Native Talk

Native Talk

Thinking About Thanksgiving

by

“What is it about the story of ‘The First Thanksgiving’ that makes it essential to be taught in virtually every grade from preschool through high school?” begins the post  “Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First Thanksgiving’ “ by Judy Dow (Abenaki).  This article includes 11 myths about the first Thanksgiving, notes and sources, recommended books about Thanksgiving, and primary sources from a colonialist perspective. Find this post and more under Resources at http://oyate.org.

A beautiful book for all ages is 1621 A New Look At Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac with Plimoth Plantation, published by National Geographic. This book has informative photos and drawings, factual information from a native point of view, timelines, and recipes. From the back cover: “In the fall of 1621, English colonists and Wampanoag people feasted together for three days. Join National Geographic and Plimoth Plantation for a new look at the real history behind the event that inspried the myth of The First Thanksgiving.”

Giving Thanks, A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp is a wonderful book that reminds us about the importance of being grateful for all that Mother Earth has provided for us.

Resources for Teaching About the Mission Era

by

The blogs listed here provide background information and appropriate classroom lesson/activity suggestions for teaching about the Mission Era in the California Native American Unit of study. These resources are especially useful for fourth grade.

“Repeat after us, say no to the mission project.” from California History-Social Science Project at UC Davis; http://chssp.ucdavis.edu/blog/mission#.

“Dear Sierra:  An Open Letter To California Fourth Graders” http://badndns.blogspot.com/2015/ by Professor Deborah A. Miranda. Click here for more about alternatives to the Mission Project.

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese

The following well researched historical fiction books offer the native perspective in the Mission Era:

Mission The Birth of California, The Death of a Nation, by Margaret Wyman. (This book is about the Kumeyyay experience during the mission years.)

Lands of our Ancestors Book 1, by Gary Robinson. (This is the story of a Chumash tribe’s experience when the Spanish priests and soldiers arrive and the devastating consequences.) A Teacher’s Guide is available to accompany the book and provides a variety of standards based appropriate activities across the curriculum. Resources-Lands of our Ancestors Books

Many 4th grade teachers use Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell as a class literature study during the Native American unit of study. Please read: A Critical Look at O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins by Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo).  Consider Dear Miss Karana by Eric Elliott. This engaging story is told by a present day ten year old Native American girl living on a reservation and attending a reservation school in Southern California. The story links the the life of Karana, the lone woman, and the native world today. This story is a rich resource of native culture and language and connects the past with the present.

Resources from the California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI)

by

The EEI Curriculum Catalog is a useful resource that includes materials for teaching the third and fourth grade  California Native American unit of study.

From the EEI website:

The California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) is a free K-12 curriculum that teaches critical skills in science and history-social science using environmental topics, such as water and energy, as a lens.

The EEI Curriculum makes learning relevant and fun for students by engaging them in topics they care about – the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat. All content is California State Board of Education-approved and helps support Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Use the free EEI Curriculum to build your students’ understanding of their relationship to the environment and prepare them to be critical thinkers and 21st century problem solvers.

What Is EEI?

The California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) is part of statewide effort to ensure all California K- 12 students are environmentally literate and can help shape a prosperous and sustainable world.

The EEI was signed into law in 2003 and mandated the creation of a standards-based curriculum to bring education about the environment into California’s K-12 schools. The EEI Curriculum consists of 85 state-adopted and approved science and history-social science units that complement existing instructional materials, allowing teachers to substitute EEI lessons for portions of their current textbooks.

http://www.CaliforniaEEI.org

 

Storytelling: Lessons Across Generations

by

Madelineinyard” ‘íswut and the Girl” is my grandmother’s reminiscence story and one of my childhood favorites.  I consider it one of her best gifts to me.  It is often a requested story when I do repeat visits to classrooms.  I don’t say much to introduce the story and I don’t discuss the themes of the story.  It isn’t necessary; the story speaks for itself and teaches the lessons it’s meant to teach.  And, as I always say, each individual takes away the lesson that’s intended for him.

Although the story unfolds a bit differently with each telling and each audience, ” ‘íswut and the Girl” always provokes specific reactions from children. When the boys throw rocks at the girl and her dog, there are looks of concern on the children’s faces.  Then, as ‘íswut runs out of the ocean on the girl’s command to chase the boys away from the food basket, the expressions immediately change.  The girls begin to smile and continue to smile until the end of the story. Some of the boys in the audience, the ones I suspect have had problems with bullies, have satisfied grins on their faces.  A few other boys, the ones who may have behaved badly a time or two, stare at me with mouths slightly open and eyes as big as saucers.  It never fails, it has been the same for years with young audiences.

This memorable story carries a lot of information about the cultures, languages, and ways of life of people living in the early 1900s in  northern San Diego County. It is another example of the power of stories in teaching native history. This story can easily be used as a foundation for teaching and reflecting on the past, present, and future of local native culture and traditions.

And so, my grandmother and ‘íswut live on in their story teaching us what life was like long ago, illustrating the importance of loyalty, and reminding us that there are consequences for our actions.

 

IswutLetter2014