Children in the US learn about us almost exclusively in the past tense – 87% of textbooks and state standards don’t mention us past 1900 and almost all pop culture depictions are past tense only. 40% of adults in the US don’t know that we still exist. If you have ever watched Molly of Denali, your child probably didn’t connect Molly with the “Indians” in Peter Pan or with Pocahontas. Molly of Denali is accurate, respectful, and modern. Those movies (and most kids books) are inaccurate, harmful/racist, and past tense only.
For younger kids, I recommend teaching only about modern Native people until they’re old enough to grasp the concept of “history” and learn more in depth about the past. Pre-K through about 1st or 2nd grade should focus on modern Natives instead of history. A good approach is to introduce the concept of what Indigenous means – the original people of a specific location. Explain that Natives are the original people of the Americas. Natives have lived here for thousands of years, long before people from the rest of the world came to live here. And we (they) live here today. Then teach about modern Native people exclusively. Then once they're older and start learning about history, they will already have people in the present to connect Native histories to.
The reason for this is important. When children learn about us in the past first, they have no modern context to connect that history to. In the preK-2nd grade levels, social studies consists of modern cultures, holidays, and ways people live. But this isn't done for Native Americans. The textbooks and resources have all modern information about cultures, and then only historic information about Natives. And then throughout their education there is either nothing, or almost nothing, about modern Native people. They learn that history with no modern context for it, no people to connect it to. And then they only associate us with the past.
When I first started teaching about Natives, my children and I were hired to teach about Native dances. It was a 3 day event at a historic mound site where school groups would come throughout the day and go from station to station learning different things from Native presenters. It seemed pretty straight forward. We had 20 minutes with each group, so I’d talk about different types of dances, introduce my kids’ types of dances, talk about their regalia, have them demonstrate, and then have time for questions. I was on contract to be in regalia as well, even though I wasn’t dancing, so I was wearing my Apache camp dress and mocs. When it was time for questions, immediately hands would go up and I’d get asked “do you live in a tipi?” “do you use electricity?” “are you a real Indian?” “I thought Indians were dead.“ “You don’t look like an Indian.” “Are you a person from history?” Every.single.time. No matter how old the kids were, K-12, these were the questions I got. Some even came from teachers. It didn’t matter that I introduced myself as Lipan Apache, it didn’t matter that we were standing there in front of them talking about our culture, it didn’t matter what I said at all…they didn’t hear anything I said. I realized after the first day that I needed a profoundly different approach to teaching about Natives. This led to developing my own pedagogy over the next few years and finding out that it worked through trial and error. And that approach was teaching about modern Natives and stereotypes first. I had to break down all of those misconceptions first before they would hear anything else I had to say.
Even if you homeschool, this process is important. They have already likely been exposed to stereotypes or false ideas about Natives somewhere. They have already likely been exposed to past tense only information about Natives somewhere. But even if you don't need to address stereotypes for your homeschooled child, the importance of teaching about modern Natives only in the preK-2 grade levels is still there. Children need someone modern to connect those histories to.
So, stock up on modern Native children’s books! There’s a
ton! If your child asks you why a Native person is doing something – a dance, a
ceremony, something traditional – you can explain that it’s a cultural
tradition that goes back thousands of years. You can then connect this to other
modern cultures around the world that maintain old traditions – including in
Europe. I especially recommend including Europeans traditions so that
Euro-American children see that it isn’t just “other” or “exotic” to maintain
cultural traditions rather this spans all cultures and peoples.
Visit a powwow (yes, they're open to the public! Check out powwows.com for a national calendar and more information about powwows). Visit a Native nation's cultural center or a local Native museum (not a natural history museum or a museum that puts us in past only, but Native run museums that incorporate past and present). Meet and interact with Native people so children see us in a modern context. Ask your child's teacher/school to invite Native educators and presenters to their class/school.
I recommend getting rid of racist media – movies, books,
comics, etc. – WITH your child. Explain why you are doing it. (Of course, if this specifically doesn't apply to you, feel free to skip to the * a little further down.) It can look
something like this:
“We are going to get rid of these movies because they are
harmful. They show Native American people in a mean way that isn’t accurate. I
let you have these movies before because I didn’t know that it was harmful. But
now I do know, and I want us to do better.”
If your child protests or says “but I love those movies” or
gets upset, you can appeal to empathy.
“These movies show Native Americans in a way that hurts
Native children. It can hurt how they feel about themselves or how other people
treat them. Do you think Native children love watching movies like this that
hurt them? How do you think it would feel to see yourself shown in such a mean
and hurtful way?”
Hopefully your child will feel empathy and be more accepting
of getting rid of the harmful media.
You can also explain “These movies can hurt non-Native people, too. Sometimes we don’t even know that we start thinking wrong or bad things about Natives when we watch the movies. It is important to treat others with kindness and respect, but these movies sometimes have an effect on how non-Native people treat Native people. Sometimes people are mean or rude to Natives because they learned the wrong things about them. You or I might accidentally treat someone differently because of those false ideas. We don’t want to learn the wrong things or disrespect Native people.”
It has been shown that when you expose children to racist
entertainment (sports with racist mascots, movies, books) that they begin to
have racist thoughts, even if you tell them that racism is bad and wrong. They internalize the racist entertainment as normal and acceptable
instead of your “but don’t be racist” message.
