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KnowledgeBases > The American Indian Education KnowledgeBase > Element 4 > Activity 2 > Task 2: Integrate Social Studies

Guideline: Standard Social Studies textbooks tend to treat American Indians as people who used to live in America, if they address them at all.  All students, but especially American Indian students, need to learn about tribal histories and current tribal governments as part of the Social Studies curriculum.
Tools American Indian Issues: An Introductory and Curricular Guide for Educators _EXTERNAL_LINK

As noted a this website, "the contents were made possible by the American Indian Civics Project (AICP), a project initially funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Native American Higher Education Initiative. The primary goal of the AICP was to provide educators with the tools to educate secondary students - Indian and non-native alike - about the historical and contemporary political, economic, and social characteristics of sovereign tribal nations throughout the United States."

Tools Are You Teaching the Real Story of the "First Thanksgiving"? _EXTERNAL_LINK

This link is to an Education World article on teaching about Thanksgiving. As noted in the article's introduction, "the relationship of the Indians and Pilgrims on Thanksgiving Day can easily be trivialized by teachers. This resource helps teachers give a more accurate picture of what happened."

Tools Culturally Responsive Curriculum for Secondary Schools _EXTERNAL_LINK

Produced by the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute at Evergreen State College "this curriculum project provides current, as well as historically correct, information that can be easily adapted or integrated into the Social Studies units of all public schools."

Tools Should We Celebrate Columbus Day? _EXTERNAL_LINK

This llink is to an Education World esson plan for grades 6-12.  As noted in the lesson plan's introduction, "students use inquiry-based learning to gather information about Columbus's impact on the Americas. They use this information to answer the question of whether a fictitious community should continue to recognize Columbus Day."

Tools Smithsonian Education _EXTERNAL_LINK

This resource provides a database of education resources available through the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. Native American related content can be found lesson plans, resources and Smithsonian educational resources aligned to state standards. This database may be useful for teachers searching for culturally responsive resources.

Tools Southwest Crossroads: Footpaths _EXTERNAL_LINK

As noted at its website,"Southwest Crossroads features Footpaths-lesson plans for students in grades 7-12, created by and for educators. Each Footpath presents selected materials and carefully designed questions that guide students through lessons tied to curricular standards. Footpaths encourage students to remain focused while exploring a diversity of documents, images, and multimedia features. Footpaths include practical information to help teachers plan and select appropriate lessons."

References National Museum of the American Indian _EXTERNAL_LINK
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has educational resources, including teaching material on the Navajo Code Talkers who served in the Marine Corps during World War II in the South Pacific.
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Next: Task 3: Incorporate Ethnomathematics and Ethnoscience Previous: Task 1: Develop a Curriculum for American Indian Students


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.