Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
One of the hallmarks of living in a democratic society is idea that the voices of all citizens can be heard. Diversity is one of the core values in a democracy. The United States is made up of many different types of people with a variety of cultural backgrounds. We can take this Thanksgiving holiday as an opportunity to learn about First Nations and the important role they played in American history and in present times.
Often the narrative we learn about the first Thanksgiving is overly simplistic, historically inaccurate and censored. We hear a good deal about the Pilgrims coming to North America for religious freedom (Which of course was true). But we also learn that the Pilgrims wore austere black clothing with shoes and silver buckles. This was not true at all. Their clothing was much more colorful and cheerful. Furthermore, it is often thought that Europeans and Native American share a mutual reverence for the Thanksgiving holiday. In reality, the holiday for the Native Americans is a reminder of betrayal and blood shed by the Europeans.
In social studies classes when we learn American history it is often Eurocentric, but Native American history is often a greatly overlooked part of the discourse. After all, Native American history is American history, when accurately taught. The Thanksgiving season is a good time of year to get a greater understanding of native American culture.
Many people do not realize that there are currently 573 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States. There is a wide range of diverse Native American cultures and languages spoken today in North America. There are roughly 150 Native American languages still spoken in modern times and many of the old traditions are still maintained on reservations (Sovereign tribal lands).
Furthermore, there is not a great deal taught in public schools about those Native Americans who already lived in the Plymouth Rock region before the settlers came. The tribe that the European settlers feasted with on that fateful day in 1621 were called the Wampanoag Indians (Also more correctly written as Wôpanâak). Often when we think about Native Americans or First Nation peoples we think about history and the past only. But the Wampanoag are alive and well today. During the 1600’s the Wampanoag were several tribes that were loosely aligned, but today many are a part of two federally recognized tribes; the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head in Massachusetts. At the time the Pilgrims arrived there were approximately 40,000 Wampanoag people, but today as a result of genocide and disease there are only about 4,000-5,000 Wampanoag Indians. Even though the Indians rescued the Pilgrims from starvation and exposure when they first arrived, the Europeans went on to still systematically massacre them for their land and resources.
Social studies classrooms are the ideal place to teach students to value other cultures and people different from themselves. A unit or lesson that teaches youth about the past and present of the Wampanoag Indians is an important part of the larger conversation about the value in diversity. This curriculum can give them an understanding and appreciation of the past, present and future of Native American peoples. Below are a number of resources and lesson plans teachers can use to further educate students about Native American culture.
Lesson Plan Ideas:
SAMPLE LESSON ONE:
Social Studies Standards
Ohio Grade Eight Social Studies Standards
Theme: U.S. Studies from 1492 to 1877: Exploration through Reconstruction
EXPANSION:
Content Statements:
11. Westward expansion contributed to economic and industrial development, debates over sectional issues, war with Mexico and the displacement of American Indians.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)- Standard I
Culture: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity.
Objectives:
- Students will learn several aspects of the history of a specific Native American tribe.
- Students will familiarize themselves with a Native American language that is spoken in the United States today by a large group of people.
- Students will learn several words from the language of a particular tribe.
- Alternative Objective:
Students will learn several words from from a nearly extinct Native American language.
Students will learn strategies and processes in trying to vitalize an extinct language.
Summary:
Have students explore a particular Native American language today that is still spoken. A good example would be the Apache language which is still spoken by over 14,000 people or the Navajo language, spoken by nearly 150,000 people today. Students could learn important words from the language, they could learn the alphabet and be introduced to the idea of learning a language that is indigenous to our country.
NOTE: Students can also choose a nearly extinct language to learn such as the Clallam in Washington (Only five speakers), the Coeur D’Alene in Idaho (Only 40 speakers) or the Coos in Oregon (Sadly only one known speaker left).
Suggested Assessment:
Students can create several artifacts that demonstrate what they learned about the Native American language. Examples include:
- Collaborating with the art teacher and having students do some calligraphy using the Native words.
- Students can have a short conversation using some of the Native words.
- Students can describe themselves or a friend using the Native words.
- Students can create a personal letter using some of the Native words.
