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Native Knowledge 360° | Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

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Educational resources, lesson plans, teacher training, and strategies to support positive change! Native Knowledge 360° is a national initiative to inspire and promote improved teaching and learning about Native America. #NK360

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The first AILA American Indian Youth Literature Awards were presented during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in 2006. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity. In odd-numbered years, nominations are encouraged in fiction or nonfiction and may include graphic novels; for picture books, the award is for both author and illustrator. Awards are granted in even-numbered years. Authors/illustrators may win the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the categories Best Picture Book, Best Middle Grade Book, and Best Young Adult Book. In addition, up to five awards may be selected as Honors books in each category.
Downloads

Donate to AILA

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American Indian Youth Literature Award - American Indian Library Association

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The first AILA American Indian Youth Literature Awards were presented during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in 2006. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the ...

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Native American Heritage Month Resources

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Native American Museum in Washington, CT 

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Native American Museum in Washington, CT 

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https://www.iaismuseum.org/

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The Institute for American Indian Studies Museum & Research Center

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The Institute of American Studies strives to educate everyone who walks through the doors by providing engaging exhibits, interactive and informative programs, and a space for reflection and learning. We greatly appreciate your support and, with your help, hope to continue educating for years to come.

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The Institute for American Indian Studies Museum & Research Center

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The Institute of American Studies strives to educate everyone who walks through the doors by providing engaging exhibits, interactive and informative programs, and a space for reflection and learning. We greatly appreciate your support and, with your help, hope to continue educating for years to come.

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Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Native Books and Resources

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As an educator, perhaps you have looked for classroom materials related to Native Americans and wondered how to know which materials were accurate and appropriate. Or perhaps you have wanted to look for the best materials you could use with your students, but didn’t know where to begin. Here are som…

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https://writernity.blogspot.com/2016/03/writing-about-native-americans.html

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Today's post is lengthy. I created it first not as a blog post, but as an addition to the online MG writing course I am currently taking through the Children's Book Academy. I noticed that a number of writers in the course with me had some form of American Indian content in their books or planned books. To address that, I wrote the following guest post, which I hope will be sent out with the other course materials. I'd love it if Mira Reisberg would use it as a part of all of her courses going forward. She has a wonderful opportunity to educate writers on diversity as part of their craft education. I would also love it if agents and editors would seriously consider these points when evaluating manuscripts.

(And in other Indian news this weekend, the Carolina Indian Circle Powwow).

Writing About Native Americans

By way of introduction, I am Kara Stewart. I am an enrolled member of the tribe, one of the eight state-recognized American Indian tribes in North Carolina. Tribes can be federally recognized or state-recognized. There are 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, located in North Carolina, being one of them and included in the count of North Carolina's eight tribes.

I have been a Reading Specialist and Literacy Coach in the public schools (elementary level) for 18 years. I am currently serving my 4th term on the North Carolina State Advisory Council on Indian Education. Although I am not currently serving on the Sappony Tribal Council, I have served 3 terms previously and plan to again. I am involved in our tribal activities and events, as well as Native efforts at the state level.

I'd like to give you some thoughts and suggestions for writing to and about American Indians. Tara Houska, Couchiching First Nation, attorney and Indian Country Today Media Network columnist, who has been in recent news, says that 87% of American Indian content in schools today is pre-1900s. She doesn't just mean textbooks.

Here are some images you may have seen of American Indians. They have become so ingrained in American culture, that most non-Natives don't give them a second thought.

●At 16.93%, the suicide rate for American Indians/Alaska Natives of all ages was much higher than the overall U.S. rate of 12.08. Suicide was the eighth leading cause of death for American Indians/Alaska Natives of all ages and the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10-24 (2013 CDC statistics for period 1999-2011). **I have actually seen higher numbers in more recent years, particularly among youth.

●Federal government studies have consistently shown that American Indian women experience much higher levels of sexual violence than other women in the U.S. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice indicates that Native American and Alaskan Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general (5 vs. 2 per 1,000). (Steven W Perry, American Indians and Crime- A BJS Statistical Profile 1992-2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, December 2004.)

Here are just a few of hundreds of images from books:

And lest you think this is all in the past*:

*For more about cultural appropriation and Natives, please familiarize yourself with the fabulous Dr. Adrienne Keene's blog, Native Appropriations

I am not saying by any means that books are to blame for the crazy high Native suicide rates, crazy high assault rates on Native women or addiction problems. Generational trauma, genocide, poverty, institutionalized racism - these all contribute. But a thread that holds all these together with literature is identity. Identity (along with institutionalized racism) is at the heart of these issues. Books contribute to identity. Books are these images in words. Let me say that again. Books are these images in words.

Children's literature is one area where we, as writers, parents and educators, CAN make a difference to Indian children (and ALL children). Books are a HUGE part of school from whole class instruction and read alouds to guided reading book sets and media center choices. We can learn to write, purchase and read books that are accurate and authentic about Indian people instead of those that promote the stereotypes we just saw.

