American Indian Heritage Resources

American Indian Heritage Month Proclamation
View 2016 Presidential Proclamation press release from the White House.

U.S. Dept. of the Interior Indian Affairs
Indian Affairs provides services to approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives in the United States.

National Museum of the American Indian
The Museum is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. Explore the Classroom Lessons, the Index of Resources and the Collections Search.

• Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth Study Guide (pdf)
• American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving (pdf)
  

Library of Congress: Edward S. Curtis's the North American Indian
The Library of Congress presents over 2,000 prints from the work of photographer, Edward S. Curtis, who recorded Native American dress, ceremonies, life, and culture.

American Indian Tribes
A list of federally-recognized tribes.

Library of Congress: American Indian History
Check out some of the American Indian History resources in the Library of Congress.

Utah Division of Indian Affairs
The Utah Division of Indian Affairs support Utah's American Indian tribes. Don't miss the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Circle of Stories
Circle of Stories uses documentary film, photography, artwork and music to honor and explore Native American storytelling.

Trail Tribes: Traditional and Contemporary Native Culture
History with a tribal perspective, along trails followed by Lewis & Clark.

American Indian Medal of Honor Recipients
Throughout history, American Indians have been among those soldiers to be distinguished by receiving the United States' highest military honor: the Medal of Honor.

Our Mother Tongues
Explore Native American language programs from Alaska to North Carolina working to save their heritage languages.

FNX - First Nations Experience
Native American stories and content to create a diverse and entertaining channel across all media platforms 24/7.

American Indian Library Association
An affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), the American Indian Library Association is a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians, founded in 1944, is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities

My Tribal Area
My Tribal Area gives you quick and easy access to selected statistics from the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing statistics every year for the nation's communities

Watch: Metal Road
For decades, thousands of Navajos worked the railroads, maintaining the trans-continental network. Metal Road explores the dynamics of livelihood, family, and the railroads through the lens of a Navajo trackman. Saturday, November 18 at 8:00 p.m. UEN-TV and engage with others using the Viewer Discussion Guide from Vision Maker Media.

Webinar for Teacher presented by PBS Utah & UEN
An in-depth look at educational resources and programming in honor of Native American Heritage Month

Indigenous Reads by Indigenous Writers: A Children’s Reading List
This list of 14 recommended children’s books by Indigenous writers and illustrators was curated by The Conscious Kid Library and American Indians in Children’s Literature, in partnership with Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

The Mountain West Brings Native Lessons To The Classroom
At a Colorado library recently, its Department of Education unveiled a brand new set of lessons for 4th graders.

American Indian History and Culture
Smithsonian Institution's extensive collection of resources related to Native American heritage and culture.

Native American Stories
Reading Rocket's list of Native American Indian stories.

Wisdom of the Elders
Radio series featuring elders, historians, storytellers, artists, and leaders from thirteen American Indian Nations along the Lewis and Clark trail.

Teaching Young Children about Native Americans
This online article discusses the prevalence of stereotypes and classroom strategies for teaching about cultural diversity among Native Americans.

Native American Leather and Clothes
Detailed images of various tribes' clothing and accessories.

American Indians in Children's Literature
Debbie Reese's blog has lists of books for various age groups that accurately portray American Indians. (Right column under the IF YOU'RE STARTING A LIBRARY... section.)

National Native American Heritage Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.

Indian Country Today – 5 Ways to Celebrate Native American Heritage Month
To mark November being Native American Heritage Month, here are some suggestions for how to celebrate from Indian Country Today newspaper.

National Endowment for the Humanities
National Native American Heritage Month Resources developed by EDSITEment or supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, we have highlighted new and classic lessons; upcoming professional development opportunities for teachers; documentary films available to stream; podcasts; interactive games; vetted websites; and archives of primary sources.

New Books in Native American Studies
The New Books Network is a consortium of podcasts dedicated to raising the level of public discourse by introducing serious authors to serious audiences.

The Utah State Board of Education Indian Education
The Utah State Board of Education’s (USBE) American Indian website serves as a guideline to facilitate and support in building a framework for program awareness and success. It will guide investigators based on current research, state, and federal requirements the information necessary that address the American Indian/Alaskan Natives in Utah.

Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month: NEA Lesson Plans Grades K-5
Explore Native American Culture with the Following Lessons, Activities, and Resources

Native American Cultures Across the U.S.
Grades K-2
This lesson discusses the differences between five Native American tribes within the U.S. Students learn about customs and traditions and the regions where the tribes live.

Explore Pueblo Pots
Grades K-4
In this hands-on activity, students will learn the meaning of imagery on two Pueblo pots by examining images and reading short excerpts from Native American folklore.

Native Americans Today
Grades 3-5
This lesson challenges students' views of Native Americans as a vanished people by asking them to compare their prior knowledge with information they gather while reading about contemporary Native Americans.

Not "Indians," Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
Grades 3-5
In this unit of five lessons, students heighten their awareness of Native American diversity as they learn about three vastly different Native groups in a game-like activity using archival documents.

Pourquoi Stories: Creating Tales to Tell Why
Grades 3-5
Pourquoi tales are narratives developed by various cultures around the world to explain natural phenomena. Students study three tales and learn about their cultures of origin, then work cooperatively to write and present an original pourquoi tale.

Ute Indians: Past and Present
4th Grade
Students will become familiar with the Ute Indians both past and present.

The Fremont People
4th Grade
After learning about the Fremont people, students will make their own Fremont-Style pottery.

Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month: NEA Lesson Plans Grades 6-8
Explore Native American Culture with the Following Lessons, Activities, and Resources

Myth and Truth: The "First Thanksgiving"
Grades 6-8
By exploring myths surrounding the Wampanoag, the pilgrims, and the "First Thanksgiving," this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in colonial America.

Circle of Stories Lesson Plans
Grades 6-12
Students will examine the complex and rich oral tradition of Native American storytelling, create their own stories to share, explore indigenous and Native American cultures and the issues which face them today.

How the Miss Navajo Competition Reflects the Ingenuity and Culture of the Navajo People
7th Grade
The student will be able to understand how the skills necessary to win the Miss Navajo competition reflect the ingenuity and culture of the Navajo people.

Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month: NEA Lesson Plans Grades 9-12
Explore Native American Culture with the Following Lessons, Activities, and Resources

Making Connections to Myth and Folktale: The Many Ways to Rainy Mountain
Grades 9-12
Following the model of N. Scott Momaday's The Way To Rainy Mountain, students write three-voice narratives based on Kiowa folktales, an interview with an Elder, and personal connections to theme.

Indigenous Music From Wounded Knee to the Billboard Charts
Grades 6-12
In this lesson, students are introduced first to Pat Vegas and Redbone by way of interviews and music from RUMBLE. They then look back to the late 19th century to consider the significance of Redbone’s success. Students will use clips from the film, as well as a set of seven source documents to assess the U.S. government’s attempt to control Native American populations by way of culture, particularly music.

The Indigenous Roots of Rock and Roll
Grades 6-12
In this lesson, students watch clips from RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World and explore Link Wray’s position as an influence on later Hard Rock and Heavy Metal musicians. Students will investigate the history of the Shawnee Tribe, and use Wray as a case study to consider what life might have been like for a Shawnee in the American South during the early 20th Century. Finally, students debate ways Wray’s early life might have contributed to his future musical achievements–particularly “Rumble.”

Debating Cultural Appropriation
Grades 6-12
In this lesson, students will engage in a structured academic controversy to address the question, “should appropriation of Native American cultural practices be regulated by law?” Working in small groups, students will consider cultural appropriation in varying degrees by watching RUMBLE clips of African American “Mardi Gras Indian Tribes” from New Orleans, viewing images of sports logos, controversial fashion items, and consulting divergent viewpoints in regards to each.

The Music Behind the Red Power Movement
Grades 6-12
In this lesson, students are introduced to the activist music of Buffy Sainte-Marie, Peter La Farge, and Johnny Cash, as well as the Native American Red Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. By analyzing clips from RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World and examining historical documents, students will gain a deeper understanding of the history of Native American social movements, their tactics, the dangers they might have posed to the Federal Government, and the ways music might have contributed to their goals.

