Curated OER
Power Totem
Students investigate the important symbols to Native cultures by writing a poem. In this animal totem lesson, students discuss animal spirits and their relation to the Native American lifestyle. Students write a cinquain poem about...
Curated OER
James Welch's Fools Crow
Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...
Curated OER
Picturing America
Teachers look here! You'll find a treasure trove of images, all representing the face of young America. There are 27 different paintings that depict early settlers, the landscape, Native Americans, and famous folk throughout early...
Curated OER
Chilean Rainsticks
Students research the history of the rainstick and learn how it was originally made. They comprehend the use of the rainstick in various cultures. Students create a replica rainstick and decorate it in authentic Native American designs.
Curated OER
Hides That Reveal
Students explore the culture of Native American people, their homes, use of animal hides, history, and culture. They create a teepee and pelts to represent their researched tribe. Students share their researched information with their...
Curated OER
The Settlers are Coming, but the Natives are Here
Learners examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation and then write paper about how the Native Americans and settlers could keep the...
K20 LEARN
Many Trails of Tears: The Era of Indian Removal
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. All were forced off their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States as part of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Young historians research the tribes' reactions to this removal and...
Annenberg Foundation
Placing Artifacts in Time
Can history distort the true story behind famous people? Scholars analyze the many faces of the Native American Pocahontas. Incorporating technology and historical thinking skills, they uncover the many different sides to the Pocahontas...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Prelude to the Creek Indian War
What was life like as a settler in the 1800s? Get a glimpse of settlers' experiences in Alabama and their relationships with the Native American tribes using an interesting lesson. Scholars complete a hands-on activity, participate in...
PBS
Sitting Bull: Spiritual Leader and Military Leader
Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...
K20 LEARN
But What About Me?: Teaching Perspective In The Social Studies Classroom
How would the story of the discovery of America be different if indigenous people told it through their eyes? Individuals compare the conventional account of this moment in history to an account given by one of the native peoples. After...
DocsTeach
Before and After Carlisle School
White reformers thought they were "killing the Indian" to "save the man." Native children were taken from their parents and placed at boarding schools, such as the Carlisle School. Using a comparative photo analysis of children before...
Curated OER
Nevada Native Seasonal Activities
Here is an excellent series of lessons on the Paiute Indians of Nevada. In them, learners see that the four Native Tribes of Nevada respected and depended on their natural environment. They had four distinct ways of life according to the...
Curated OER
The American Indian Boarding School Experience: Then and Now
Learners examine cultural assimilation. In this Native American history lesson, students read and analyze "The Spirit Survives: The American Indian Boarding School Experience: Then and Now." Learners identify how American Indian Boarding...
Curated OER
The Constitution & Native Americans
Students identify and consider US Constitutional origins in American Indian culture. They discuss and consider what it means to them to attribute the origins of the US Constitution to American Indian oral tradition. They compare the...
Curated OER
Sundials: Keeping Time Like Native Americans
Students explore the use of sundials. They observe the shadows cast by the sun and record the times at various points throughout the day. They create sundials and record the location of the shadows and the time of day. They view a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kennewick Man: Science and Sacred Rights
"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...
Annenberg Foundation
Native Voices
The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...
DocsTeach
Lewis and Clark's Expedition to the Complex West
Lewis and Clark's famous expedition is a prime example of the United States' westward expansion. Aspiring historians examine maps from Lewis and Clark's journey, as well as discuss their interactions with Native American tribes. The...
K20 LEARN
Allotment in Indian Territory: Land Openings in Indian Territory
To understand how the allotment policy embedded in the Dawes Act, passed by the U.S. government in 1887, affected the tribal sovereignty of Native Americans, young historians examine various maps and documents and Supreme Court...
Pace University
The Iroquois
During the early 1500s, parts of modern-day New York were inhabited by Eastern Woodland Native Americans. To learn about the daily life, value, and traditions of these tribes, fourth graders research the Iroquois. Groups select...
Smithsonian Institution
Western Indian Wars
Why do many Native Americans live on reservations? An interactive resource teaches about how reservations came to be and the tragic history behind Native Americans moving from their lands. Teenagers read passages, view images, and click...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hopi Poetry
The Hopi refer to corn as their children, demonstrating its importance to the Native American group. Class members consider the role of literal and figurative language by examining poetry from this indigenous group. The resource includes...
Curated OER
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
A lesson looks closely at the history and importance of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Scholars view an engaging video, then create a book that celebrates Native Americans. Thoughtful discussion and research highlight their contributions.