Saturday, October 06, 2007

October 8th, 2007: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY


Monday, October 8th, 2007, is Indigenous Peoples Day. If you've come to this site looking for Columbus Day lesson plans, please set aside the tired and untrue 'celebration' of Christopher Columbus!


Instead, provide your students and library patrons with information that makes them informed citizens of the world. Tell them that Columbus did not "discover" the lands that came to be known as "America." There were indigenous people here then, and we are still here.


I am from Nambe O'Weenge. It is a Tewa pueblo located in northern New Mexico. In the "We Are Still Here" series, published by Lerner, is a book called Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters. Books like can be very helpful because through photographs, students in your class can see that we are part of today's society. Note: I've said "we are still here" and "teach students that we are still here" many times on this blog. I feel a bit like a broken record, but, over time, enough teachers, parents, and librarians will change their lesson plans, that we can all stop saying "we are still here."

.




Subscribe to American Indians in Children's Literature






Digg!

No comments:

Post a Comment


----UNSIGNED COMMENTS WILL NOT BE APPROVED.----

In our efforts to have meaningful conversations with people who read AICL and to reduce trolling, we are no longer accepting unsigned comments.

Please include your name (not a pseudonym) and the nature of your interest (like parent, teacher, professor, reviewer, librarian, etc.). If you prefer to withhold identifying information because it may result in backlash to you in your workplace or elsewhere, please write to us directly.