Tips for Teachers

Evaluating Resources | Do's and Don'ts | Challenging Stereotypes

Evaluating Resources

Questions to ask when evaluating PICTURE BOOKS AND POSTERS.

In alphabet books, is I for Indian? Is E for Eskimo?
In counting books, are Indians (or animals dressed as Indians) objects for counting?
Are children shown dressed up with feathers, running around, "playing Indian?"
Are animals dressed up as Indians?
Do characters have ridiculous names like "Indian Two Feet: or "Little Chief?"
Are Native people shown as menacing savages?
Do the illustrations contain a hodge-podge of artifacts from different tribes?
Are Native people referred to in the text with adjectives conveying negative, derogatory traits that would cause fear in a young child?
Is the source of conflict in the text identified as White and Native people in battle?
Do all the Native people look exactly alike, with no variation in features?
Do the Native people speak in short choppy sentences or in gutteral tones?
In contemporary stories, are the Native characters "cute" or in need of rescue from their traditional way of life?
Are elders included in stories about family life?
Is the skin color selected for Native characters red, rather than a more realistic hue?
Are Native characters shown to have magical, mystical powers?
Is there evidence the author researched the tribe of which he/she writes/illustrates?
Is the environmental message concerning Native characters "living in harmony with the earth" overdone?

Questions to ask when evaluating TOY SETS AND DRAMATIC PLAY SETS.

Is the name of the tribe specified in the accompanying literature?
Do all the figures belong to the same tribe?
Are infant figures called papoose instead of baby?
Are the female figures called princess or squaw instead of woman or girl?
Are the male figures called chief, buck, or brave instead of man or boy?
Are the men shown with savage expressions, wielding tomahawks?
Do the human figures fold their arms over their chests or site with crossed legs?
Are totem poles, buffaloes, teepees and weaving looms part of the same set?
Is the theme one in which settlers must defend themselves from an Indian attack?
Are the clothing items in the set from a single tribe?
Are the names for the clothing items included? Are there instructions as to how and when the item is worn?

Source: Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom.
Ed. Violet J. Harris. Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1997.

Do's and Don'ts when teaching about American Indians.

DO use appropriate terminology. Instead of uncivilized, use different. Instead of myths, use stories, folklore or accounts. DON'T use brave, squaw, or papoose. DON'T call Indians red skins. DON'T talk about "them" and "us."

DO appreciate the diversity of American Indians by describing tribes that lived on the coast, in deserts, forests and the Arctic. Each tribe has its own language, religion, clothes, housing, food, complex history, culture and name for itself.

DON'T mock or imitate Indians by saying "how" or "ugh." DON'T tell students to "stop acting like wild Indians." Indians are no more "wild" than any other ethnic group. DON'T let stereotypes go unchallenged.

DO tell students and children about Indians today. Avoid the impression that Indians are all alike, exist only in the past, and dress and live in the same outdated manner. DON'T assume that you have no Native children in your class. However, avoid putting a student on the spot by assuming that because the student is American Indian, he or she knows everything about all Indian cultures.

DON'T dress up like Pilgrims and Indians for Thanksgiving. Fifty years after European Colonists thanked the Wampanoag for assistance with a feast, thousands of Indians were dead at the hands of colonists and disease. DO read and discuss good poetry, suitable for young people, by contemporary Native writers.

DO use caution when discussing some American holidays. Holidays like Columbus Day and Thanksgiving are reminders to many Indians of war, mistreatment, disease and brutality. DO invite community members to the classroom. Treat them as teachers, not as entertainers.

DO teach students about the contributions of Indians to the growth and development of the United States, ranging from food (corn, white and sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, strawberries, maple sugar, raspberries, avocadoes, chocolate, a variety of beans, and chile peppers) to medicinal cures (for amoebic dysentery, scurvy, constipation, headaches, flesh wounds and other diseases). Indians taught the European colonists survival skills and trade routes. Indians have fought heroically for the United States in every war. During World War II, men of Navajo, Choctaw, Comanche and Apache descent served as "Code Talkers" who, by communicating in their own languages, allowed U.S. forces to transmit sensitive information that was untranslatable by spies. Recently, approximately 24,000 Indians served in Operation Desert Storm.

DO exercise care when utilizing Indian artifacts for instruction and show and tell. DON'T have students make "Indian crafts" unless you know authentic methods and have authentic materials.

DO teach Native history as a regular part of American history.

Source: American Indian Stereotypes & Realities. Devon A. Mihesuah (Choctaw). Clarity Press, 1996.

Challenge a Stereotype with a Reality

Common stereotypes and ways to challenge them.
Stereotype	Challenge
Indians are all alike. They are confined to reservations.	There are approximately 2.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives today, belonging to 511 federally recognized tribes or approximately 200 unrecognized tribes. They live on reservations, farms, in small towns and large cities, with extended family members, with friends and alone.
Indians live in tipis, wear braids, and ride horses.	Few American Indians wear braids and ride horses. Fewer still own tipis.
If Indians had united, they could have prevented the European invasion.	Tribes were very different culturally and lived too far apart to fight together as a cohesive unit.
Indians had no civilization until Europeans brought it to them.	Indians were civilized. Their cultures were different from those of Europeans.
Indians were warlike and treacherous.	Indians fought to defend their lands, sovereignty and way of life from invaders.
Indians had nothing to contribute to Europeans or to the growth of America.	Contributions of American Indians have changed and enriched the world.
Indian tribes did not value or empower women.	Indian women often wielded considerable power within their tribes.
Indians have no religion.	Indians are deeply religious. Each tribe has its own religion.
Indians welcome outsiders to study and participate in their religious ceremonies.	Indians often practice their religions secretly and want outsiders to respect their desire for privacy.
Indians are a vanished race.	2.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives live throughout the United States.
Indians get a free ride from the government.	The benefits Indians receive from the government derive from treaty agreements, which purport to compensate them for the surrender of land.
Indians are not capable of completing school.	Hundreds of Indians graduate from universities every year.
Indians have a tendency towards alcoholism.	Indians are no more predisposed to alcoholism than any other group.
Most Indians know the histories, languages and cultural aspects of their own tribe and of other tribes.	Few Indians know all cultural aspects of their own tribe, much less those of other tribes.
Indians are stoic and have no sense of humor.	Indians are endowed with as rich a sense of humor as anyone else.

Source: American Indian Stereotypes & Realities. Devon A. Mihesuah (Choctaw). Clarity Press, 1996.

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