Lesson Plan

Indian/Native American Boarding Schools: Their History, Harm and Impact

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Encultureate, assimilate, or eliminate? The 2021 discovery of a mass grave of over 200 children on the site of a former Canadian Indian Boarding school led to the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. High schoolers watch videos and read reports to learn about these schools and the subsequent study of the Federal Indian boarding school system in the United States. Class members then craft a written response to their learning and share their work with others.

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CCSS: Designed
Instructional Ideas
  • Post a list of services available on campus and in the community for those experiencing distress
  • The video is very upsetting; preview both the 20-minute and the shorter version of the video to determine which is more appropriate for your classes
  • Use the resource during November's Native American Heritage Month
  • Rather than copying the entire documents, print only those assigned pages; however, do provide links to the full text for those who want to know more
Classroom Considerations
  • Requires projection equipment for the videos and copies of three lengthy articles
Pros
  • The powerful lesson points out the importance of examining the consequences of policies
Cons
  • None