November is National Native American Heritage Month in the United States, and to honor it, we've collected resources to help educators teach the topic in their classrooms.
A Long Tradition
At the turn of the 20th Century, Dr. Arthur C. Parker first persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans." In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge proclaimed it on Sept. 28, 1915. (source)
The first American Indian Day in a state was in May 1916 by the governor of New York. In 1990 Pres. George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name, have been issued each year since 1994.
Integrating SEL
Honoring Native American heritage can fall under one or more of the CASEL competencies of Social Awareness or Relationship Skills. Social Awareness is "The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts." And Relationship Skills are defined as "The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups." It also contains demonstrating cultural competencies and standing up for the rights of others.
The Emozi® curriculum teaches cultural competency, identity, perspective-taking, respect for living things, giving back to the community, and more.
Here are some activities to help you teach and honor Native American Heritage this month.
Grades 6-8
- Divide students into groups to research Native American games or activities and present them to the class.
- Create a novel study for your students using a Native American or Indigenous Alaskan author's text.
- Explore the culture and music of 11 cultural groups who have settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, over the past 700 years.
- Read Native American newspapers to study and evaluate different points of view through history.
Emozi lessons to use any time of the year to teach point of view, respect for living things, community, cultural competencies, and diversity:
Emozi Grade 6
- Unit 2, Lesson 6: Diversity
- Unit 2, Lesson 7: Perspective Taking
- Unit 3, Lesson 5: Respect for Living Things
- Unit 3, Lesson 6: Community Involvement
- Unit 3, Lesson 8: Cultural Competence
Emozi Grade 7
- Unit 2, Lesson 2: Showing Respect
- Unit 2, Lesson 4: Stereotypes
- Unit 2, Lesson 10: Perspective
- Unit 2, Lesson 11: Cultural Competency
- Unit 3, Lesson 12: Community Involvement and Giving Back
Emozi Grade 8
- Unit 1, Lesson 5: Cultural Competency
- Unit 1, Lesson 6: Community Support
- Unit 2, Lesson 2: Human Variation
- Unit 2, Lesson 7: Perspective Taking
- Unit 3, Lesson 4: Prejudice and Racism
- Unit 3, Lesson 7: Point of View
Additional Resources
- National Native American Heritage Resources for Teachers
- Native Tongue: An Indigenous Language Playlist
- Native American Heritage Month Teacher Guide
- 'Living Nations, Living Words' Poetry Anthology
- Digital Learning Resources from the National Indian Education Association
- Substance Use Vs. Misuse Among Indigenous People: Understanding Cultural Context
