|
Teaching
Young Children about Native Americans
Debbie Reese
EDO-PS-96-3
May 1996
Young children's
conceptions of Native Americans often develop out of media portrayals and
classroom role playing of the events of the First Thanksgiving. The
conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is both
inaccurate and potentially damaging to others. For example, a visitor to
a child care center heard a four-year-old saying, "Indians aren't
people. They're all dead." This child had already acquired an
inaccurate view of Native Americans, even though her classmates were
children of many cultures, including a Native American child.
Derman-Sparks (1989) asserts that by failing to challenge existing
biases we allow children to adopt attitudes based on inaccuracies. Her
book is a guide for developing curriculum materials that reflect cultural
diversity. This digest seeks to build on this effort by focusing on
teaching children in early childhood classrooms about Native Americans.
Note that this digest, though it uses the term "Native
American," recognizes and respects the common use of the term
"American Indian" to describe the indigenous people of North America. While it is most accurate to
use the tribal name when speaking of a specific tribe, there is no
definitive preference for the use of "Native American" or
"American Indian" among tribes or in the general literature.
Stereotypes Children
See
Most young children
are familiar with stereotypes of the Native American. Stereotypes are
perpetuated by television, movies, and children's literature when they
depict Native Americans negatively, as uncivilized, simple,
superstitious, blood-thirsty savages, or positively, as romanticized
heroes living in harmony with nature (Grant &
Gillespie, 1992). The Disney Company presents both images in its
films for children. For example, in the film Peter Pan, Princess
Tiger Lily's father represents the negative stereotype as he holds
Wendy's brothers hostage, while in the film Pocahontas, Pocahontas
represents the positive stereotype who respects
the earth and communicates with the trees and animals.
Many popular
children's authors unwittingly perpetuate stereotypes. Richard Scarry's
books frequently contain illustrations of animals dressed in buckskin and
feathers, while Maurice Sendak's alphabet book includes an alligator
dressed as an Indian. Both authors present a dehumanized image, in which
anyone or anything can become Native American simply by putting on
certain clothes. Ten Little Rabbits, although beautifully
illustrated, dehumanizes Native Americans by turning them into objects
for counting. Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Harris,
1993) contains a speech delivered by Chief Seattle of the Squamish
tribe in the northwestern United States. However, Susan Jeffers'
illustrations are of the Plains Indians, and include fringed buckskin
clothes and teepees, rather than Squamish clothing and homes.
An Accurate Picture
of Native Americans in the 1990s
Native Americans make
up less than one percent of the total U.S. population but represent half
the languages and cultures in the nation. The term "Native
American" includes over 500 different groups and reflects great
diversity of geographic location, language, socioeconomic conditions, school
experience, and retention of traditional spiritual and cultural
practices. However, most of the commercially prepared teaching materials
available present a generalized image of Native American people with
little or no regard for differences that exist from tribe to tribe.
Teaching Suggestions
When teachers engage
young children in project work, teachers should choose concrete topics in
order to enable children to draw on their own understanding. In teaching
about Native Americans, the most relevant, interactive experience would
be to have Native American children in the classroom. Such experience
makes feasible implementing anti-bias curriculum suggestions. Teachers
may want to implement the project approach (Katz &
Chard, 1989), as it will allow children to carry on an in-depth
investigation of a culture they have direct experience with. In these
situations, teachers may prepare themselves for working with Native
American families by engaging in what Emberton (1994)
calls "cultural homework": reading current information about
the families' tribe, tribal history, and traditional recreational and
spiritual activities; and learning the correct pronunciation of personal
names.
Positive Strategies
A number of positive
strategies can be used in classrooms, regardless of whether Native
American children are members of the class.
- Provide knowledge about
contemporary Native Americans to balance historical information. Teaching
about Native Americans exclusively from a historical perspective may
perpetuate the idea that they exist only in the past.
- Prepare units about
specific tribes, rather than units about "Native Americans." For
example, develop a unit about the people of Nambe Pueblo, the Turtle
Mountain Chippewa, the Potawotami. Ideally,
choose a tribe with a historical or contemporary role in the local
community. Such a unit will provide children with culturally
specific knowledge (pertaining to a single group) rather than
overgeneralized stereotypes.
- Locate and use books that
show contemporary children of all colors engaged in their usual,
daily activities playing basketball, riding bicycles as well as traditional
activities. Make the books easily accessible to children throughout
the school year. Three excellent titles on the Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico are: Pueblo Storyteller, by Diane Hoyt- Goldsmith; Pueblo
Boy: Growing Up in Two Worlds, by
Marcia Keegan; and Children of Clay, by Rina Swentzell.
- Obtain posters that show
Native American children in contemporary contexts, especially when
teaching younger elementary children. When selecting historical
posters for use with older children, make certain that the posters
are culturally authentic and that you know enough about the tribe
depicted to share authentic information with your students.
