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.
The Costs and Benefits of Belonging
Students learn about group membership and explore the range of responses available to us when we encounter exclusion, discrimination, and injustice.
Defining Human Rights
Students create a definition for a "right" in order to explore the challenges faced by the UN Commission on Human Rights to create an international framework of rights for all human beings.
How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do: An Introduction to Stereotype Threat
Facing History shares educator resources that explore the impact of stereotypes in many of the histories we study.
New Books on Native American History and Life
Facing History shares the scholarly work and personal insights of Native scholars and memoirists.
Stories of Identity and Belonging
Students read and discuss personal narrative essays and consider what factors can make it challenging for young people to be who they really want to be in the world.
Cultivating Identity Literacy
Students learn about a project, created by two young adults, that engaged people across the country in conversations about race, identity, and culture. Then they start to envision what sharing their own stories can look, sound, and feel like.
18 Teacher Resources on Native American History and Culture
Below are 18 resources that middle and high school teachers can turn to when developing lesson plans related to the roles of Native American peoples in American history and contemporary life. These resources include online exhibitions at the Smithsonian; the Smithsonian’s Native Knowledge 360° Educational Initiative; the work of the Mitchell and Hood Museums; and the growing work of Facing History in these thematic areas.
Transcending Single Stories
Students reflect on how stereotypes and "single stories" influence our identities, how we view others, and the choices we make.
Understanding Identity
Students consider the question "Who am I?" and identify social and cultural factors that shape identity by reading a short story and creating personal identity charts.
When Differences Matter
Students consider what happens when one aspect of our identity is privileged above others by society.