The images I just showed you are blatant stereotypes. I know you would recognize that you do a disservice to Indian children (and all children) by textualizing these blatant inaccuracies. But if you are a non-Native writer, would you recognize inaccuracies if you think you have done your due diligence, have researched your Native subject for years and spoken to some members of the tribe you write about? Or even know them in real life?

Consider Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose. It has been highly acclaimed. But what happens when we actually look at it from a Native perspective? Debbie Reese, of American Indians in Children's Literature, has reviewed it .

If you are non-Native, I'd like to give you some resources and suggestions for writing about American Indians. First, it is not enough to research the tribe and the history you intend to write about. Certainly, you need to ground your writing in a particular tribe and a particular time period - and when you consider Tara Houska's statistic on how little contemporary Native cultures are portrayed, I'm assuming you will decide you should probably write about a tribe set in the contemporary world since there is already an overabundance of historical (and inaccurate historical) writing about Indians and you would be contributing to the identity issues in living, breathing Indian children by writing yet another historical book about Indians (an exception might be something along the lines of if you are a Native writer and know details about an event in your tribe's history that need to be told and your tribe wants them told).

So researching is certainly part of it. But it is not enough. If you are not Native, you may not be familiar with the thriving world of Indian Country today. Make yourself familiar with it. If you are not a member of the tribe you intend to write about, you need to find a way to immerse yourself in their culture. This could be tricky if you don't know them. But it needs to be done. You need to tell them who you are, why and what you intend to write about them. Do not expect them to welcome you with open arms. You need to learn all you can from them. And you need to respect what they say. Even if you have one Native character in your book, that character needs to be presented accurately.

I have written two picture books, one of which won the 2014 Lee & Low New Voices Honor Award, both about various aspects of my tribe. Even as an enrolled tribal member, I never would have dreamed of writing them or seeking publication if I had not gotten approval by the tribal council, and equally as important, approval of the people or representations of the people in the stories. As a writer, I owe it to the people I represent to show them my final (not first draft) intention with my story and ask them if this body of work represents them in the way they want to be shown. Not one person. Not two people. Not just an Indian friend, who may or may not be clued in to the larger issues in Native America today. Ask the people themselves, "Are you comfortable being represented this way?"

And if they have suggestions or objections - I listen. I change my story. I owe this to the people I will be making money off by the sale of my work, little as the money may be. I do not deny or claim that my research showed me otherwise. I change my work. You do know that much of 'history' that you research is not accurate, right? You do know who writes history, right? The victors. So the Native voice of what we know happened in history has not, in most cases, been recorded. When you Google or go to the library or any of the standard research tools we use today, you must be aware that these are the Eurocentric versions of history.

One way to combat that is to go to the tribe's official website. But even here, be careful. Indian politics is very tricky to navigate. There are official websites of official tribes, and then there are 'wannabee' tribes (not state or federally recognized) that pop up and have websites and misleading information.

Let me give you a list of resources to start with:

As part of the North Carolina State Advisory Council on Indian Education, and Chair of the Culturally Responsive Instruction Committee, we have come up with these Culturally Responsive Instructional Resources , which are helpful to writers as well as educators. If you look down the orange left side-bar, you will see Text Resources. You may want to read the books on the Recommended list as well as the Non-Recommended list to get a feel for why they are on the list they are on. Another helpful resource under Text Resources is the Criteria From How To Tell the Difference: A Guide for Evaluating Children's Books for Anti-Indian Bias (adapted from oyate.org). Although intended for analysis of published text for bias, it would be an excellent tool for writers to learn to use to analyze their own writing for bias.

A third resource I recommend,Another great resource is author Cynthia Leitich Smith's (Muscogee) blog post, Indian 101 for Writers , is something I wrote a few years ago explicitly for writers in collaboration with my author pal, Alison DeLuca. We wrote this because there seemed to be no other resource like this to address writers who are thinking of writing about Native Americans. It is a 5-part traveling blog series (between my blog at the time and her blog), in interview format. There are many, many links and resources in it. If you take the time to read through them, it should give you a better idea of what is involved in presenting Native people accurately. The first post opens with many links to articles about white privilege and institutionalized racism. The following posts deal more specifically with Native content.
Writing, Tonto and The Wise-Cracking Minority Sidekick Who Is Always the First to Die. She has listed out specifics for authors who wish to write cross-culturally about Native people.

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly for non-Native writers, ask yourself, "Why do I want to write about Native people?" What is it about us that you think is important enough to step outside of your culture to write about - especially knowing the loaded history and contemporary issues with our people? Is there a story you could tell about your own culture that would be equally compelling? Are you perhaps looking for a hook for your audience? Do you just feel an affinity for Indian people or have always found us fascinating? If so, is there a way to better serve, such as volunteering or working with Native authors?

I know why I write about my people . I have Navajo and Dine friends, Lumbee, Cherokee and Choctaw friends and more. And we hang. And I love them. But would I feel comfortable writing about their culture? No. I would not. I would be very out of my element. And their culture is not mine for the taking. Food for thought.

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Today's post is lengthy. I created it first not as a blog post, but as an addition to the online MG writing course I am currently taking through the Children's Book Academy. I noticed that a number of writers in the course with me had some form of American Indian content in their books or planned books.

