Curated OER
Thanksgiving Turkey Napkin Holder
Studens create turkey napkin holders. They discuss how Thanksgiving originated and why we celebrate this holiday. They create their napkin holders using craft sticks, glue guns, construction paper, feathers, and glitter.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University: Edward S. Curtis's the North American Indian
The Library of Congress presents over 2,000 prints from the work of the famed photographer,Edward S. Curtis, who recorded Native American dress, ceremonies, life, and culture representing over 80 tribes during the first half of the 20th...
Read Works
Read Works: The First Americans
[Free Registration/Login Required] Intended to support early elementary students' reading comprehension, the importance of Native Americans is discussed in this informational text. Visual cues are provided to support the passage and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Native American Cultures Across the United States
Students explore different aspects of the cultures of the First Americans in this lesson plan. Stereotypes are often associated with Native Americans through movies and in the context of the Thanksgiving holiday. Specific information and...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: The American Indian Movement, 1968 1978
This primary source set uses documents, photographs, videos, and news stories to tell the story of the first decade of the American Indian Movement.
Mount Holyoke College
International Relations: Andrew Jackson's Case for the Removal of Indians
Here, read the text to President Jackson's "First Annual Message to Congress, 8 December 1830," in which Jackson argues for the removal of Native Americans.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Western Migration Towards the Interior
This resource provides an essay discussing the migration of American colonists into the Ohio River Valley and the impact on the Native Americans living in the area.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Myth and Truth: "The First Thanksgiving" [Pdf]
Contains plans for three lessons that examine the myth and reality behind the first Thanksgiving and the Wampanoag Native Americans in colonial America. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian: National Museum of the American Indian: The Removal Act
At first, the Trail of Tears only described the Cherokee removal of 1838. Later it included the removals of all southeastern Native nations. Take a close look at these primary sources from the Smithsonian which include a reproduction of...
A&E Television
History.com: Why This Pioneering Hopi Soldier Has a Mountain Named After Her
Lori Ann Piestewa was the first woman to die on the front lines in Iraq and the first American Indian woman to die serving the U.S. Armed Forces. Piestewa has became synonymous with patriotic Native American sacrifice. In 2008, a...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf]
This study guide gives information about the Native Americans who were living in the area where the Pilgrims landed in 1620 and information about the new settlers too. The myth of the title concerns the friendly meal shared by the...
A&E Television
History.com: The First Thanksgiving Celebration
[Free Registration/Login Required] Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first...
Other
Huffington Post: Meet Kamala Harris, Who Could Become the First Woman President
On November 8, 2016, Kamala Harris became the first Indian-American and the second African-American woman elected to the United States Senate. Harris is currently the Attorney General in California.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of the American Indian: Infinity of Nations
Exhibtion of artwork and artifacts from geographic regions across the Americas highlights the historic significance and diversity of material culture produced by Native Americans, past to present. With examples of textiles, ceramics,...
Texas A&M University
Csfa: Circum Pacific Research by the Csfa
Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A & M University is researching many different sites across North America looking in to theories of "Clovis First" and "Pre-Clovis" as to who were the first people to inhabit North...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Native American Cultures
The America that greeted the first Europeans was, thus, far from an empty wilderness. It is now thought that as many people lived in the Western Hemisphere as in Western Europe at that time -- about 40 million. Estimates of the number of...
BBC
Bbc: Radio 4: Unearthing Mysteries: The Meadowcroft Rock Shelter
Presenter, Aubrey Manning, explores the excavation of Meadowcroft Rockshelter Aubrey Manning with archeologist, Dr. James Adovasio who has been excavating Meadowcroft Rockshelter campsite for the past 30 years. Details of the inside,...
Other
First People: Native American Indian Legends Old Man at the Beginning Crow
This Crow legend tells about the beginning of creation when the "Old Man" made the world for the Crow people. Links to other legends are provided.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Bartolome De Las Casas
This resource features Native American activist, Bartolome de las Casas, one of the first Europeans to speak on cruelty directed towards the Native Americans. Click on "Bartolome de las Casas Activites" for related artifacts and activities.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Fort Raleigh: The Roanoke Voyages: A Mystery Story for Young People
The history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island is told in story form. It tells of the conflict between England and Spain to establish a foothold in the New World, the voyages arranged by Sir Walter Raleigh, the establishment of a...
Other
Illinois State Museum: At Home in the Heartland Online
Exhibit about family life in Illinois from 1700 to the present lets visitors experience the kinds of changes that an environment can undergo over several hundred years. Uses historical narratives, images of objects, timelines, maps, and...
PBS
Nova: Mystery of the First Americans
Read the transcript of the NOVA program about Kennewick Man, how he was found, and why his discovery was so important.
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum
United States Indian Policy During the Late 19th Century: Change and Continuity
By the 1890's, the status of Indian people seemed to validate Frederick Jackson Turner's claim that "the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history." Natives ceased to threaten the Republic...
Other
Calgary Board Education: Our First Nations: Blackfoot
Educators will find this a useful research model for their students. Each slide addresses a different aspect of the Blackfoot tribe's daily life and culture.