Inland Empire Council for the Social Studies
Why Ethnic Studies: Native Americans?
The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies - A Research Review by Christine E. Sleeter National Education Association
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED521869.pdf
What is the value of ethnic studies in schools and universities? Supporters say ethnic
studies promotes respect and understanding among races, supports student success, and teaches critical thinking skills. Critics, however, increasingly question the relevance of ethnic studies education programs in the post-integration era.
• What do we know from prior research and practice about ethnic studies,
especially as they relate to student achievement and narrowing achievement gaps?
• Are there ways to examine and talk about what we have learned that will enable
us to apply those lessons to creating and establishing ethnic studies programs that
support student and teacher learning?
The Danger of a Single Story - TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Above is a representation of a California Chumash village
Native American Resources and Materials
Native American Studies - Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum
Separate Class about Native American Peoples, pp. 259-283 in Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, California Department of Education.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/esmcchapter4.pdf
Whose History Matters? Students Can Name Columbus, But Most Have Never Heard of the Taíno People
https://www.zinnedproject.org/if-we-knew-our-history/whose-history-matters-taino
This article, published in Zinn Education Project, highlights key pieces of primary source information about the Taino People who were the indigenous peoples in the Caribbean when Columbus landed in that part of America.
Integrating Ethnic Studies into Existing Courses - ES Model Curriculum p. 51-52, same URL as above.
(few specifics about scope & sequence are provided)
Elementary Lessons
Miwok Informational Writing, grades 3 or 4
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10yL2hsLp9O6-rYnTcMuvjHVi2D59WlLr/view
This Google slide set engages a class in whole group writing/research activity. It guides students through the steps to research and organize information about the Miwok people. It is a good demonstration of how to effectively integrate ELA and H-SS content. It's a good activity of how geography and history change the regions in which people now live. (Source: CHSSP Berkeley)
The Tongva Before and After Spanish Arrival
https://www.teachingcalifornia.org
Students will produce a written response, using a mural of Toypurina as a prompt. They will also examine images of the Tongva within the context of how they lived “before missions” and “within the mission system" with a focus on how the mission system impacted their culture and quality of life
Students will work in collaborative groups to analyze images, record observations, make inferences, and respond to questions generated. Grade 4 (Source: UCLA History-Geography Project, KCET,
and Huntington Institute on California and the West)
Indigenous People of California: Whose Land Do I Live On?
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15pmwg1pdFjpMQRstBVIMdWzHVEx0UGDv--LE5vff1CQ/edit#slide=id.p
Over the last few years, UCB-HSSP has spent time learning about settler colonialism and the ongoing history, presence, and organizing of Ohlone people in the Bay Area. These resources have been compiled and developed as a result of this period of study and have informed shifts in programming and work with teachers. Grades K-2 (Source: CHSSP Berkeley)
Native California History Resources
https://ucbhssp.berkeley.edu/native-california
Here is a rich set of resources on Indigenous Peoples. Some are reading material, some video, some presentations.
Indigenous Sovereignty: One Land Plot at a Time | KQED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8HHoFZ3fXY&list=PLai19KBgVWuc7pfUbnTJENv6b-GcmtKzd&index=7
The essential question is 'How can Native Peoples burial grounds be protected?' See how some people are helping.
Grades 8 - 12 Student Lessons
America and the Six Nations: Native Americans after the Revolution
https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/education-material/america-and-the-six-nations-native-americans-after-the-revolution/
Lesson developed by the National Humanities Center to explore the early years of interaction between Euro-Americans and Native Peoples from the colonial era to the American Revolution.
America, the Creeks, and Other Southeastern Tribes
https://americainclass.org/america-the-creeks-and-other-southeastern-tribes/
This lesson was developed by the National Humanities Center to assist students to understand the perspectives of both Euro American immigrants and the long lived indigenous peoples in the southeastern part of the newly formed USA.
Primary Sources
Boarding Schools 12 years of hell’: Indian boarding school survivors share their stories
Source: Washington Post by Dana Hedgpeth
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/08/07/indian-boarding-school-survivors-abuse-trauma/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most