum specialists Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza for young readers. This history of North America’s native tribal nations rebuts popular cultural beliefs and offers school-aged children a different perspective on the colonization of what is currently known as the United States. In place of the standard “hero tales” of explorers, soldiers, politicians and others is a well-researched, frank, often heartbreaking narrative of industrious, developed civilizations decimated by greed and ambition, justified by so-called “divine decree.”
2. Experiential Resources
Here are a few physical activities students can do during their virtual class. This would be a fun way for them to engage and understand cultural games and storytelling formats of the Native Americans.
Games: In this video from the American Indian Museum, made to share with children, Cultural Interpreter Michaela Pavlat (Sault Tribe) demonstrates a simple string game.
Storytelling: This is a wonderful clip of a Navajo grandma telling a story through string. Curtesy, daybreakwarrior
Photo credit: Cvandyke / Shutterstock
Virtual Field Trip: Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian also offers virtual field trips. These live and interactive programs led by a museum educator focus on American Indian history, culture, and contemporary lives centered around specific topics. All programs are conducted over Microsoft Teams and can be booked through Microsoft’s Skype in the Classroom website. Virtual field trips are FREE and should be reserved at least two weeks in advance. A variety of programs are available for K-12 students and a minimum of 10 students is required to register. Use this link to register your class.
3. Academic Resources
When most students read Native American history, its either about the conflicts with the Europeans or a completely Euro-centric perspective of the Native Americans and their culture. The Native Knowledge 360° Essential Understandings about Native Americans 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 Essential Understandings reveal key concepts about the rich and diverse cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Native Peoples. These concepts reflect a multitude of untold stories about Native Americans that can deepen and expand our teachings of history, geography, civics, economics, science, engineering, and other subject areas.
Do you have more recommendations for Native American resources? Send us a note.