This negatively impacts how non-Natives see and treat Native people. Perfect example: I had a friend whose son was watching Peter Pan and he asked,
“are those the bad guys?” He was talking about the “Indians.” She realized how
awful that depiction was when he asked that question. She tried to explain that it
was wrong and that he has Native American friends. She mentioned my children
and explained that they’re Native. Her son said, “are they going to kill me?”
The messages that he got from Peter Pan (and likely other media) was that
Natives are bad and that my Native children want to harm him.
A lot of favorite, nostalgic books and movies today have
horrible anti-Indigenous depictions, stereotypes, and racism throughout. They
are not good to use as entertainment for young children (or for anyone for that matter). It is best to avoid
them until they’re older and can look at them through the lens of critical
analysis rather than entertainment.
*By 2nd/3rd grade they can start learning a little about Native
histories but continue keep the focus on modern Natives. When learning about US and
Native histories, always tie it back to modern Native
people. Always include modern Natives in their education, even if their school
or curriculum does not. Like I said, most curriculum does not mention us past
1900, so it’s important to fill in those gaps between 1900 to present.
- There are over 600 Native nations in the US alone and each one is UNIQUE. There is no such thing as “the Native Americans” as a whole or “Native American culture.” Each Native nation has its own traditions, culture, language, food, values, religion, and history. Do not lump all Natives together into a monolith.
- Teach nation (tribe) specific information. Instead of “Native Americans….” Say “Lakota…” or “Apache…” or “Seneca…” etc. Identify the nation the story, lesson, or tradition comes from by name.
- Native people are modern. We live modern lives like other North American people. Most of us live in cities. We live in modern homes, drive cars, play video games, and eat pizza. We work in all jobs, go to schools, and interact with society like everyone else.
- Native people suffer from racism and discrimination at high rates. We are still fighting for equal rights.
- Most Natives do not like to be called “Indians” by non-Natives, but we may use it as slang amongst ourselves. What terms we prefer varies from person to person. Most of us prefer to be identified by our nation specifically rather than a generic term. Acceptable generic terms in the US include: Indigenous, Native, Native American, American Indian – but what each individual or community prefers varies.
- Don’t just learn about the terrible things in our histories or about the negative issues we face today, but also learn about our joys and triumphs. Celebrate the beauty of our cultures and that we are still here and thriving.
Some great books for younger kids include:
We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today series –
- Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters
- Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition
- Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugar-making
- Kinaaldá: A Navajo Girl Grows Up (About a Navajo girl's coming-of-age ceremony.)
- The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering
- Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer
- Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave.
- Drumbeat Heartbeat: A Celebration of Powwow
- A Story To Tell: Traditions of a Tlingit Community
- Strawberry Thanksgiving by Paulla Jennings
Jingle Dancer – Cynthia Leitich Smith
Less Than Half, More Than Whole - Kathleen Lacapa
Where Did You Get Your Moccasins - Bernelda Wheeler
Powwow’s Coming – Linda Boyden
Father’s Boots, Azhé'é Bikénidoots'osii – Baje Whitethorne
Bowwow Powwow – Brenda J Child, Gordon Jourdain and Jonathan Thunder
Mission to Space – John Herrington
When the Shadbush Blooms –
Carla Messinger
For kids a little bit older, lower elementary ages:
A Kids Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis
We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell
The People Shall Continue by Simon Ortiz
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Notable Native People by Adrienne Keene
Young Native Activist by Aslan Tudor
Some good tv shows/videos:
Molly of Denali
Spirit Rangers
The Seven Sacred Laws (animated web series)
The Wampanoag Way- YouTube
See What Canyon Life Is Likefor a Navajo Pageant Winner | Short Film Showcase - YouTube
This Chef Keeps the Flavors of Ancient Mexico Alive - YouTube
The History of Wampum - Real Story from Local Massachusetts Native American - YouTube
Nez Perce tribal member explains why we need to protect #OurWild - YouTube
How "Finding Nemo" may help keep Navajo language alive - YouTube
Oglala Lakota Nation Pow Wow | National Geographic - YouTube
Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Seattle - YouTube
Canoe Way: The Sacred Journey - YouTube
At Kuskokwim River fish camp, smokehouses fill with fish and tradition - YouTube
A few good music videos:
N'we Jinan Artists - "WE ARE MEDICINE" // Bella Coola, British Columbia - YouTube
One World (We Are One) - Official Video - YouTube
Taboo - The Fight (Official Video) - YouTube
Studio Enjoy: Supaman - 'Prayer Loop Song' - YouTube
Lesson plans:
Resources - Illuminative – scroll down to the menu, select “lesson plans,” scroll down to Native Education For All: Activity Guides for Pre-K to 2nd Grade for younger children. (There are lesson plans for older age groups as well, but since this post is focused on younger ages, those are the ones I am suggesting.)
Essential Understandings | Native Knowledge 360° - Interactive Teaching Resources (si.edu)
Search NK360° Educational Resources | Native Knowledge 360° - Interactive Teaching Resources (si.edu) – in the search – select the grade level you’re looking for and it will pull up lessons
There are a lot more good Native made books, media, and educational materials out there, but these are a good start! All of the recommendations here are either about modern Natives or include modern Natives.