FUSD1 Staff Request
Instruction Material Request:
Things to consider when teaching Native American students. NAESP can support your classroom with items that will help with these areas:
Communication and Interaction
- Eye contact: Do not force direct eye contact, as many Native cultures view prolonged staring as a sign of disrespect or aggressiveness.
- Think time: Give students extra time to process questions and formulate answers before speaking.
- Public speaking: Avoid putting individual students on the spot in front of the whole class; use small group or partner sharing instead.
Learning Styles and Environment
- Observational learning: Emphasize visual modeling, demonstrations, and hands-on activities rather than relying solely on verbal lectures.
- Place-based learning: Root lessons in the local environment, history, and community context of the students.
- Collaborative tasks: Foster a cooperative environment rather than overly aggressive individual competition.
Curriculum and Representation
- Contemporary presence: Present Native Americans as modern, living peoples with vibrant cultures, not just historical figures from the past.
- Tribal specificity: Research and respect the specific traditions, history, and sovereignty of the local tribes in your region rather than generalizing all Native peoples into a single stereotype.
- Authentic resources: Utilize literature and educational frameworks created by Indigenous authors and official tribal resources.
Cultural Material Request:
Including Indigenous cultural materials in the classroom builds a more accurate understanding of history, improves academic engagement for Native students, and develops critical thinking skills for all learners. It replaces outdated stereotypes with authentic, modern perspectives. Below are websites for cultural materials. You may request from other organizations/company that accept Federal Funds. NAESP does not purchase from AMAZON.
Curriculum and Representation
- Contemporary presence: Present Native Americans as modern, living peoples with vibrant cultures, not just historical figures from the past.
- Tribal specificity: Research and respect the specific traditions, history, and sovereignty of the local tribes in your region rather than generalizing all Native peoples into a single stereotype.
- Authentic resources: Utilize literature and educational frameworks created by Indigenous authors and official tribal resources.
Performer/Presenter Request:
Bringing Indigenous performers and presenters into schools provides all students with live, dynamic access to living cultures, breaking the misconception that Native traditions only exist in history books. Hearing directly from Indigenous experts shifts the educational authority to the community itself, offering deep cultural immersion that textbooks cannot replicate.
Learning Styles and Environment
- Observational learning: Emphasize visual modeling, demonstrations, and hands-on activities rather than relying solely on verbal lectures.
- Place-based learning: Root lessons in the local environment, history, and community context of the students.
- Collaborative tasks: Foster a cooperative environment rather than overly aggressive individual competition.
Curriculum and Representation
- Contemporary presence: Present Native Americans as modern, living peoples with vibrant cultures, not just historical figures from the past.
- Tribal specificity: Research and respect the specific traditions, history, and sovereignty of the local tribes in your region rather than generalizing all Native peoples into a single stereotype.
- Authentic resources: Utilize literature and educational frameworks created by Indigenous authors and official tribal resources.
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Hopi Dancers dancing for Knoles Elementary -
SMS Culinary Teacher incorporating the history of Frybread before making frybread with SMS students. -
SMS Culinary Class eating their frybread -
SMS Culinary Class making dough for frybread -
PdH Brian Young Flyer -
Author Brian Young speaking to Leupp students