
"Of all the wise teachers who have come into my life, none are more eloquent than these [the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash], who wordlessly in leaf and vine embody the knowledge of relationship. Alone, a bean is just a vine, squash an oversize leaf. Only when standing together with corn does a whole emerge which transcends the individual. The gifts of each are more fully expressed when they are nurtured together than alone. In ripe ears and swelling fruit, they counsel us that all gifts are multiplied in relationship. This is how the world keeps going."
- Robin Wall Kimmerer
It is Native American Heritage Month AND Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. As a result, we wanted to take some time to share some insights we've gained along our homeschool journey. More specifically, today I'm talking about how to honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving and throughout the year in your homeschool.
Included you will find resources from a variety of locations and in a variety of formats. Feel free to explore and consider what works best for your family. We hope it helps cultivate meaningful experiences in your homeschool around Thanksgiving and throughout the rest of your year.
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How to Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving and in Homeschool
Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving by Teaching Real History
- Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving
- Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth
- National Day of Mourning
The Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative is part of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and it offers educational materials, programs, and professional development for teachers. It has been a very helpful, informative resource for us as we learn how to honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving and throughout the year. As a result, you will notice several of the teaching and learning resources mentioned throughout this post, including the Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations and the Harvest Ceremony printable, are from Native Knowledge 360.
The Montessori Nomenclature Cards pictured above are part of the FREE Native American Printable Pack offered by Every Star is Different and available to subscribers in their freebie library. We combined it with this Native American history printable pack to extend the learning in all subject areas.
The Thanksgiving Lesson
I delivered this lesson similarly to the Fourth Great Lesson and Fifth Great Lesson. I used the narrative in the Harvest Ceremony printable to guide us through the story. We paused to look at the Nomenclature cards as we explored different topics. Finally, we explored some of the discussion topics at the end of the guide.
Explore Indigenous Food/First Foods and Life Cycles
- Chinook Salmon Unit Study
- 7 Native American Chefs Share Thanksgiving Recipes
- Chocolate Chili with Bison: An Indigenous Food Experience & Free Printable
- First Foods Celebration Features Traditional Foods with Contemporary Style
Honoring Native Americans at Thanksgiving can be done through activities from our Fourth Great Lesson Chinook Salmon materials. We explored the Chinook Salmon life cycle, food web, and ecosystem using these beautiful printables. The illustrations were completed by Gitxsan and Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw, Squamish Nation artists.
The Native American Chefs' Thanksgiving Recipes are also a great resource. We've followed a couple of them already. They have a nice mix of simple, easy-to-follow recipes along with more complex ones.
The Chocolate Chili with Bison recipe comes with a free printable recipe for kids and it has beautiful watercolor illustrations.
The First Foods Celebration is also local to us. Our kids were really interested in the list of foods served, including bear meatballs and elk heart.
Learn About Indigenous Peoples' History
- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
- The First Oregonians
- Coyote Was Going There
- Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans
Take a class, read books, or watch a documentary. Be mindful of who is telling the story. During your studies, you may want to use a word cloud generator or jot down on paper some words or events that are unfamiliar. Also, write down topics you and your children would like to learn more about. This will help you identify where you're headed next.
Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans is a FREE Smithsonian course that you can participate in from the comfort of your home. I would highly recommend checking it out. It really is a wonderful professional development opportunity. I have loved the Smithsonian ever since I first visited the National Museum of Natural History. If you're like me, you will appreciate this webinar experience.
Learn About the Land and Native Peoples Where You Live
- Native-Land.ca
- The Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties Explorer
- My Fundamental Needs booklet by Montessorikiwi
Once you find out more about where you live, consider creating a meaningful land acknowledgment for your homeschool. Also, reach out to the tribal community near you. Find out what resources are available. We've been in touch with several folx throughout our learning journey and everyone has been really kind and helpful. We've received articles, booklists, and event information to help guide us along.
Use the Fundamental Needs printable to create language cards. We created Chinuk Wawa and English language cards together and our oldest illustrated them.
Get 16% off your purchase from Montessorikiwi here.
Include Indigenous Voices and Resources in Your Homeschool
- You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel
- Teaching Slavery Through Children's Literature, Part 2 Podcast Episode
- We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
- Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition: A Resource for Educators
I talk more about You Hold Me Up and many more books by Indigenous authors in our Montessori Indigenous Education Books. It's a beautifully illustrated book with a very powerful message.
The Teaching Slavery podcast episode is on Teaching Hard History via Learning for Justice. Dr. Debbie Reese from American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) gives guidance on selecting children's books by or about Indigenous peoples. This is a really great FREE resource for Thanksgiving and the fall season that you will also find helpful throughout the year.
Honor Native American Culture, History, and Contemporary Existence
- Fry Bread
- Gather Film
- Easy Corn Husk Doll Tutorial by Rachel of The Tattooed Momma
- Smithsonian Beaded Corn Necklace
Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving and year-round by referring to Native Nations in the present tense. Also, nurture meaningful experiences through education instead of cultural appropriation (costumes, reenactments, tipi/teepee tents, etc.). Fry Bread is an excellent example of a book that nurtures a meaningful experience for homeschools and families.
