How to Teach Your Kids that Native Americans are Still Here

Upper image: “In Their Own Words” Illustration by Julie Flett Map image: taken at Pie Ranch, a food justice certified farm and educational center in Pescadero, CA

The Diversity & Inclusion Committee would like to thank GGMG member Mari Villaluna for her help in compiling these resources. 

As parents, we struggle to find the words to explain complicated and painful histories to our children, especially when our children are very young. November, as Native American Heritage Month, is an opportunity for us to learn more about the rich culture of Indigenous communities in order to share it with our children. The resources below include both historical and present-day Native American perspectives.

This book list provides an array of choices for ages 0 to 10 that are probably not already on your bookshelf. Notably, "Only 1% of the children’s books published in the U.S. in 2016 featured Indigenous characters, and even fewer (1/4 of the 1% = 8 books total) were written by Indigenous authors."

Most of us probably grew up hearing the story of the first Thanksgiving from the Pilgrims' perspective. Unfortunately, the warm feelings of abundance, friendship, and gratitude evoked by that tale aren't shared by the Wampanoag and many other Native people. This article in the national Native American newspaper Indian Country Today, gives us a fuller understanding of what happened at Plymouth Rock and why hundreds of Indigenous people from around the country gather there on Thanksgiving.

If you haven't been watching Teen Vogue transform from a fashion magazine into a powerful voice for social justice, it may seem an unlikely resource (Sadly, Conde Nast announced earlier this month that it will cease publishing a print version of Teen Vogue. We hope they continue producing valuable content like this video online). This brief but powerful video documents the complicated feelings some Native American teenage girls have about Thanksgiving. 

On Thanksgiving Day, all are welcome to attend an Indigenous Peoples' Thanksgiving Sunrise Gathering from 4am to 9am.