American Indian Resources

The Native American Indian Literacy Project was the work of USOE Indian Education Specialist in 2006, Shirlee Silversmith, and a partnership between the Utah State Office of Education (currently the Utah State Board of Education) and the San Juan School District Media Center. The project involved many dedicated and talented individuals who shared a passion to bring Native American Indian stories into the classroom. View Project Credits.

The project included a series of books, lesson plans and an ABC coloring book for 6 of the 8 tribes of Utah. These resources were created with the help of tribal elders and cultural consultants and are based on the oral traditional stories and history of their specific tribes. Funds for the original project came from the Utah State Office of Education.

The set of stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of American Indian culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives.