While this program was cancelled, you can still learn more using the call to action resources.
- Self-Educate:
- Find a format that is right for you to research American Indian Boarding Schools. You can watch documentaries. This great documentary is available for free on Youtube. I would recommend it for older students as some topics discussed are not suitable for all. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo1bYj-R7F0&t=1s More about the video here: https://www.pbsutah.org/pressroom/unspoken-kued-original-documentary-explores-the-story-american-indian-boarding-schools Read articles: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2096 and even picture books such as “When We Were Alone” by David A. Robertson.
- Act:
- Inside the classroom—On this page you can find several Orange Shirt Day curriculums suitable for grades 5-12.: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/teacher-resources.html Here is a great lesson plan, suited for 8-12 grade social studies classrooms, but adaptable: http://www.aicphub.com/lesson_plans/ml_boardingschools.html
- Outside the classroom–American Indian Boarding Schools were designed to eliminate identity and identify expression specifically through culture and language. Learn about how people still do this daily through microaggressions. When choosing service learning projects, choose organizations seeking to preserve and grow cultural and language diversity.
- Share Your Voice:
- American Indian Boarding Schools illustrate the extreme devaluing of others, but less extreme examples are around us everyday. This November reconsider ‘Thanksgiving’, how it shows up in your community, the ways its stories are told and have a conversation. The American Indian Resource Guide created by Allies of Native Nations has a specific section dedicated to the topic of Thanksgiving. https://www.datrockco.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2-25-2021-American-Indian-Resource-Guide.pdf
