Over the past two decades, some state legislatures and school districts have pushed to require education on Indigenous histories and issues in K-12 curricula. Nonetheless, a study done at Penn State in 2015 found that 87 percent of Native American curricula covers pre-20th century history. The study also found that 27 states’ curricula neglected to mention a single Indigenous individual. The Retro Resources in our Contemporary Indigenous History Collection address these deficits.
Check out the resources released during Retro Report’s webinar series “Sovereignty and Self-Determination: Contemporary Indigenous Histories.”
This interactive map shows contemporary Indigenous activism in the United States. The map uses video and archival images to document legislation, land occupation and protest movements. It also includes more than a dozen resources for gathering more information, including external websites and Retro Report videos and lesson plans.
Primary Source-Focused Lesson on Boarding Schools
In this new, primary source-focused lesson and activity about government-run boarding schools for Native American children, students will examine interviews, images, newspaper articles and speeches to evaluate the short- and long-term impact of these institutions. These resources accompany Retro Report’s 15-minute video “Forced Into Federal Boarding Schools as Children, Native Americans Confront the Past.” See the lesson plan and student activity.
The Indian Child Welfare Act
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, a law passed in response to a long history of Native American children being separated from their families. The legislation protects Native American families and tribes by giving them preference in the adoption and foster care placement of Native American children.
Students will learn about this policy and hear first-hand accounts of how it affected Indigenous communities in the 11-minute video and accompanying lesson plan and student activity.
The Occupation of Alcatraz
In 1969, a group of Indigenous activists occupied Alcatraz Island, the site of an abandoned federal penitentiary, to reclaim land that was no longer being used. The occupation sparked a national conversation on the forced relocation and limited sovereignty of Native tribes.
LaNada War Jack, a leader of the occupation, wanted to set up a Native American studies center on Alcatraz to teach a more accurate version of American history. Students will hear from War Jack throughout the 13-minute film and learn about her efforts in the accompanying lesson plan and student activity.
DAGMAR ROTHSCHILD is an education intern at Retro Report. She is an undergraduate at Georgetown, studying International Relations. Stay up to date. Subscribe to our newsletters.