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Paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.

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The People Shall Continue | Indigenous History | Lee & Low Books

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Renowned Acoma Pueblo poet and storyteller Simon J. Ortiz traces the progress of Native/ Indigenous people of North America from the time of creation to the present.

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Native American Lesson Plans

Resources are available to help educators integrate Native American history into the curriculum. In addition, the Mohegan Cultural Outreach department can present material in the classroom. To contact them, call 1-800-MOHEGAN.

The Mark of Uncas
Curriculum and Video presentation
Developed for middle, high school and college classes.

Download a pdf of the lesson plans:
The Native Americans of Connecticut: Holding On and Moving Forward
Developed by the Connecticut State Department of Education, 2000.

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Native American Lesson Plans | Mohegan History | The Mohegan Tribe

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Lesson plans are available to help educators integrate Native American and Mohegan Tribe history into classroom curriculum. Access these resources online.

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This is an informative book of the real, first, thanksgiving. It is interesting to children because it is so different to what they have been told growing up. This book is definitely worth having in my upper elementary school room because it teaches children history in a fun and upbeat way. This biography is a must have in my future classroom.

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This is an informative book of the real, first, thanksgiving. It is interesting to children because it is so different to what they have been told growing up. This book is definitely worth having in my upper elementary school room because it teaches children history in a fun and upbeat way.

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Digital resources bring history alive in classrooms across the globe. Explore the comprehensive multimedia sources below to enliven and support your in classroom lessons.

The Pilgrims: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

In 2014, Plimoth Patuxet Museums provided an inspirational setting for American Experience and filmmaker Ric Burns to produce The Pilgrims, a full-length documentary exploring the early histories of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoag Patuxet. Along with the film, the Museum worked with the team at PBS Learning Media to develop a series of classroom resources including background essays, activities, and questions that engage students in the documentary's key themes and historical questions. These resources are available for free online at the PBS Learning Media website. Some of our favorites include lessons and video clips exploring the Mayflower Compact, the alliance with Massasoit and the First Thanksgiving, and plague in Native New England (1616-1619).
Explore this Resource

Virtual Field Trips with Scholastic

For over 20 years, Plimoth Patuxet's collaboration with Scholastic, America's leading educational publisher, has resulted in popular children's books and virtual field trips. The partnership now reaches one in three elementary school students through Scholastic's news magazine and free online resources. Scholastic estimates that 31 million school children have seen Plimoth Patuxet's electronic field trips since 2009, while the Museum's short films made with Scholastic have been seen by roughly 4 million children.

The Wampanoag Way

This 8-minute video from Plimoth Patuxet Museums and Scholastic News explores explores the life of two Wampanoag girls past and present. Perfect for grades 1-3.

Thanksgiving Virtual Field Trip Scholastic Webcast

Explore the 1621 harvest feast from 17th-century English and Wampanoag perspectives and hear from modern museum educators about how the holiday continues to influence our communities today. This 30-minute video also discusses daily life in Plymouth Colony and Patuxet and the establishment of a mutual alliance of protection in the spring of 1621.

Interwoven: A Podcast from Plimoth Patuxet Museums

Interwoven explores the ways stories weave through generations, communities, and cultures to inform our contemporary lives. Rooted deep in the 17th century, Interwoven expands beyond the relationships between the Wampanoag People and the Pilgrims to discuss larger cross-cultural interactions of the very people who lived along these shores of change. Interwoven is available for streaming and download on iTunes and SoundCloud.
Listen to the Podcast

You can't change history, but it could change you™

© 2003-2023 Plimoth Patuxet. All rights reserved. Plimoth Patuxet is a not-for-profit 501 (c)3 organization, supported by admissions, grants, members, volunteers, and generous contributors.

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Digital resources bring history alive in classrooms across the globe. Explore comprehensive multimedia sources below to enliven and support your in classroom lessons.

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Plimoth Patuxet Museums has reimagined and redesigned "You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving", its popular interactive game that has entertained school-aged children and families since 2002! In conjunction with FableVision Studios, a multimedia production company, and an Indigenous Advisory Committee, Plimoth Patuxet Museums has created a new online game that explores Wampanoag life prior to European settlement and the year leading up to the 1621 harvest feast, today known as the "First Thanksgiving." The game investigates the interactions between the Wampanoag people of Patuxet and the earliest colonists known as the Pilgrims by exposing players to archaeological artifacts from the museum's collections, primary source documents, and oral stories told from generation to generation.

"You Are The Historian" directly responds to the increased demand for nuanced and fact-based history told from both an Indigenous and Colonial perspective. The Museum has created an experience that will transport visitors to Patuxet, the pre-European homeland of the Wampanoag, and immerse them in a story of cultural change and persistence that spans 12,000 years. Students will be able to further explore the rich historical context of the Indigenous and Colonial experiences during their earliest encounters through magical time travel, an anonymous tipster, mysterious riddles, historic artifacts and archives, and plain, old-fashioned smart thinking!

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The updated "You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving" transports players to Wampanoag Patuxet and colonial Plymouth to uncover the story of the first Thanksgiving. Magical time travel, mysterious riddles, and artifacts are just ahead!

