Decolonizing the Mayflower Landing 400 Years Later

We've mentioned before that Dr. Natalie Martinez (Laguna) has developed the curriculum guide for IPH4YP, and we think it's going to be a great help to educators who want to teach with this book.

She has also created lesson plans to help teachers indigenize their classroom discussions of Indigenous Peoples' Day (replacing Columbus Day) and Thanksgiving. With the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing approaching, teachers can now turn to Dr. Martinez's lesson plan focusing on Indigenous perspectives on the "Pilgrims" and their legacy -- and the legacy of Indigenous resistance. Check out "Indigenous Perseverance: Wampanoag Survival 400 Years After the Mayflower", which expands on concepts and events addressed in chapters 2, 3, 7, and the conclusion of IPH4YP!

Have we said previously how pleased we are to know that these lesson plans are available, and are FREE to educators? Yes, we have. But it bears repeating.

Thanksgiving Lesson Plan!

More good news for educators! Another lesson plan based on An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (#iph4yp) is now available from Beacon Press:

Origin Narrative: Thanksgiving is a grade 6-8 social studies lesson, created by Dr. Natalie Martinez (Laguna Pueblo), who has also created the Indigenous People's Day lesson plan and a detailed Teachers Guide (more on that to follow). This lesson supports Chapter 3 ("Cult of the Covenant"), and focuses on origin narratives -- what they are, who tells them, what they are meant to accomplish, why they can be problematic. Students are asked to think critically about the Thanksgiving stories that are familiar to them, and to look at stories that may not be so familiar. As with the Indigenous Peoples' Day lesson, links are provided to good outside resources for teachers or students to use.

The central question is challenging enough for high school students and adults: How does the transmission of history become ingrained in collective memory?

Thanks, Dr. Natalie Martinez, for another helpful resource to go along with IPH4YP!

"History of Indigenous People's Day" Lesson Plan!

News for educators! Beacon Press has announced publication of the first lesson plan based on An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (#iph4yp):

History of Indigenous Peoples' Day is a social studies lesson for students in grades 6-8, created by Dr. Natalie Martinez (Laguna Pueblo). It supports Ch. 10 of IPH4YP ("Indigenous Action, Indigenous Rights") and could easily be adapted "up" for high school. There are links to a lot of good outside resources, too, that teachers can use for the lesson.

Really appreciative of the lesson plan's orientation to the present, as articulated in the learning targets:

• Students will analyze how recurring patterns of colonialism can inform current events and political movements.
• Students will apply knowledge of political and social systems to participate actively as informed citizens in a democracy. 

Even if you're not a teacher, and you want to know more about the grassroots activism that has led communities to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day -- this lesson plan can help you find out.

We're very happy to have this new resource!