How to Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month in the Classroom

The Native American heritage is rich in culture and diversity. Since 1990, November has been National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. Whether or not this is your cultural background, you can celebrate the month in your classroom.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Tribal artifacts
• Drums
• Cultural food

1. Poll the class to see what opinions or viewpoints they may have about the Native American culture. Take this time to remove any myths about the culture. Discuss all the findings and post the responses in the classroom during the entire month.
2. Show visual aids, such as artifacts or photographs, that represent the diversity in the various Native American tribes. Items like colorful feathers, art and drums are excellent representations of the culture. Discuss the importance and sacredness of the artifacts.
3. Divide the class into groups of three to five. Assign each group a tribe from different regions of the United States and ask them to explore their tribe's history and culture. Have each group prepare reports with everyone contributing.
4. Provide a rubric and handout describing the group project. Each group must create a diorama of their tribe, accenting the ordinary village life of the American Indians. Allow the students about three class periods to research, create and present.
5. Have each student present his or her individual contributions to the report on the tribes.
6. Host a powwow true to the culture. Bring in drums, food and decorate your classroom with artifacts. Encourage the students to dress in the clothing of their tribes and give extra points for those who properly use some dialect.
7. Revisit the list you created as a class and have your students respond to whether their views have changed about the culture on a teacher-created weblog.