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New Professional Learning Courses

A PD series from NIEA and the University of Phoenix building knowledge of Native education, education sovereignty, and best practices for educators and leaders.
Learn More

It Begins With Us

Addressing the US Education Crisis Click Here to Join the Campaign

2023 Community Talk Series Online

2022 NIEA Legislative Review

The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was formed by Native educators in 1969 to encourage a national discourse on Native education. For 51 years, NIEA has hosted an annual convention to provide a forum for collaboration.

NIEA adheres to the organization's founding principles:

+ to bring Native educators together to explore ways to improve schools and the education of Native children;

+ to promote the maintenance and continued development of Native languages and cultures;

+ and to develop and implement strategies for influencing local, state, and federal policy and policymakers.
Learn More

NIEA works with partner organizations who work to further our mission. From other education organizations, coalition members, or Native organizations, we hope to provide Native students and educators with the information needed to be successful.

Partnerships are foraged through monetary, resource-sharing, and information based relationships. While NIEA may be a partner organization, we do not necessarily support all initiatives a partner supports. If you would like additional information on how we work with our partners, please contact NIEA@NIEA.org.
Learn More

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A PD series from NIEA and the University of Phoenix building knowledge of Native education, education sovereignty, and best practices for educators and leaders. Learn More Addressing the US Education Crisis Click Here to Join the Campaign 2023 Community Talk Series Online 2022 NIEA Legislative Review

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Student-Centered Digital Learning Activities
Check out these digital education tools, lesson plans, and resources available for free and downloadable from the National Indian Education Association.

Interdisciplinary Stories, Webinars, Films, and Lesson Plans
The Global Oneness Project offers a library of multimedia stories comprised of award-winning films, photo essays, and essays, many with companion curriculum and discussion guides.

Create Your Own Native American Board Game
Students in grades K-5 research and use basic elements of a selected Native American tribe to create an original board game.

Native Americans Today
Students in grades 3-5 compare prior knowledge of Native Americans with information gathered while reading about contemporary Native Americans.

Alaska Native Stories: Using Narrative to Introduce Expository Text
Students in grades 3-5 use traditional stories of Native peoples to begin a study of animals in Alaska.

Thanksgiving Lesson Plans from a Native American Perspective

A Story of Survival: The Wampanoag and the English
A Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Booklet from a Native American Perspective (Oklahoma City Public Schools)

Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth, A Study Guide (National Museum of the American Indian)

American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving, Grades 4-8 (NMAI)

Additional Lesson Plan Units

Native American Dolls (PDF, 1.7 MB, 28 pgs.)
Students in grades K-12 explore the perspectives and experiences of Native doll makers from five tribal groups and discover how their work is keeping old traditions and developing new ones.

Pourquoi Stories: Creating Tales to Tell Why
Students in grades 3-5 study three tales and learn about their cultures of origin, then work cooperatively to write and present an original pourquoi tale.

Prehistoric Native American Lesson Plan: Pottery-making Methods ( PDF, 295 KB, 5 pgs.)
Students in grades 3-12 experiment with three methods ancient people used to make pottery before the invention of the pottery wheel.

Background Resources

Native American Heritage Month
Resources provided by the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Features audio and video files.

A History of Native Voting Rights
Provides a brief history of the difficulties Native Americans have faced in voting since the passage of the 14 th Amendment.

Smithsonian Education - American Indian Heritage Teaching Resources
Free audio tracks and videos featuring Native communities from the Arctic to the Andes, indigenous geography, artic studies, textiles of the Southwest, traditional culture of the Bering Sea Eskimo People, buffalo hide paintings, and more

1491
Charles C. Mann, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, presents current evidence about population and agricultural advancement in the Western Hemisphere prior to European arrival.

Printables & Posters

Printables

261 North American Indian Designs
Inexpensive collections of Native American designs adapted from textile patterns, wood carvings, ceramics, and other traditional craft forms.

American Indian Books
Dover Publications catalog has 202 books for American Indians, including backline masters, stories, CD-ROMs, crafts, games, and activities.

American Indian History Timeline Events, policies, legislation and laws related to Indian land tenure from 1598 to the present.

Posters

Videos

Meet Jim Thorpe, a Real-Life Native American Superhero (grades 9-12)
Jim Thorpe, a.k.a. Wa-Tho-Huk (meaning Bright Path) was an Olympic-winning athlete, actor, and humanitarian. Learn more about his life and find opportunities to support Native American people.
Native American Cultures

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Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month | NEA

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Student-Centered Digital Learning Activities Check out these digital education tools, lesson plans, and resources available for free and downloadable from the National Indian Education Association. Interdisciplinary Stories, Webinars, Films, and Lesson Plans The Global Oneness Project offers a library of multimedia stories comprised of award-winning films, photo essays, and essays, many with companion curriculum and discussion guides.

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We are Still Here by Traci Sorell #nativemaricanpicturebook #readaloud #multiculturaleducation

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54503784-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indians-but-were-afraid-to-ask

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". . . we are souls. We have bodies, which are just temporary houses for our souls. . .The body is a container."