Gather is a film about the destruction of Native American foodways and Indigenous food sovereignty. If you're a subscriber, you may already know that we were able to view the film as part of a FREE Screening hosted by Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener Program. Watching this documentary is a pretty powerful experience and I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Rachel of The Tattooed Momma and her family are registered Choctaw Native Americans. She has some really awesome DIY crafts for kids. I highly recommend watching the video that accompanies the Corn Husk Doll Tutorial.
The Smithsonian's Beaded Corn Necklace Activity is another fun craft option and it also has a video to accompany the tutorial.
Honor Native Americans Throughout the Year and Across Subjects
If you're looking to learn more about how to honor Native Americans, this is an excellent way to do just that. No need to end the learning once Thanksgiving is over.
Our preschooler's top shelf works include the How Many Bones? printable. It's a free printable that is part of the curriculum for members of The Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde. In fact, it's an activity to accompany The Salmon and the Eel: A Traditional Grande Ronde Story.
You can add self-correction to the printable by writing the numeral answer on the back of the image. As a result, the child can check their answers independently.
Conclusion for How to Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving
We hope you find this information useful as you expand your understanding and plan your own unique homeschool activities. Also, for more information about a Montessori approach to holidays, I would check out Building an Equitable Holiday Approach: An Online Workshop for Promoting Inclusion. It's an excellent course taught by Tammy Oesting and hosted by Trillium Montessori.
Is there a specific Native Nation or resource your kids would like to explore in more detail?
More Indigenous Education and Resources
- American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)
- 7 Ideas for Educators to Consider Before Teaching the Trail of Tears
- Reclaiming Native Truths: How the Psychology of Omission Fuels Bias against Native Americans
Montessori Approach to Holidays
Thanks for stopping by!
- Kristin
How to Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving
Learn how to decolonize and honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving, Native American Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples' Day, and throughout the year as part of your homeschool curriculum.
Lessons, Books, Printables, & Other Resources
Materials
- Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving
- Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth
- National Day of Mourning
- Native American Printable Pack
- Native American history printable pack
- Chinook Salmon Unit Study
- 7 Native American Chefs Share Thanksgiving Recipes
- Chocolate Chili with Bison: An Indigenous Food Experience & Free Printable
- First Foods Celebration Features Traditional Foods with Contemporary Style
- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
- The First Oregonians
- Coyote Was Going There
- Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans
- Native-Land.ca
- The Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties Explorer
- My Fundamental Needs booklet
- You Hold Me Up
- Teaching Slavery Through Children's Literature, Part 2 Podcast Episode
- We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
- Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition: A Resource for Educators
- Montessori Indigenous Education Books
- Fry Bread
- Gather Film
- Easy Corn Husk Doll Tutorial by Rachel of The Tattooed Momma
- Smithsonian Beaded Corn Necklace
- Montessori Sandpaper Numerals
- How Many Bones? (FREE)
- The Salmon and the Eel: A Traditional Grande Ronde Story
- American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)
- 7 Ideas for Educators to Consider Before Teaching the Trail of Tears
- Reclaiming Native Truths: How the Psychology of Omission Fuels Bias against Native Americans
- Building an Equitable Holiday Approach
Tools
- See Materials List
Instructions
- Honor Native Americans at Thanksgiving by Teaching Real History - Use teaching resources such as Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations and Harvest Ceremony as guides for teaching the real history. Use the information from National Day of Mourning to help students identify and discuss how that differs from what they may have previously thought about Thanksgiving. Use the printable packs as additional hands-on resources for child-led learning.
- Explore Indigenous Food/First Foods and Life Cycles - Use the Chinook Salmon Unit Study to explore the life cycle, food web, and ecosystem of the Chinook Salmonas kids show interest. Use the recipe resources to explore Native American foods. The chocolate chili recipe comes with printable instruction cards for promoting independence in food preparation.
- Learn About Indigenous Peoples' History - Use the History resources to learn about Indigenous peoples' history in the U.S. as well as in the Pacific Northwest. The Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans is a FREE Smithsonian course that you can take from the comfort of your home.
- Learn About the Land and Native Peoples Where You Live - Create a meaningful land aknowledgment in your homeschool using Native-Land.ca and the Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties Explorer. Involve kids as they are able. Children can use the Fundamental Needs printable to create language cards. Assist as needed.
- Include Indigenous Voices and Resources in Your Homeschool - Use the remaining books and resources to explore various subjects through an Indigenous lens. Natural Curiosity is a resource for educators that includes a lot of information and lessons to assist educators. The podcast will help you to identify additional resources using a critical lens.
- Honor Native American Culture, History, and Contemporary Existence - Resources such as Fry Bread, the Gather film, and the crafts help children to explore Native American culture and history through appreciation, not cultural appropriation.
- Honor Native Americans Throughout the Year and Across Subjects - The Sandpaper Numerals and How Many Bones? are a good example of integrating Montessori materials with Indigenous resources. You can add self-correction to the printable by writing the numeral answer on the back of the image. This activity pairs well with The Salmon and the Eel story.
Notes
Full Lesson Info and Pictures at: https://happyhomeschooladventures.com/how-to-honor-native-americans-thanksgiving-homeschool/
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Hope Williams
Thank you for this blog! It is the first I have seen on this topic. Thank you for creating responsible and inclusive content!