Creating a Curriculum on Indigenous Americans

Presenter: Erin Rose Charlton

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Fall

Department: Hutchins School of Liberal Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1AP5gPwKUa7FPbibUBcu6jSRXFyG3ZSr9

Abstract:
Elementary school educators face a challenge as they search for culturally appropriate and relevant information to teach about Native American history. Information provided in textbooks frequently enforces master narratives, promoting false stereotypes about Native Americans and lessening colonial violence. Because of this, lessons are often fraught with harmful stereotypes, prejudicial language, and misleadingly homogenizing conceptions of Native American people. This project was created with the goal of helping educators teach accurate, respectful, well-rounded lessons about Native American history and culture. During this project, I conducted extensive online research gathering sources that would help teachers frame their own thinking and assess inherent bias, as well as information about local Bay Area tribes. I attended a teacher's workshop produced by the Museum of the American Indian, and finally attended the Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums Conference: Navigating Cultural Survival in the 21st Century in the fall of 2019 with Professor Hess. From this research I created a resource binder for teachers to refer to. My findings stress the impotance of mindful teaching, commuity partnerships when applicable, multicultural representation in class literature, and integrated lessons when teaching about Native American history and culture. These elements, combined with attention to native perspectives, will allow teachers to provide a more accurate, respectful curriculum for students.