"Here in the United States, very little effort has been made to voice formal apologies, make reparations, or pass political mandates about education. Yet this country was founded in part by genocidal policies directed at Native Americans and the enslavement of Black people. Both of these things are morally repugnant. Still I love my country. In fact, it is because I love my country that I want to make sure the mistakes of our past do not get repeated. We cannot afford to cover over the dark chapters of our history, as we have for decades upon decades. It is time for that to stop."

More quotes...

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask

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". . . we are souls. We have bodies, which are just temporary houses for our souls. . .The body is a container." "Here in the United States, very little effort has been made to voice formal apologies, make reparations, or pass political mandates about education.

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History Smashers: Mayflower – Kate Messner

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History Smashers: Mayflower

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A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (Volume 13) (Contemporary Native American Communities, 13)

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A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (Volume 13) (Contemporary Native American Communities, 13) [Seale, Doris, Slapin, Beverly, Atleo, Marlene R., Baldwin, Linda L., Beardslee, Lois, Beardslee, Maria, Blaeser, Kimberly, Cloud, Peter Blue, Bruchac, Joseph, Caldwell, Naomi R., C…

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Dr. Debbie Reese maintains a site (American Indians in Children's Literature) that reviews books that address Native American characters or culture. Some books do better than others at representation.

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Through Indian Eyes: The Untold Story of Native American Peoples

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Through Indian Eyes: The Untold Story of Native American Peoples [Editors of Reader’s Digest] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Through Indian Eyes: The Untold Story of Native American Peoples

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written by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac

Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1580897723

Otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is a word that Cherokee people use to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the Cherokee New Year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Written by Traci Sorell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and illustrated by Frané Lessac, this nonfiction look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah.

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We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga - Traci Sorell

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Traci Sorell's first picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, is from Charlesbridge Publishing.

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The "First Thanksgiving" is often portrayed as a friendly harvest celebration where Pilgrims and generic, nameless Indians came together to eat and give thanks. This story is a myth that was sparked in the mid-1800s when English accounts of the 1621 harvest event resurfaced and fueled the American imagination. Romanticized paintings and stereotypical images of "Pilgrims" and "Indians" celebrating the "First Thanksgiving" became part of the national nostalgia and Manifest Destiny sentiment as the United States pushed west. Sarah Josepha Hale, an influential editor of a magazine called Godey's Lady's Book, led a campaign for a national Thanksgiving holiday, and the "First Thanksgiving" myth played into her agenda. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving in November to celebrate gratitude and unity amidst the turmoil of the Civil War. In the decades that followed, the "First Thanksgiving" myth and the national holiday evolved into a foundational, national story reinforced by memorials, holiday marketing, literature, and school curriculums.

The "First Thanksgiving" as a national story is incomplete and inaccurate. The whole history is more complex and includes the Wampanoag voice and perspective that have been largely absent from this narrative. The Wampanoag and neighboring Native nations were interacting with European explorers, traders, and enslavers for nearly one hundred years before English settlers arrived at the Wampanoag village of Patuxet in 1620. After careful observation, negotiations, and exchanges, the Wampanoag decided to assist the English settlers. However, their interactions had much more to do with political alliances and diplomacy than a budding friendship. Cooperation and peace were short-lived. To learn more about the true history that goes beyond a shared meal in 1621, see the Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth study guide.

Harvest ceremonies and festivals have been an integral part of Wampanoag lifeways for thousands of years. The Wampanoag practiced daily and seasonal traditions of giving thanks long before the encounter with English settlers and the formation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Learn the significance of Cranberry Day for Wampanoag communities as they continue cultural traditions and relationships with their homeland today. Native traditions are distinct, complex, and specific to each individual nation. To gain a deeper understanding of traditional foodways and relationships to homelands for other Native nations, consider the American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving teaching poster for grades 4-8.

For many students, Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude and to be with family. Giving thanks is a longstanding, central tradition among Indigenous peoples that is still practiced today. Read and discuss the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address with your students. This expression of gratitude is recited by the Haudenosaunee at community gatherings throughout the year. Recommended children's literature centered around traditions of gratitude and/or seasonal harvests from different Native cultures include:

As educators, we should select books and other materials that feature accurate and tribally specific portrayals of Native people, both past and present. NK360 collaborated with Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo) of American Indians in Children's Literature to develop a rubric that outlines five criteria groups to consider when selecting additional Native American Literature in Your Classroom.

Projects and crafts that attempt to adapt or copy Native traditions tend to perpetuate stereotypes of Native cultures. We discourage adopting "Native" costumes or crafts into your classroom. For more information, please see our Native American Cultures and Clothing: Native American Is Not a Costume guide. Instead, we encourage you to celebrate the vibrancy of Native cultures with some of these resources while you celebrate Thanksgiving.

