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Resources for Native American Heritage Month

Since 1990, November has been Native American Heritage Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, histories, traditions, and important contributions of Native Americans. Use the resources in this section to share this information and more with your students.

Grades K-12

Native American Heritage Month

View this website featuring three video series: “A History of Native American Achievement,” “Native American Culture,” and “Native American Folklore.” Each video includes suggested grade level use and links to content standards.

Grades K-12

Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative

Search the many resources on this site to find support for teaching about Native Americans and understanding problematic narratives. Browse through the lesson resources to view and use featured activities, handouts, digital posters, and more.

Grades 2-6

Reading Treks: The Journey of York The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Engage your students in this virtual field trip of resources using Google Maps. Find inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book “The Journey of York: The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition” in your lessons.

Grades 10-12

Reading Treks: Buffalo Dance The Journey of York

Get to know York, the only enslaved man on the Lewis and Clark expedition, through poems that provide insight into how and what York may have felt and thought. The instructional guide connects literature with geography and teaching strategies.

Grades 9-12

Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian

Between 1909 and 1930, photographer Edward Curtis set out to document the life and culture of Native Americans, and this site shares his work. It also does a good job of setting the context for the use of his work and establishes boundaries.

Grades 2-10

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum

Discover a virtual tour, online exhibits, and podcasts of oral history about alligator wrestling, beadwork, dolls, civil rights, the Brighton Day School, and Seminole tribal leaders. The Online Connections Collection features 2,500 books and periodicals.

Grades 6-12

Navajo Code Talkers

The Navajo Code Talkers Foundation site tells the story of young Navajo men who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of World War II. Click the Code Talkers link to read their story from the beginning and through the battles.

Grades 8-12

National Museum of the American Indian

Explore this beautiful collection of online multimedia exhibitions on a variety of cultural and historical subjects. The Education link offers downloadable classroom guides and gentle suggestions on how to avoid stereotyping when teaching your students.

Grades 4-12

Surrounded by Beauty

Built around the cultures of the Northeast Woodlands, the Mississippi Valley, the Plains, the Southwest, and the Northwest Coast peoples, this site offers images, text, and links to tribal websites that can enhance any unit on Native Americans.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Join us this week for our next professional learning workshop on Tuesday and come tweet with us on Thursday during our bi-monthly Twitter chat! We are also sharing a related blog post and we kindly ask for your input on our weekly poll.