Students across grades mark Indigenous People’s Day during the month of October through hands-on lessons, open discussion, and more. Fourth graders learned about the Lenni Lenape people and how they lived in this area before colonization. Students discussed where modern Lenape or Nanticoke people live now, and why. “I'm passionate about finding meaningful ways to celebrate Indigenous People,” writes fourth grade teacher Teacher Holly Hoffmann.
“We talk about how any aspect of History is a story told from someone's perspective, and it's important to consider from whose perspective we're hearing and learning,” writes T. Holly.
Students read Jane Yolen's powerful book, Encounter, which tells the story of a young Taino boy's experience encountering Columbus and his men on their island in the "West Indies" in 1942.
The class is also reading Morning Girl by Michael Dorris, which is also a powerful work of historical fiction told from the perspective of Taino siblings coming of age, and coming in contact with Columbus' men.
“We're always talking about different ways to recognize and celebrate various aspects of a person's identity. I'm glad we're striving to recognize and learn more about some of the many, diverse tribes and Nations of Indigenous People,” writes T. Holly.
If you’re looking for a way to support the local Lenape community in Pennsylvania, consider donating directly to the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. If you’re interested in supporting organizations that are working towards indigenous liberation, consider the organizations below (from The Cut’s 2020 article by Katja Vujić, “How to Support Indigenous Communities”):
- Climate Justice Alliance — an environmental organization that unites some of the communities most affected by the climate crisis to advocate for real solutions to it. They are campaigning for and implementing a nurturing way of working and living in harmony with the planet.
- Center for World Indigenous Studies — a nonprofit dedicated to wider understanding and appreciation of the ideas and knowledge of Indigenous peoples and the social, economic, and political realities of Indigenous nations.
- International Indigenous Youth Council — an organization founded in during the Standing Rock Indigenous uprising in 2016. It focuses on land protection and preservation, and centers and connects young activists.
- llumiNative — A nonprofit aiming to counter the stereotypical and damaging mainstream narratives about Native people by increasing visibility of actual Native Nations and peoples, and supporting research and storytelling by and about Native/Indigenous peoples.
Original source can be found here.
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