Native American Heritage Month is in November. This gives teachers and students the perfect opportunity to learn about American Indian culture. Here are a few tips for teachers who take on this task. A few guidelines will help you to respect and honor this culture as it so deserves.
Native, Not One Culture
There were over 1,000 Native civilizations thriving in America when the Europeans arrived. Each tribe had its own way of life and language. They do have similarities according to region, but the also each have their own unique identities. You cannot lump them all together in any category. Their societies changed just like ours does today. So, try to make sure your kids know they are not studying all “Natives” at once.
Heritage Ties Back to the Land
Native American Indians have always had a spiritual connection to the land. If you start with respect for the land, you will not only be honoring their culture, you will be teaching good citizenship.
It’s a good idea to begin with the tribes with history in your region or state. This objective is in most primary Social Studies curriculums, so beginning there is a win-win! You will be teaching Geography and Culture at the same time. When you visit your state website, you will find which tribes lived in your state, and probably even resources.
Dive into how Native American Tribes solved their basic needs. This objective fits perfectly into the primary curriculum. You want to research with your students about:
- Kinds of Native shelter
- Types of Native tools and baskets
- Native food sources
The Native Americans made shelter from what they found on the land, in accordance with the weather. A great STEM favorite is to show you class different Native shelters from your area, and let them use found items to recreate them. Students can learn about structure and function as you go!
Baskets were an integral tool in their daily lives of every tribe. Each tribe was skilled had its own pattern that was passed down from generation to generation. Also grasses that were plentiful were used. A great project would be to teach your students how to weave paper or yarn. You could use pipe cleaners to start.
Native Americans hunted the animals living near them. They hunted when they needed food using every part of the animal. In additions, plants that grew nearby were used in cooking. In the primary grades, the focus would be on the plants and animals that are natural to the state.
Rethink the Headbands
How would you feel if someone showed up at your house party wearing your wedding dress? Would you feel respected? It was the most special day of your life. You shopped, and worried, and saved for that dress. Is is ok for them to wear it to your party? I’m pretty sure the answer would be a no! For this reason, please don’t have kids make native headdress, or paper bag vests. I was one of those well-meaning teachers myself many times unfortunately. However, it is not a respectful practice.
The American Indian Cultures hold feathers as sacred, not as crafts. Their tribal dress are not costumes. When I took a workshop with the National Museum of the American Indian, I cringed, thinking how many years I missed the mark. This is Chief Blue Jacket, the Native American whose family gifted my district the land for my school named for him. But, as Maya Angelou says, “Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.”
If at all possible, use storybooks written by Native American Indian authors. There are so many great choices.
There are stories about Native American Indians today:
There are also many important stories about the history:
If you wish to purchase a product for Native American Heritage Month where all the prep work is done for you, click on the left to check out my Native American Indian Mural project. It has 27 crafting projects your kids can do as they learn about the different cultures. While it is a huge project, you could do only your state or region.