- Here is a resource that can help students get started with the project:
The Endangered Languages Project
http://endangeredlanguages.com/ - Indigenous Languages Spoken in the United States (by Language)
http://www.yourdictionary.com/elr/natlang.html
SAMPLE LESSON TWO:
Social Studies Standards
Ohio Grade Eight Social Studies Standards
Theme: U.S. Studies from 1492 to 1877: Exploration through Reconstruction
EXPANSION:
Content Statements:
11. Westward expansion contributed to economic and industrial development, debates over sectional issues, war with Mexico and the displacement of American Indians.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)- Standard I
Culture: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity.
Objectives:
- Students will learn aspects of the history of the Wampanoag Indians.
- Students will learn the culture and current state of the Wampanoag Indians.
- Students will learn several key words from the Wampanoag language.
- Via the Internet, social media and the teacher’s assistance, students will contact an individual from the Wampanoag nation.
Suggested Assessment:
Assessment One:
In collaboration with the art teacher students can create artwork or cultural artifacts that hearkens back to Wampanoag culture and history. The work should reflect their knowledge of Wampanoag culture and history. This could include an illustration, digital art, photography, a short film, poem or song.
Assessment Two:
When many people think about Native American dwellings they think of teepees, but the Wampanoag dwelt in thatched huts called Wetus and longhouses. Students can collaborate with the art teacher to create drawings, sculptures or small replicas of Wampanoag dwellings.
Assessment Three:
Students will contact an individual from the Wampanoag nation and create digital pen pals with other youth from the Wampanoag nation. They could choose from a variety of media resources including: Facebook, Messenger, twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, Email, Google Hangout, Skype or Email. This project can get students involved in efforts to resurrect dead or nearly extinct languages.
Students can visit this site to find contact information for representatives from the Wampanoag tribe.
https://www.plimoth.org/
Videos/Documentaries on Wampanoag History and Culture
Wampanoag Cultural Preservation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmisO7pdMW4
The Wampanoag Indians and Thanksgiving- Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH_KylBA-qU
We Still Live Here: Black Indians of Wampanoag and African Heritage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkJ6p8G0V2Q
Resources and References
Wampanoag Homesite
https://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/wampanoag-homesite
Wampanoag People
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wampanoag
Wampanoag History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampanoag
First Thanksgiving (National Geographic)
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/
1620s Daily Life: The Wampanoag and the Pilgrims (Fictional Dialogue with Wampanoag and Pilgrims.)
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/1620s-daily-life/
Federal Registry (Bureau of Indian Affairs)
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-07-23/pdf/2018-15679.pdf.
Most Common Native American Languages (by number of speakers today).
http://www.native-languages.org/most-spoken.htm
North American Indian languages
https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-American-Indian-languages
7 Most Popular Native American Languages in U.S.
https://tinyurl.com/ya77ujhy
List of Indian reservations in the United States
https://tinyurl.com/ydfq3cac
Maps of United States Indians by State
http://www.native-languages.org/states.htm
More Lesson Plans
Native American History Lesson Plans:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/native-american-history.cfm
Native American History and Culture Lesson Plans
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collections/teaching-content/native-american-heritage-0/
Caitlyn Rose
1. Your thoughts and opinion on the issue covered in the article.
My opinion on this article is that it was very informative. The real history of thanksgiving or as you would say, the pilgrims is something lost in our schools and history classroom. I see this as an important part of our history that seems hard for me to understand why it is overlooked.
2. Connections to something we talked about in class.
This article relates to our class when you talk about teaching in the classroom. Although the classroom is the ideal place for the students to learn “other cultures and people different from themselves”, we learned how this is something some public schools lack. What is thought is enough to allow students to pass, or nonopinionated based morals.
3. Comment on the teacher resources and how you can use them in a classroom or educational setting.
I think your lesson plan regarding Native American language is something that could be very interesting not just in a history classroom, but in schools that other something like Spanish, French, or sign language. In incorporating native American history with learning new languages could be something very exciting, especially around Thanksgiving.
Caitlyn Rose
1. My opinion on this article is that it was very informative. The real history of thanksgiving or as you would say, the pilgrims is something lost in our schools and history classroom. I see this as an important part of our history that seems hard for me to understand why it is overlooked.