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Native Knowledge 360°-Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving

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NK360° Helpful Handouts: Guidance on Common Questions provide a brief introduction to teachers about important topics regarding Native American life, cultures, and communities. Native Life and Food: Food Is More Than Just What We Eat explores Indigenous relationships with food. #NK360

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By Vera L. Stenhouse

Illustrator: Eric Hanson

Illustration: Eric Hanson

In 2006, an Atlanta newspaper ran several photos with captions describing the celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. The first picture featured a 5-year-old girl wearing a precision-cut fringe vest made out of a brown paper bag from a local grocery store (as identified by the store name and tagline detailed prominently in big blue letters on the vest). On top of her head sat a multicolored feather headdress made of construction paper. The caption under the picture read: "Feathers in her cap. Ava adjusts the headdress of her American Indian costume for a Clairemont Elementary School Thanksgiving feast. More photos from the feast are on page J9."

Page J9 includes three additional pictures-one showing a group of Pilgrims (with white paper collars and hats) and Indians (as identified by their feather headdresses, of course). A second picture shows students in "costume" working on a coloring project and a third captures a student showing off his "homemade American Indian costume." Between the pictures it reads: "Clairemont Elementary School studied American Indians and Pilgrims in preparation for today's big holiday. Last week, they re enacted the first Thanksgiving and dressed in costumes for a feast with family members." In the center is the phrase "Thanks for the lessons."

What lessons did they learn? Between Columbus Day in October and Thanksgiving in November, Native Americans [the "official" curricular name in Georgia] play a key role in the mythology of U.S. history as taught in schools. As someone who works with pre- and inservice elementary teachers, I see firsthand how these happy stories maintain children's ignorance and reinforce stereotypes.

The traditional first Thanksgiving story recounts Pilgrims from Europe settling in the wilds of the New World and celebrating their survival by sharing their bountiful feast with the Indians. As my students learn, this version of Thanksgiving is inaccurate. The Pilgrims did leave Europe and comprised 35 out of 102 colonists traveling on the Mayflower, eventually settling in 1621 at Patuxet-aka Plimoth. The "new" and "wild" world to which they arrived was neither new, wild, or unnamed, thanks to the Wampanoag, the indigenous people who lived there. Given the Pilgrims' ignorance of the "new" land, their survival was made possible through indigenous knowledge, labor, harvest traditions, and trade. Most significant to the first Thanksgiving story: According to the Wampanoag and the ancestors of the Plimoth settlers, no oral or written account confirms that the first Thanksgiving actually occurred between them in 1621. The Wampanoag, however, did participate in daily and seasonal thanksgivings for thousands of years prior to the Pilgrims' arrival.

Beyond the inaccuracy of the first Thanksgiving story itself are its omissions: Colonists initially stolebushels of corn buried and stored by Wampanoag families for their own use, robbed graves and homes, and left diseases that devastated (albeit unintentionally) Native American communities, subsequently enabling European settlers to overtake Indian land.

The traditional Thanksgiving story is continuously retold through plays, activities, worksheets, and children's books, perpetuating misinformation and stereotypes that maintain a deep misunderstanding of American Indian history and current issues. Thanksgiving Day, for example, is considered a Day of Mourning by many American Indians-a time to acknowledge the ongoing painful legacy of removal from their homelands, enslavement, and deaths from diseases. Thanksgiving images further negate significant cultural and sacred distinctions among indigenous peoples. Long feather headdresses and tipis are not part of an accurate portrayal of Northeast Coast Native Americans. Thanksgiving pictures tend to depict garments and housing of Plains Indians, whom the Pilgrims would have not met.

As a teacher of teachers, I attempt to engage students in a more accurate, inclusive, and culturally respectful approach to a time in history that began to set the pattern for U.S. race relations. I choose to critique the first Thanksgiving story because of its familiarity, inclusion in so many schools' curricula, and persistent misrepresentation of Indians and Pilgrims.

Flipping the Script on the First Thanksgiving

Before launching into the myths and omissions surrounding the "first Thanksgiving," I ask my teacher education students what they already know about the event: Who celebrated the original Thanksgiving and when? What was celebrated and for how long? Who initiated the celebration? Why? Where did the event take place?

My students find the details difficult to recall. Generally, their contributions reflect a disjointed recollection: Pilgrims and Indians; something about religious persecution; the Mayflower; Jamestown, Va.; an abundant harvest after tough times; the Pilgrims' generosity toward the Indians; and three days of fun, games, and eating popcorn, turkey, and pie. Sometimes students suggest names of actual "Indians" like the Sioux or Cherokee nations or people such as Sacagawea, Squanto, or Pocahontas.

I challenge my students' knowledge about Pilgrims, Indians, and Thanksgiving through a series of exploratory activities using elementary-appropriate materials. I designed activities meant to model how they might introduce a critique of Thanksgiving to their own elementary students that also identifies stereotypes about Native Americans and explores the events surrounding 1621. The activities require my students to work first within and then across small groups to compare and contrast the histories of the "Indians" and "Pilgrims," separate fact from fiction about the Thanksgiving story, and uncover new information concerning Native Americans past and present.

For one activity, I divide a set of students into "Indians" and "Pilgrims." Both groups visit www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html#, a website elementary teachers and students could use that offers an interactive timeline with key dates in the history of the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims. I send the students to the "path to 1621" for their respective group's story. The "Indians" follow the Wampanoag ancestor Ahsaupwis' story and the "Pilgrims" follow English ancestor Remember Allerton. In the penultimate phase of the activity, I combine the "Indians" and "Pilgrims" and tell them to create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting what they learned.

