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.
This resource provides a checklist of "Do's and Don'ts" with approriate methods to use when teaching about Native Americans.
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."
This article from the Council on Interracial Books for Children provides guidance in selecting bias-free reading materials for children.
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.
This website offers for suggestions and resources for how to fairly and accurately select American Indian books for libraries, schools and homes. This page has been compiled Kay Marie Porterfield and Emory Dean Keoke, authors of The Encyclopedia Of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations.
Developed by the Department of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno this resource provides information on the typical stereotypes associated with Native Americans.
This Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project offers resources on teaching tolerance.
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."
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