I bet we all have one of those little songs or phrases we were taught as young children. Here’s mine: “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in the year of 1492.” Our nation has even named a holiday for Christopher Columbus, yet all of us know, he was not at all the first person to "discover" America -- he invaded a land that was already home to our Native American Indians. Indigenous Peoples’ Day can be a powerful day for you, as a classroom teacher, to debunk this myth that comes from a Eurocentric lens. “Teachers have the power to change the practice of celebrating Columbus to a practice of celebrating indigenous peoples’ presence, endurance and accomplishments." If you plan to talk about Columbus Day with your students, consider teaching about Indigenous Peoples’ Day, “A better story—and better point of focus—is one that celebrates indigenous peoples who not only pre-date Columbus, but who persist and excel in an often hostile U.S. social and political environment.” Take a moment to check out a couple of resources that I'm sharing today that may help guide your thinking as you prepare for next week. You’ll see that this Teaching Tolerance link offers activities to engage your students in a different story as we lead up to Columbus Day: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/reconsider-columbus-day If you want to add a creative edge to your lesson on Indigenous People’s Day, I’m including a link with resources that are from Indigenous writers who share their stories of both past and present. So many ‘best sellers’ and ‘classics” are riddled with stereotypes and misrepresentation, so this is a way to offer another ‘counter-story’ to what your students may have learned about Native Americans in our country. Many of the books that are shared are for young students, but some are for older kids too. Don’t underestimate the power of a “read-aloud” even for middle schoolers, especially after you taught a lesson on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. (As you read, put the beautiful images from the book up on the big screen so everyone can be a part of the read-aloud.) Think of ways to create a lesson around the book you choose and the message of the story. Think back to “Cultural Wealth” and find a connection between these stories and your own students’ cultural wealth and how these children’s books might resonate with your students. Check those out here: https://medium.com/embrace-race/indigenousreads-by-indigenous-writers-a-childrens-reading-list-c3b558d1d94a “Why rethink Christopher Columbus? Because the Columbus myth is basic to children's beliefs about society. For many youngsters the tale of Columbus introduces them to a history of this country, even to history itself. The ‘discovery of America’ is children's first curricular exposure to the encounter between two cultures and to the encounter between two races. As such, a study of Columbus is really a study about us — how we think about each other, our country, and our relations with people around the world. The Columbus myth teaches children whose voices to listen for as they go out in the world — and whose to ignore.” Finally, I’m including a link to a Special Edition from “Rethinking Schools” which includes many articles like, “We Have No Reason to Celebrate an Invasion”, “Native Americans: What Not To Teach”, and “If I Had Five Minutes to Spend with Students”, a short article written by LaDonna Harris who is Comanche, but also the President and Executive Director of Americas for Indian Opportunities. She is a voice for Indian civil rights. (Scroll down to page 74 for her story) https://freedomarchives.org/Documents/Finder/DOC44_scans/44.monograph.rethinking.columbus.1991.pdf
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