We've Got to do Better Than Headdresses and Hand Turkeys!

I recently had to find some state standards to justify teaching a unit about Indigenous Peoples' history.  I read every single state standard for my state from 3rd grade to 8th and found 19.  Of them, only 3 or 4 dealt with Indigenous Peoples pre-Columbian contact.  The vast majority of the remainder only addressed the Indigenous population as something that stood in the way of America's westward expansion/conquest - something to be conquered.  Based on information I learned at the National Council for Social Studies Conference in Chicago a few years ago, this is all too common.

This is wrong.  We must do better.

I have recently become passionate about how Indigenous Peoples' history is taught, or, rather, (in most schools) not taught.  This summer, I read an incredible book by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz called An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States that was both breath taking and eye-opening.  The book is a re-telling of American history from the perspective of Indigenous Peoples focusing on how European contact had (and continues to have) a devastating impact on Indigenous Peoples' culture and heritage.  I highly recommend it.

One of the obstacles to teaching about Indigenous Peoples' culture is a general lack of resources; especially the lack of resources that respectfully examine pre-contact Indigenous history in a way that is accessible to students and affordable to teachers.  To help fill that gap in resources, I have created a number of them linked below that teach about Indigenous Peoples that are middle school appropriate, engaging and affordable.  If you are interested, please take a look and see if they are right for you.

• Differentiated Reading Passages
  • Native America Differentiated Readings (Traditional & Print Versions)
  • Native American Regions Individual Differentiated Reading Passage
  • Native American Lifestyle Individual Differentiated Reading Passage
  • Native Americans Today Individual Differentiated Reading Passage
• Lifestyle & Environment Activities
  • Eastern Woodlands Region
  • Southeast Woodlands Region
  • Great Plains Region
  • Southwest Region
  • Pacific/Mountain Region
  • 5-Resource Bundle of All Regions
• Inquiry Activities
  • Native America Artifact Interpretation Activity
  • Maya, Aztec & Inca Triple Venn Diagram Activity
• Map Activity
  • Who Were the Moundbuilders?