Login with Facebook Register | Lost Password
Skip to Content
  • National African American History Month:

    February is National African American History Month! To view websites on African American history, click here.

  • KnowledgeBases:

    MC3's KnowledgeBases are topical collections of information and resources on specific subject areas. To see available KnowledgeBases, click here.

  • Common Core State Standards: MC3 has weblinks on Common Core State Standards, including information on assessment, equity issues, funding, implementation, special populations, and state resources. Check it out here.

KnowledgeBases > The American Indian Education KnowledgeBase > Element 4 > Activity 1 > Task 2: Avoid Biased Teaching and Stereotypes

Guideline: Misperceptions of American Indians abound in western culture.  Some such stereotypes have carried over into educational practices and curriculum.  Images such as American Indians wearing feathers, living in a tipi, making whooping sounds, and being associated with Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims do not present children with an accurate portrayal of native people.  For this reason, it is important for educators to study American Indians in a way that allows students to see the diversity and uniqueness of the individual tribes.
Checklists Appropriate Methods When Teaching About Native American Peoples

This resource provides a checklist of "Do's and Don'ts" with approriate methods to use when teaching about Native Americans.

Tools Teacher's Tool for Reflective Practice _EXTERNAL_LINK
From McREL, "this self-reflection journaling tool is intended to provide teachers and their colleagues with the opportunity to reflect on cultural differences between themselves and their students and to consider alternative interaction styles and contexts for learning."
Practical Tips 10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism _EXTERNAL_LINK

This article from the Council on Interracial Books for Children provides guidance in selecting bias-free reading materials for children.

References Evaluating American Indian Materials and Resources for the Classroom _EXTERNAL_LINK

This Montana Office of Public Instruction document provides suggestions for how educators can review classroom materials for biases about American Indians.

References Fluff and Feathers: Treatment of American Indians in the Literature and the Classroom _EXTERNAL_LINK
This article by Cornel Peweward in the April 1998 issue of Equity & Excellence in Education discusses how Indians are often presented in a stereotyped fashion in classroom curriculum.
References Teaching Tolerance _EXTERNAL_LINK

This link to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project offers resources on teaching tolerance.

References Unbiased Teaching about American Indians and Alaska Natives in Elementary Schools

Orignally authored as part of an ERIC Digest, "this digest gives teachers realistic information about this growing population. It identifies some of the common myths about American Indians and Alaska Natives that contribute to curriculum bias. The concluding discussion suggests activities and resources to help elementary students--and their teachers--understand the realities of how Indians live today and how they lived in the past."

Print Print this page

Next: Task 3: Understand the American Indian Perspective on Gifted and Talented Education Previous: Task 1: Be Aware of American Indian Learning Styles


The contents of this website were developed under a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education. The information presented on this website is intended for general reference purposes only, and information/linked content is not necessarily endorsed by the Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center or the U.S. Department of Education.