- Use "persona"
dolls
(dolls with different skin colors) in the dramatic play area of the
classroom on a daily basis. Dress them in the same clothing
(t-shirts, jeans) children in the United States typically wear and
bring out special clothing (for example, manta, shawl, moccasins,
turquoise jewelry for Pueblo girls) for dolls only on special days.
- Cook ethnic foods but be careful not to
imply that all members of a particular group eat a specific food.
- Be specific about which
tribes use particular items, when discussing cultural artifacts (such as
clothing or housing) and traditional foods. The Plains tribes use
feathered headdresses, for example, but not all other tribes use
them.
- Critique a Thanksgiving
poster depicting the traditional, stereotyped pilgrim and Indian
figures,
especially when teaching older elementary school children. Take care
to select a picture that most children are familiar with, such as
those shown on grocery bags or holiday greeting cards. Critically
analyze the poster, noting the many tribes the artist has combined
into one general image that fails to provide accurate information
about any single tribe (Stutzman, 1993).
- At Thanksgiving, shift
the focus away from reenacting the "First Thanksgiving." Instead, focus on
items children can be thankful for in their own lives, and on their
families' celebrations of Thanksgiving at home.
Besides using these
strategies in their classrooms, teachers need to educate themselves.
MacCann (1993) notes that stereotyping is not
always obvious to people surrounded by mainstream culture. Numerous
guidelines have been prepared to aid in the selection of materials that
work against stereotypes (for example, see Slapin and Seale [1993]).
Practices to Avoid
Avoid using
over-generalized books, curriculum guides, and lesson plans; and teaching
kits with a "Native American" theme. Although the goal of these
materials is to teach about other cultures in positive ways, most of the
materials group Native Americans too broadly. When seeking out materials,
look for those which focus on a single tribe.
Avoid the
"tourist curriculum" as described by Derman- Sparks. This kind of
curriculum teaches predominantly through celebrations and seasonal
holidays, and through traditional food and artifacts. It teaches in
isolated units rather than in an integrated way and emphasizes exotic
differences, focusing on specific events rather than on daily life.
Avoid presenting
sacred activities in trivial ways. In early childhood classrooms, for example, a
popular activity involves children in making headbands with feathers,
even though feathers are highly religious articles for some tribes. By
way of example, consider how a devout Catholic might feel about children
making a chalice out of paper cups and glitter.
Avoid introducing
the topic of Native Americans on Columbus Day or at Thanksgiving. Doing so perpetuates the
idea that Native Americans do not exist in the present.
Conclusion
Much remains to be
done to counter stereotypes of Native Americans learned by young children
in our society. Teachers must provide accurate instruction not only about
history but also about the contemporary lives of Native Americans.
Debbie Reese is a
Pueblo Indian who studies and works in the field of early childhood
education.
For More Information
Derman-Sparks, Louise. (1989). Anti-Bias
Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, DC: National Association for the
Education of Young Children. ED 305 135.
Emberton, S. (1994). Do Your Cultural
Homework. Editorial. National Center for Family Literacy
Newsletter 6:(3, Fall): 5-6.
Grant, Agnes, and LaVina Gillespie.
(1992). Using Literature by American Indians and Alaska Natives in Secondary Schools. ERIC Digest. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural
Education and Small Schools. ED 348 201.
Harris, V. (1993). From the Margin
to the Center of Curricula: Multicultural Children's
Literature. In B. Spodek, and O.N. Saracho (Eds.), Language and
Literacy in Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers College Press. ED 370 698.
Katz, L.G., and S.C. Chard.
(1989). Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
McCann, D. (1993). Native Americans
in Books for the Young. In V. Harris, (Ed.), Teaching Multicultural
Literature in Grades K-8. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon
Publishers.
Slapin, Beverly, and Doris Seale.
(1992). Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for
Children. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers. ED 344 211.
Stutzman, Esther. (1993). American
Indian Stereotypes: The Truth Behind the Hype. An Indian Education
Curriculum Unit. Coos Bay, OR: Coos County Indian Education Coordination
Program. ED
364 396.
This publication was prepared with funding from the Office
of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the
positions or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.
References
identified with an ED (ERIC document), EJ (ERIC journal), or PS number
are cited in the ERIC database. Most documents are available in ERIC
microfiche collections at more than 1,000 locations worldwide (see http://www.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/).
They can also be ordered through EDRS: 800-443-ERIC or online at http://www.edrs.com/Webstore/Express.cfm.
Journal articles are available from the original journal, interlibrary
loan services, or article reproduction clearinghouses such as Ingenta
(800-296-2221).
ERIC
Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced.
This
project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement,
under contract number ED-99-CO-0020. The content of this publication does
not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of
Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or
organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
|
