Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Native American Cultures Across the United States

For Teachers K - 1st
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...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Why This Pioneering Hopi Soldier Has a Mountain Named After Her

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 8th
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...
Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of the American Indian: Infinity of Nations

For Students 9th - 10th
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,...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Native American Cultures

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Handout
Other

First People: Native American Indian Legends Old Man at the Beginning Crow

For Students 3rd - 8th
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.
Website
Other

Illinois State Museum: At Home in the Heartland Online

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
PPT
Other

Calgary Board Education: Our First Nations: Blackfoot

For Students 3rd - 8th
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.
Website
Other

Calgary Board of Education: The Blackfoot Nation or Siksika People

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, developed for a grade two and three collaborative project, is an excellent research tool for elementary students studying the history and customs of the Blackfoot and Siksika people.
Lesson Plan
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies: Pre 1500: Nebraska's First Farmers [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lengthy and detailed lesson plan that explores the earliest Americans who lived in Nebraska prior to European contact. Although specific to Nebraska, the information can be generalized. [pdf]
Handout
Other

Civil Liberties: Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association

For Students 9th - 10th
How does the constitution resolve a conflict between the government's property rights and the right of groups to engage in religious practices on lands they consider sacred? The Supreme Court answered that question in favor of the...
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Texas A&M University

Center for the Study of the First Americans: Cactus Hill Site, Virginia

For Students 9th - 10th
Pictures of the Cactus Hill paleo-Indian site in Virginia show the site itself and artifacts from the pre-Clovis and Clovis periods of time. There is no commentary about the pictures other than a caption.
Graphic
Other

Ohio History: Virtual First Ohioans

For Students 9th - 10th
This award-winning resource from the Ohio Historical Society presents Ohio's first cultures: PaleoIndian, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Late Prehistoric Period cultures. Click on each period for additional information and great...
Unit Plan
Other

The Weekly South Dakotan: South Dakota History for 4th Grade

For Students 3rd - 8th
From the very beginning and through the twentieth century, this comprehensive collection of lessons will enrich students studying the history in between and the effects on South Dakota.
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service

For Students 9th - 10th
Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...
Website
Other

Native American Indian: Native Recipes

For Students 9th - 10th
A great way to get students into learning about First Nations culture is to immerse them in the cultural food. This site contains many recipes that can be prepared in a classroom for a feast!
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Native Americans

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] Grade 2 Social Studies - History - Eastern Woodlands Indians Topic: American Indians, Native Americans, First Americans Standard: Compares the lifestyles of Eastern Woodlands, Sioux of the Plains and...
Website
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: Kennewick Man: Controlling History

For Students 9th - 10th
In addition to a short explanation of the Kennewick Man and the outcome of the controversy surrounding the remains, this site also provides reactions to the decision, the legal battle, a timeline, and a page on the "First Americans."
Website
Other

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the history of the first Native American code talkers from the Choctaw Nation. Includes profiles of those who worked with the United States government during World War I and World War II.
Website
University of South Florida

Florida Center for Instructional Technology: The Calusa: "The Shell Indians"

For Students 5th - 8th
The Calusa native tribe inhabited southwestern Florida. They were the first people that the Spanish explorers wrote about in 1513. Learn about their daily life, customs, economic base, and what caused them to disappear by the late 1700's.
Website
A&E Television

History.com: French and Indian War

For Students 9th - 10th
The French and Indian War saw two European imperialists go head-to-head over territory and marked the debut of the soldier who would become America's first president.
Website
Native American Art and Technology

Native Tech: Native American Technology and Art

For Students 9th - 10th
Informational site discusses the technology of Native American crafts and the meaning of those crafts. Touches on everything from pottery to clothing.
Primary
Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma Historical Society: An Early Account of the Cherokees [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A first-hand account describing the Cherokee Native Americans during the period of their displacement (1837) from the southern United States to Oklahoma Indian territory.
Primary
University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma: Indian Reorganization Act Documents

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a larger digital project on Indian legal documents, this page contains all constitutions and charters that came from the Indian New Deal.