Each autumn, Thanksgiving brings a disturbing amount of inaccurate information and troubling myths into classrooms across the United States. Most students don’t learn much about the history of Native nations—and even less about Indigenous peoples today. Dr. Debbie Reese explains what to look for and what to avoid (or teach with a critical lens) when selecting children’s books by and about Indigenous people. She also recommends specific books to counter common misconceptions in your classroom.

Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.

And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these... 

Resources and Readings

• Teaching Tolerance, I Am the Blood of the Conqueror; I Am the Blood of the Conquered
• Teaching Tolerance, Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way
• ReadWriteThink: Debbie Reese, Native Americans Today: Lesson Plan

Dr. Debbie Reese Editor/Publisher, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) | Twitter

References:

• AICL, A critical look at O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins
• Andrea L. Rogers, Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story
• Traci Sorell, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
• The New York Times, Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong
• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese), An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People
• Carole Lindstrom, We Are Water Protectors
• First People, How the Chipmunk Got his Stripes
• National Indian Education Association, Policy Issues: Education
• Leilani Sabzalian, Indigenous Studies in Education, University of Oregon
• Sarah Shear, K-12 Teacher Resources
• Cynthia Leitich Smith, Hearts Unbroken
• National Indian Child Welfare Association, Indian Child Welfare Act
• AICL, L. Frank Baum: Author of Wizard of Oz books and racist editorials on American Indians
• Charlene Willing McManis, Indian No More
• Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 16 (Lincoln and the Dakota 38)
• The New York Times, Lincoln and the Sioux
• Eric Gansworth, Writer and Visual Artist: Books
• Robbie Robertson, Testimony

And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.