Negotiating Native Identity Through Art and Music
Grades 6-12
In this lesson, students begin by examining the ways their sense of identity might be affected by social pressures associated with different spaces. By watching clips from RUMBLE, students then discover how musicians Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, and Taboo have negotiated their Native identities, and compare these musician’s journeys with those of earlier Native Americans.

Native Americans in Utah
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about Native Americans in Utah.

Sacred Images: A Vision of Native American Rock Art
This K-12 curriculum was developed to teach students about the culture and customs of the earliest inhabitants of Utah.

Utah We Shall Remain
In conjunction with the PBS series, PBS Utah produced a five-part companion series on Utah's five tribes.

Goshute Indians
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Goshute tribe.

Skull Valley Goshutes
Scroll down the page to read about the Skull Valley Goshutes.

Goshute Tales:

• Coyote and the Rolling Stone (pdf)
• Coyote and Frog Race (pdf)
• Coyote Loses Eyes (pdf)
• Coyote and Mouse Make Snow (pdf)
• Bear and Deer (pdf)

The Navajo Nation
Information from the Indian Health Services about the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Nation
The Official site of the Navajo Nation which includes historical information.

Navajo Indians
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Navajo Indians.

Native Words, Native Warriors
The National Museum of the American Indian honors American Indian Code Talkers. This is a companion website to the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition, Native Words, Native Warriors.

Memo Regarding the Enlistment of Navajos
This site gives more detail on the U.S. Marine Corps Navajo Code Talker program, highlighting Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel's March 26, 1942, memo recommending the recruitment of Navajo men for the project.

Paiute Indians
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Paiute tribe.

Utah's Paiute Indians During the Depression
An article from the History Blazer about life as a Paiute during the Great Depression.

Shoshone Indians - Northwestern Bands
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Shoshone Indians.

Ute Indians, Northern
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Northern Ute Indians.

Ute Indians, Southern
An article from the Utah History Encyclopedia about the Southern Ute Indians.

Ute Indians: Past and Present
4th Grade
Students will become familiar with the Ute Indians both past and present.

Geronimo and the Apache Resistance
Direct descendants of the legendary Native American leader Geronimo aid in telling the story of the Apache medicine man, who, along with his followers, resisted white settlement.

The Journey of Sacagawea
This program explores the life of Sacagawea from the rich oral history of the Augadika Shoshoni, Mandan Hidatsa and the Nez Perce Native American tribes.

Listening to Our Ancestors
Listen to the stories and traditions of Native peoples along the North Pacific Coast. Visit web page.

The Long Walk
Eight thousand Navajo men, women and children were marched at gunpoint through the scorched desert of the American Southwest to a barren reservation along the Texas border.

Native American Hide Tanning
Native American craftswomen illustrate various steps of hide tanning: hair removal, hide washing and then stretching the hide as it dries.

Reading Rainbow: The Gift of the Sacred Dog
Paul Goble's Native American legend about a boy who brought the gift of horses to his people and the significance of the horse to the Plains Indian.

Reading Rainbow: Giving Thanks
This book is based on the Iroquois Thanksgiving Address, an ancient message of peace and appreciation for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants

Secrets of the Lost Canyon
Learn about Range Creek Canyon, an ancient Fremont Indian site in a remote corner of Utah, from this video produced by PBS Utah.

Sharing Perspectives at the National Museum of the American Indian
An introduction to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Surviving Columbus
This video chronicles the Pueblo Indians' 450 years of contact with Europeans and their long, determined struggle to preserve their culture, land and religion.

Ute Beadwork
Various Northern Ute beaders demonstrate the craft of beadwork and its cultural significance.

Walking in Two Worlds
This PBS Utah production explores the complexities of Native American education - both the flaws and possibilities for change.

We Shall Remain
This PBS American Experience series presents a multifaceted look at Native ingenuity and perseverance over the course of more than three centuries. Visit web site.

Yesterday and Today
Compare modern tools with ancient ones.

Stories from the Past
Tell a story with rock art.

What Can You Make From a Buffalo?
The northern Plains Indians used every part of the buffalo. In this interactive matching game, students will match objects made by Native Americans from the buffalo.

Tracking the Buffalo: You Be The Historian
In this online interactive, students will learn about the culture of the Plains Indians by determining the meaning of stories told on a buffalo hide painting and compare their interpretations to to that of a Smithsonian historian.