2. This article relates to our class when you talk about teaching in the classroom. Although the classroom is the ideal place for the students to learn “other cultures and people different from themselves”, we learned how this is something some public schools lack. What is thought is enough to allow students to pass, or nonopinionated based morals.
3. I think your lesson plan regarding Native American language is something that could be very interesting not just in a history classroom, but in schools that other something like Spanish, French, or sign language. In incorporating native American history with learning new languages could be something very exciting, especially around Thanksgiving.
Aaron Gullett
1. “Social studies classrooms are the ideal place to teach students to value other cultures and people different from themselves.” I could not agree with this more. I do think that today, we as teachers should be teaching out students about the different values and beliefs of other people. Teaching them to have an open mind regarding things they may or may not believe in. I think the lesson plan would be great to use in an elementary classroom to get the students to start thinking about others as human beings and for where they came from.
2. I think tis article really connects with what we talked about in our most previous class, when we discussed racism. How people are judged by how they look, what they wear, and where they came from. We need to start think of people as a person, not based anything about where they are from or what they look like.
3. I think the resources could be a great inclusion in the classroom setting. Students could take the opportunity to do a jigsaw read, where each student or group has a different one, and do a small presentation on it for the rest of the class to learn from it as well. This is a great way to show our students that no person is greater than the next.
I found this article to be very insightful as well as interesting! Yes, I couldn’t agree more with the aspect of diversity being one of the core values in a democracy; it is a necessity. This article is important and connected to the Education course of racism and sexism because it details the negligence of the education of the native Americans. The attached teacher resources are very fun and insightful way in order to help social studies teacher reestablish the necessary components into the curriculum.
I really like this article because it gives me great ideas on how to teach my students to embrace the diversity that happens all around them in life, inside and outside the classroom. Most students can step right outside the door of their schools and see the numerous different cultures that make America so diverse. Like most have mentioned above I would use this in my classroom around Thanksgiving to help teach the students about diversity and how to embrace that we all are different.
I like this article because it gives me even more ideas on how to embrace and love diversity in the classroom. People, especially in america, are from all over the place and there are many different types of people currently living here. I would love to use this lesson plan in my classroom to educate students about native Americans and diversity– especially around the Thanksgiving holiday.
1. This article was very eye opening to me because I have never heard of the tribe you discussed. I agree with the point that every tribe should be discussed that way we can understand more of the backgrounds associated with Thanksgiving and that are present in the world/US today.
2. This relates to the idea that there is more to situations than we know or think we know. There are many different backgrounds that are present in the world today and like discussed in our book, they are often forgot about because they are considered to be the majority culture or background.
3. The resources provided can help teachers to educate students, so that students are more informed on other things that just the majority group. I believe as a future educator it is important to be the one to change the idea and promote the idea that everyone is equal and that one group/culture isn’t better than any other.
Kelsey Hiller
1. I really enjoyed reading this article. I think you made very clear points. I agree that Social Studies/ History should be the class that students learn about others. It is important for everyone to be seen and for everyone to understand backgrounds other than theirs. This was a real eye opener for me.
2. Throughout the course we talked about racism and how people may be judged because of the way they look or where they come from. We explained how it is important for everyone to be seen and not feel like they are ‘invisible’. This article points out that students should be taught to value others cultural backgrounds throughout the course of school.
3. These resources could be used to create different lessons for classes studying each topic. Students could have the opportunity to read each site/article and summarize and pull out key ideas from the passages.
Reema Alrashed
1.
In the same way, the Native American culture analysis based on the past, present and future relationships have been effectively mentioned in the article that has helped to learn about the different thoughts that Native American history has on the U.S and how it has made difference when it comes to the learning and understanding about culture.
2.
It also relates to the study of culture which we have studied in the course as well while learning the past and present conditions of the Native Americans.
3.
The teachers can use these articles to implement cultural competence within the classrooms. They can also encourage and promote the students to learn and respect other cultures.
Very informative article. It is amazing to think that there are so many Native American tribes in the US. This indeed is a part of our history that has been neglected.