Explore short videos, a webinar and an interactive map that support lessons on Indigenous history and communities.
Interactive Map: Indigenous Activism in the United States
This interactive map enables students to examine key Indigenous activism events throughout the United States over the course of decades. It includes photos, videos and additional resources for further investigation.
The Occupation of Alcatraz Island
This lesson is designed to introduce students to the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969, placing the episode within the historical context of tribal relations with the federal government. It addresses Constitutional obligations to uphold treaties and the occupation’s impact on the Red Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Understanding Boarding Schools for Native Americans
Students will learn about federally run boarding schools, institutions created to force the assimilation of Native American children into white society. The larger goal of this lesson is to develop empathy and to consider how the boarding school experience continues to affect Native American communities today.
In the Long Fight to Protect Native American Families, a Law Stands Guard
Students will learn how during the 1950s and 60s, Native children were routinely taken from their families and placed for adoption into white families. The legal dispute is part of a long pattern of tensions between U.S. and state governments and tribal entities over issues of sovereignty.
Generations Stolen
For decades, families were ruptured as Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and communities and adopted by white families or sent to faraway government-run boarding schools. Survivors recall the abuse and exploitation they endured in settings where their language and traditions were prohibited. They are demanding that the government be held accountable for its role. This 23-minute video is divided into two videos, with accompanying lesson plans, above.
Webinar
In this webinar we will learn from an Indigenous History scholar, preview engaging short films and explore ready-to-use lessons and interactive resources. This webinar is sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University.