Other student groups work to determine the facts, fictions, and omissions of the first Thanksgiving story using a selection of traditional first Thanksgiving picture books. To add to their critique, students receive additional texts that provide perspectives and information often distorted or omitted in traditional texts.I send the students to partner-read their selected books with questions: From whose perspective is the story told? Whose voices are active and passive? What words are used to describe the groups? Whose story has the most detail? What details were offered or implied in the text or illustrations about Thanksgiving and each group's lifestyle (e.g., food, clothing, beliefs, and traditions)? Are the illustrations accurate? How do you know?

After partner-reading, students read the short version of Judy Dow and Beverly Slapin's article " Deconstructing the Myths of The First Thanksgiving." I tell them to mark new and surprising information. Typically during this activity, as students read and discuss, I'll overhear one say, "So there was no Thanksgiving at all? I'm confused." I clarify that although the Thanksgiving story as told is not historically accurate, Native Americans and Pilgrims had thanksgiving traditions exclusive of each other.

When the groups reconvene as a whole class, I ask each to report what they learned and to share what they believe to be the main points of their activities. It is clear from their reactions that in most instances, the activities presented different depictions from what they had previously believed or known. As Lorrie said, "I remember learning about a huge friendly feast between 'Pilgrims' and 'Indians.' It was taught almost as though it was a culmination of a friendship that had been building from day one."

Charlie commented, "I remember making the feather headdress for Thanksgiving. I had no idea it could be inaccurate, let alone inappropriate." Students often remark on the cultural disrespect implicit in illustrating Thanksgiving stories with clothing that the Wampanoag didn't wear.

By the end of our re-examination of Thanksgiving, students grow anxious and begin to consider if and how they might integrate a more critical perspective of Thanksgiving with their own students. As Iris later wrote:

So, how do we go about talking about Thanksgiving now that we have all of this new information? How should we treat it with our students? Truly, it is not a day of Thanksgiving for all people in this country. I am at a loss now. I think that we could approach it with the new information that Ms. Stenhouse gave us and debunk some of these myths for our students, but I'm beginning to question what the bigger message should be. Is the holiday real? Is there really something to celebrate? I mean, sure, I'm glad to be here, and I'm thankful for the blessings in my life, but am I celebrating at the expense of others? If I do teach my children that the coming of the settlers was at the indigenous people's expense, will they want to continue celebrating this day? Will their parents thank me if I do? I am not sure how to proceed.

My response to Iris' conundrum and to students who ask "now what?" starts with prompting my students to generate alternative ideas for teaching Thanksgiving. I want them to start thinking about how they might use or adapt our activities or their underlying concepts with their students. I notice that, as they share their ideas with each other, they introduce a variety of ways to reframe Thanksgiving based on what they experienced in class (for example, book critiques or use of the two-voice poem, as described in Rethinking Our Classrooms, Vol. 1) and begin to consider tactical approaches to parents' and administrators' potential concerns. Given my students' focus on the repercussions from school authorities, I also ask them to imagine for a moment what the first Thanksgiving story means for Native American children in their classes. And based on their own experiences, I ask them to keep in mind the lasting impressions about Indians and Pilgrims from their own schooling. I further encourage them to first find out what their students already know, which is how I started with them.

More recently, I have also begun showing a video clip of Monty, a former student of mine, who discusses how he addressed Thanksgiving with his 1st graders. After witnessing parents, students, and teachers delight in a Thanksgiving re-enactment held at his school, he determined he needed to provide his students with a more complex perspective of Native American-Pilgrim relations. Monty shares candidly the steps he took (including a trip to his principal's office) and the process he went through to teach his students about fairness through a lesson on the consequences of colonial encroachment on indigenous lands. Watching Monty adds a perspective to our discussion other than my own about the possibilities, relevance, and power of teaching critically at any grade level.

I know that what I am asking my students to consider is unsettling to many of them; however, I'm convinced that it is necessary in order for them to be the teachers they wish to be. In addition to our in-class discussion, I ask my students to continue thinking, problem-posing, and talking with me and each other through the class blogs and journals.

Waiting for Later to Disrupt the Status Quo

As preservice teachers, my students are overwhelmed by learning to teach the prescribed curriculum and consumed by their university schoolwork. They work in schools they assume are not populated by indigenous students or other students for whom it is relevant to know the unpleasant details of historical events. Why trouble a good story?

Silent in most discussions about indigenous peoples are the current realities of Native American life, including widespread poverty; relegation to reservations; the persistent political, social, and economic disregard for things cultural or sacred by the dominant U.S. society; and the advocacy necessary for linguistic, cultural, economic, and territorial sovereignty. I use the Thanksgiving story to provide an opportunity for my students to ask themselves, "If not me, who?" and "If not now, when?" as it relates to challenging the status quo.

