Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity

Focusing on the differences between traditional Hopi government and the Hopi Tribal Council, this resource is a good addition to your unit on Native American culture. Learners conduct Internet research, analyze primary source photos, and...

Introduce middle schoolers to Poet Laureate Joy Harjo with a lesson that not only explains the role and duties of the Poet Laureate but also contains a video in which Harjo explains what she sees as her responsibility as a Native...

How do policies aimed to help actually hurt? Native American boarding schools—an attempt at assimilating children of indigenous tribes into white culture—had a shattering effect on those who attended. With primary sources, including...

The traditions, costumes, and the music of the Mardi Gras Indians, African-Americans and those with African American or Native American Heritage are the focus of a unit that introduces class members to a little-known group that plays a...

Help learners connect with the idea of being centered as they explore the Hopi origin story. The Hopi people believe their Creator called them up out of the earth and told them to journey until they found a center space they could call...

What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...

Once Americans won the Revolutionary War, their quest to gain land did not end. An interesting activity focuses on Americans' expansion into the frontier following the war and how it conflicted with Native Americans living in the area....

Although Westward Expansion is often romanticized, its impact was devastating on Native American communities. Primary source documents, including pictures of United States troops invading indigenous lands and Native American tribes, tell...

Middle schoolers examine how American Indians are represented in today's society. They read stories, analyze maps, and complete a chart and create an illustration about a specific tribe.

The class explores and debates, from multiple perspectives, a petition to allow Hopi Indians to take golden eagle hatchlings from a federal wildlife sanctuary for use in a religious ceremony. Pupils defend their personal views on the...