Resources for Native American Heritage Month
I love November.
I also love Thanksgiving, and what that means for us in our family. Cooking and hosting and creating a space where people feel at home is my favorite thing to do.
But I also know that this culturally appropriated version of the Thanksgiving story still told in schools, passed down in families and widely accepted in our communities is painful and triggering for our Indigenous friends; that this season they might feel as though there is no safe space for them to look without staring this false narrative in the face over, and over, and over again about their history, their identity, and their sense of belonging.
We’ve tried over the last few years to make sure we speak to the truth in our household concerning whose land we’re really on, and how we came to (wrongfully) claim it as our own. We want to celebrate the deep, rich Native American Culture that still exists both at home and in our education system.
I thought you might want to do the same. Sometimes resource guides get overwhelming with too much information, and not enough time to get through them. This often ends up with the reader becoming so overwhelmed with the material they’re unable to engage with the topic at hand. That is NOT my objective.
Here, I’ve provided a few resources I have used myself; in the classroom and at home. I’ll give you a few websites, a few Instagram accounts that are helpful to follow and a few books I continue to read every year because they’re beautiful and true and necessary . Whether you’re an educator, a parent, or simply someone who wants to ensure that the narrative we tell to our children and our communities is one that is both true and honoring, I hope this is a helpful first step.
WEBSITES
This Educator’s Guide and The National Native American Heritage Website are the perfect, November companions in the classroom or at home:
The Poetry Foundation has done the work to feature indigenous work, and curated resources here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/144560/native-american-poetry-and-culture
Joy Harjo is an obvious, “must read” and a great study either in ELA or History classrooms. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/joy-harjo
BOOKS
These are the books that I’ve read that have stayed with me, and that I continue to read and re-read.
Sean Sherman’s , The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen (cookbook)
Kaitlin Curtice’s Native (non-fiction reflection on, “belonging and discovering God.”)
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s, “Braiding Sweet Grass” (non-fiction reflection on, “indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants”.)
Tommy Orange’s, “There, There” (fiction)
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS
@riseindigenous (Indigenous Art’s Initiative)
@decolonialatlas (Maps for people and the planet)
@whitegirllearning (“learning and sharing all I can from BIPoC about history, the world and myself)
@chiefladybird (artist)