In terms of measuring progress, we have come a long way from learning how to count to 10, one "Indian" at a time. Yet national multimillion-dollar franchise sports teams retain derogatory "Indian" names, logos, and chants; commercial products still utilize "Native" names and imagery as brands; and we still have the enduring uncritical portrayal of the first Thanksgiving. I believe a connection exists between the unwillingness to "give up" the beneficent 1621 Thanksgiving story and the ongoing appropriation of the imagery, spirituality, ceremonies, sovereign rights, and identity of this country's indigenous peoples. Students from all racial and cultural backgrounds learn early that it is OK to play Indian. They learn that Indians wear "costumes," feathers define cultural features for all Indians, and sacred cultural artifacts are crafts to be made from brown paper bags, paper towel rolls, paper plates, and construction paper. And after Thanksgiving, crafts and all, the "Natives" disappear back onto the shelf.

Confronting racism, injustice, prejudice, and stereotypes through a consciousness-raising education is a far cry from the fun-filled, feel-good activities characteristic of how schools approach holidays. With respect to indigenous peoples, I want my students to acknowledge the diverse and unique traditions among Native American cultures and to explore the historic and contemporary legacy of colonial intrusion, brutality, and cultural ignorance. As a teacher educator, I seek to invite my students on a journey of interrogating the fallacy of the "standard" curriculum as neutral and push them to develop an understanding of official knowledge as politically constructed and contestable. Critiquing received fact, such as the first Thanksgiving, is an integral piece of an overall critical approach to teaching and learning. I want my students to recognize that the histories of indigenous peoples have been subverted, silenced, and misrepresented in the curriculum. Equally important: I want my students to recognize that we can do something about it.
RESOURCES Evaluating resources about Native Americans:
Boston Children's Museum. Evaluating Resources: The Wampanoag in Teacher Resources on Native American History and Culture. ( www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag/html/evaluate.htm)

Seale, D., and Slapin, B., eds. (2005)
A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Lanham, Md.: Altamira Press.
Cultural appropriation in books for children. Evaluates hundreds of books for children and teenagers published from the early 1900s through 2004.
"Evaluating Children's Books for Bias." Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education. (www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/children.htm)
Wampanoag information past and present:
"Mashpee Wampanoag Timeline." Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Website. ( mashpeewampanoagtribe.com/timeline.html)
Timeline of events from precolonial times to current federal recognition.

Boston Children's Museum. "People of the First Light." Teacher Resources on Native American History and Culture. ( www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag)
Information and suggested activities about Wampanoag origins and life before, during, and after 1620; survival; and current day.
Teacher and student resources on Thanksgiving, Native Americans, and colonists:
Dow (Abenaki), J., and Slapin, B. " Deconstructing the Myths of The First Thanksgiving." Oyate. ( www.oyate.org/resources/longthanks.html)
Facts and fiction about the first Thanksgiving story, including critiqued excerpts from popular books.

Oyate. Primary Sources from a Colonialist Perspective. ( www.oyate.org/resources/booklistcolonialist.html)

Oyate. Recommended Books About Thanksgiving. ( www.oyate.org/resources/booklistrecommended.html)
Recommended books, links, and videos:
Goldstein, K. "As American as Pumpkin Pie." Plimoth Plantation.
( www.plimoth.org/discover/thanksgiving/pumkin-pie.php)
How, when, and why the "first Thanksgiving" came to be known as such.

Boston Children's Museum. Teacher Resources on Native American History and Culture. ( www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag)
Wampanoag voices, information, and suggested activities.

Seale, D., Slapin, B., and Silverman, C., eds. (2001) Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective. Berkeley, Calif.: Oyate (available at www.oyate.org). Historical and contemporary information about Thanksgiving. Context and counterstories for a critical cultural approach to Thanksgiving.

Jones, G., and Moomaw, S. (2002) Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms. St. Paul, Minn.: Red Leaf Press.
Problems and appropriate alternatives to addressing Native peoples' experiences.

Loewen, J. (2007) Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York City: Touchstone Press.
Detailed information on the first Thanks-giving based on primary resources.

Bigelow, B., and Peterson, R., eds. (1998) Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years . Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools
Essays, poems, historical vignettes, and lesson plans.

Slapin, B., and Seale, S., eds. (2006) Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. University of California Press (available at www.oyate.org). Stereotypes and myths in children's literature.

Rethinking Schools. (2008) Unlearning "Indian" Stereotypes (DVD). Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools (available at www.rethinkschools.org). Introduction to Native American history through the eyes of children. Includes teaching ideas and resources.

Rosenstein, J. (1997) In Whose Honor? American Indian Mascots in Sports. New Day Films (available at www.oyate.org).
Examination of the use of racist logos, nicknames, and caricatures as "mascots" in college and professional sports-and the impact of this practice on Indian families and communities.

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Rethinking Thanksgiving: Myths and Misgivings - Rethinking Schools

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By Vera L. Stenhouse Illustrator: Eric Hanson In 2006, an Atlanta newspaper ran several photos with captions describing the celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. The first picture featured a 5-year-old girl wearing a precision-cut fringe vest made out of a brown paper bag from a local grocery store (as identified by the store name and tagline detailed prominently in big blue letters on the vest).

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