Ideas This Week
Ideas This Week is your hub for updates on all things Facing History—from announcements and featured press to expert interviews, impact stories, and essays on the ideas driving our work.
More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories
The wendigo stories of Algonquian peoples offer a window into the endurance of cultural resources used to transmit significant moral values, and underscore the power of Native people using these stories to engage in social critique.
![Deer antlers cage a child, burying their face in their hands in fear.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Antlers_2021_poster.jpeg?h=aff6c105&itok=7m2YY2cJ)
The Power of Native Language Revitalization
Learn about the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, one of many grassroots efforts dedicated to healing the lasting wounds inflicted by residential schools and cultural genocide of Native peoples.
![Still of jessie baird from We Still Live Here - Âs Nutayuneân (Makepeace Productions, 2011).](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/still_jessie_baird_we_stil_live_here_as_nutayunean_makepeace_productions_2011.jpeg?h=7843b95a&itok=hO0bfEUt)
Teaching Settler Colonialism: Lessons from Canada
Jasmine Wong—Senior Program Associate for Facing History Canada—discusses her team’s groundbreaking work on their case study and curricular program Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools, including the wins and challenges her team has encountered while executing this work, and takeaways that educators can consider as they explore how to address settler colonialism in their own contexts.
![Cree Students Classroom All Saints Indian Residential School Lac La Ronge Saskatchewan March 1945.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/CreeStudentsClassroomAllSaintsIndianResidentialSchoolLacLaRongeSaskatchewanMarch1945CreditBudGlunzNationalFilmBoardCanada.jpg?h=c66e968f&itok=I0CwGxxk)
5 New YA Books on Native American Lives
Members of our staff are exploring these five new books published written by a group of Indigenous authors across North America for readers ages 12 and up and we invite you to explore them alongside us. These texts address themes including Indigenous youth navigating adolescent identity, community, and resistance.
A New Type of Media Literacy
Learn about the risks new technologies pose to adults and adolescents and view resources available to help teach teenage students about media literacy, responsible use of social media, and surveillance capitalism.
![A person views a piece of news media on their phone.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SocialMediaLiteracyHero.jpg?h=8e4088dc&itok=6GlBMRJf)
5 Ways to Teach With Primary Sources
During American Archives Month this October, Facing History wants to highlight the importance of primary sources to our pedagogical approach by offering five time-tested teaching strategies designed to incorporate analysis of primary sources into educator lesson plans.
![Antique headshots in wooden box.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Untitled%20design%20%2814%29.png?h=a6c55029&itok=tCy3rHiT)
Latinx vs. Hispanic: A History of Terms
Learn about the history and debate surrounding how we describe Latinx and Hispanic peoples, and consider the relationship between language and identity.
![A dictionary page open to the definition of "Latino".](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/LatinoDefinitionDictionaryPage.jpeg?h=8e4088dc&itok=YtALYqsm)
Facing History From Day One: An Interview with New Haven Academy
New Haven Academy is an innovative public high school that serves a diverse student population. In this interview, the school's founders discuss the vital role that Facing History has played in shaping their distinctive school culture, curriculum, and pedagogy.
![New Haven Academy school entrance.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/NewHavenAcademy.jpg?h=a47ca1c4&itok=h2iBPAYT)
Teaching Resources on Latinx History, Art, and Culture
Facing History shares on the rich array of resources that can aid teacher and student learning about Latinx histories and contemporary life.
![A woman views artwork on a wall.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/latinx_woman_blog_0.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=Axmy8H8r)
Remembering Little Rock
Facing History shares on efforts to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 and provides resources for educators to use with their students to promote historical understanding, critical thinking, social-emotional learning, and civic agency.
![101st Airborne Division escort the Little Rock Nine students into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/101st_Airborne_at_Little_Rock_Central_High_FH258604.jpg?h=e1c669e5&itok=8NEcapoX)
5 New YA Books on Latinx Life
Facing History lists five young adult books capturing Latinx experiences that educators can consider sharing with their students.
![A portion of the cover of Don't Ask Me Where I'm From (Simon & Schuster, 2021).](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/latinx_dont_ask_me_graphic.jpeg?h=dc2a28e0&itok=jXeOc-QL)