Primary Sources in Elementary Education

Edited

Thank you so much for sharing these in advance. All too often folks tend to share teaching resources "just in time"--in other words too late to properly prepare for optimal benefit.

Check out these audio and video resources, as well: https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/audio-and-video/

https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ November Be Prepared

Love this resource too! Thanks for adding!

One of our Summer Institutes from 2019 focused on the History and Culture of the Cherokee Tribe. One activity that received some of the most thoughtful discussions was the "Circle of Viewpoints" political cartoon analysis strategy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lk6SqijTRQ with

View the youtube link for a demonstration of this strategy, but the basic steps include:

1) Display document with circle around it

2) Brainstorm all the perspectives represented:

*Who is directly involved in the image?

* Who is affected by events in image but not included?

3) Assign each group a perspective and have that group list different reactions from that perspective

Bridget Morton I am so glad you shared that activity. It is one of my favorite. It always makes an impact!

The Cherokee Nation has an extremely complex history, as do most indigenous people. This timeline of important dates helps break down the Cherokee history. http://www.cherokeebyblood.com/Cherokee_by_blood/Important_dates.html

Also, included here is one of the appeals by the Cherokee Nation to the Federal Government about their mistreatment - https://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep117/usrep117288/usrep117288.pdf

Chronicling America is an amazing resource, and even includes The Phoenix, a Cherokee newspaper that has articles written in the Cherokee syllabary and English alphabet - https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83020866/issues/first_pages/. Check it out!

Thanks for starting this Cheryl Best ! For all sorts of resources from the Library--teaching resources, primary source sets, blog posts and more--take a look at the Native American resource page on the Primary Source Nexus.

NativeAmericans

Thank you, Julie Schaul , for pointing out this valuable collection of resources, so conveniently grouped together!

Teaching Native American history is so incredibly important! One of our curators at the Minnesota Historical Society put together these links for Indigenous People's day:

To learn more about the Indigenous peoples of Minnesota (and beyond) please visit one of the many resources found at MNHS:

Gale Family Library Research Guides
MNopedia articles on various Native American topics
3D Collections Items of the Dakota, Lakota and Ojibwe
Browse the titles of MNHS Press
Dig into the history of the Ojibwe bandolier bag with the Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Kit

Since it is so difficult to find preserved primary sources that haven't been somehow passed through a white normative lens, I also encourage folks to use secondary sources and literature produced by Native people. It's important to emphasize and respect the oral history tradition that has been passed through generations and honor those sources and stories as well. Birchbark House and Louise Erdrich's other novels come to mind, as well as Runs with Courage by Joan M. Wolf.

I also recommend documentaries like Native America (PBS), We Shall Remain (PBS) and 500 Nations (which you can find on YouTube in bits and pieces).

Finally, I would like to offer a piece of loving critique: I think it's important when we're asking this question about Native Americans that we frame it as "Who are Native Americans" rather than What. The American Indian Museum at the Smithsonian has a great webpage dedicated to why words matter.

Just this morning, I heard a wonderful 4-minute piece on NPR titled "Food Brings Families Together in Fry Bread." It's about a new book by Kevin Noble Maillard.

The host's beginning statement caught my attention immediately when he said, "When Native American children read books, they do not often have chances to see people like them." Maillard, a law professor at Syracuse University, is both black and indigenous - a member of the Seminole Nation. His wife is Taiwanese. Before the birth of their first child, he was looking for children's books that would reflect the child's heritage and lived experiences. He could find books with African American child characters, but nothing with indigenous characters other than the standard Thanksgiving or Pocahontas or Sacajawea books. He could also find some books with characters of Asian heritage. He could find nothing about Native American children "who were wearing sneakers or eating candy or making cakes with their grandma." So he wrote his own book!

This NPR piece made me think not only of this discussion started by Cheryl Best here in the Primary Sources in Elementary Education group, but also of potential discussions in both the Primary Sources in the School Library group and in the new Primary Sources and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy group.

Fry Bread was published by MacMillan Publishers Oct. 22, 2019. I would love to hear how teachers and librarians plan to use it with primary sources.

Delightful watching Kevin Nobel Maillard reading Fry Bread (via YouTube)! A very inclusive message for all students.

Kara Knight Cheryl Best You both wrote thoughtful and respectful posts, thank you. Many people have been left out of the textbooks; or have had their story changed. Finding accurate information is important. Debbie Reese is a person who I follow. Her blog is "American Indians in Children's Literature" https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/ She does a good job of explaining why books are problematic from a native perspective.

This is one tool to help all of us have the difficult conversations with our students and peers. I believe most people are trying to be sensitive to issues, but may not have a background or understanding of why certain books are not recommended.

Great Blog! Keep sharing!

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