TEACHING ABOUT AMERICAN INDIANS: STEREOTYPES AND CONTRIBUTIONS A Resource Packet for Kentucky Teachers By Tressa Townes Brown Edited by A. Gwynn Henderson 1999 Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission 300 Washington Street Frankfort, Kentucky KENTUCKY HERITAGE COUNCIL The Kentucky Heritage Council is an agency of the Education, Arts, and Humanities Cabinet. The mandate of the Kentucky Heritage Council is to identify, preserve, and protect the cultural resources of Kentucky. The Council also maintains continually updated inventories of historic structures and archaeological sites and nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places. By working with other state and federal agencies, local communities, and interested citizens, the Council seeks to build a greater awareness of Kentucky's past and to encourage the long-term preservation of Kentucky's significant cultural resources. Through its various programs (e.g., Native American Heritage Commission, African American Heritage Commission, Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Main Street, Publications, Rural Preservation, Civil War Initiative, Conferences) the Council strives to show how historic resources contribute to the heritage, economy, and quality of life of all Kentuckians. EDUCATION, ARTS, AND HUMANITIES CABINET The Kentucky Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet is charged with the mission of preserving Kentucky’s heritage, preparing for its future and promoting a statewide culture of lifelong learning. With the leadership of Governor Paul E. Patton and Secretary Marlene M. Helm, the agencies of the Cabinet provide or oversee services that contribute to an enhanced quality of life for all Kentuckians: excellence in public education, quality libraries, the preservation of historical materials and landmarks, and cultural enrichment through the arts. Copyright © 1999 Kentucky Heritage Council The design on the front cover is of Cherokee origin. For copies of this Teacher's Resource Packet, contact: Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission 300 Washington Street Frankfort, KY 40601 (502)564-7005 FAX: (502)564-5820 email: [email protected] http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/khc/khchome.htm This information may be used and copied for educational purposes, free and without special permission. However, re-publication or reproduction of any part by any other publishing service, whether it be in a book or in any other resource, is strictly prohibited. FORWARD Governor Paul E. Patton created the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission by Executive Order in 1996. Its mission is to educate the citizens of Kentucky about the contributions native peoples have made and continue to make to the Commonwealth. Native peoples have lived for centuries and continue to live in Kentucky. I am extremely proud of my own Native American heritage. It is only through education that we will be able to dispel the myth that denies any link between native peoples and this place we call Kentucky. As the twenty-first century arrives, there will be no room for stereotypes, misinformation, and intolerance. One way to educate Kentucky's citizens is to provide teachers, who are charged with educating and molding the lives and minds of young Kentuckians, with the resources and references they need to teach the next generation of Kentuckians to respect diversity. Inside this packet, teachers will find information, lists of resources, and activities. As chairperson of the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission, it is with great pride that I offer this packet of resources to the teachers of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Through educational packets such as this, the Commission will see its goals fulfilled. Judi Patton, Chairperson Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission Frankfort, Kentucky November 1999 iii PREFACE The vision of the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission is an ambitious one, for it intends that All Kentuckians will recognize, appreciate, and understand the significant contributions Native Americans have made to Kentucky's rich cultural heritage. Through education and increased awareness, the people of Kentucky will understand the histories, cultures, and matters of concern to Native American peoples. The Commission sees its primary mission to educate and communicate the rich diversity and heritage of Native American peoples in Kentucky, and so the Education Committee was challenged to develop a project that would do just that, targeting Kentucky school students. The Committee discussed a variety of ideas for projects before deciding that a Commission- sponsored annual poster contest focusing on Native Americans’ contributions to American culture would be a good one. The Committee selected this subject to provide a structured venue within which students would examine Native American contributions and the extent to which knowledge learned from Native people is incorporated into the fabric of American society. The Committee soon realized that many Kentucky school teachers lacked (or didn’t know where to look for) the basic information about Native Americans they would need in order to be able to participate fully in such a poster contest. Especially lacking was information about the indigenous peoples of Kentucky. Thus a Resource Packet would need to be produced before a poster contest could be initiated. Through lengthy discussions we wrestled with deciding what to include in the Resource Packet and what would be most useful to teachers. According to the 1990 census, there are more than 1.5 million Native Americans living in the United States, with the most residing in Oklahoma. One-third of the Indian population lives on the close to 280 reservations in the United States. The remaining two-thirds live in large and small cities and rural communities. We decided early on that the packet would not be concerned with defining “Indian-ness.” Some tribes require a specific Native blood content (for example, 1/8 or 1/16), determined through the examination of genealogical documents that provide information about a person's ancestors of Native American heritage. The Federal Government requires paperwork stating that a person is a member of a Federally recognized tribe. If a tribe is not recognized by the Federal Government, the members are not considered Native Americans. State governments have different standards for determining who is and who is not Native American. Many people have information passed down through their family noting American Indian relatives but cannot document this heritage. Others identify with Native people but may have no Native blood. Jones, in a 1973 article (The American Indian in iv America Volume II: Early 19th Century to the Present. Lerner Publications Company. Minneapolis, MN), presented a definition that is useful in most situations and is the one used here: “An Indian is one who regards himself as an Indian, who is recognized by others as an Indian, and whose life is affected by his Indian identity.” We recognized that teachers may want to teach about a particular topic, but if they do not have the resources, they cannot teach about it effectively. Because of the link to a Commission-sponsored statewide poster contest, one part of the packet would need to provide information about the contributions Native Americans have made to American culture. Thus, one purpose of the packet was to make information and resources available to teachers. We also wanted to provide teachers a list of resources they could consult for information as they prepared their students for the contest. There is a plethora of information and resources about many Native American tribes, which made it difficult to select what resources to include in the list. Recognizing the special need, on the part of Kentucky teachers, for resources about Kentucky’s indigenous groups, we decided to ensure that information about the three largest tribes that most recently occupied the Commonwealth, the Cherokee, the Shawnee and the Chickasaw, was well-represented. After more discussion, we realized that, by acknowledging Native peoples' contributions to American culture, students might also come to recognize and confront some of their stereotypes about Native Americans. These stereotypes frequently prevent teachers from teaching and students from learning about Native Americans as they really were and as they are today. We decided the Resource Packet would need to provide Kentucky teachers with information and resources about Native American stereotypes, how to identify them to their students, and how to “unlearn” them so that these stereotypes are not maintained and encouraged. The Resource Packet you hold in your hands is the product of these considerations. It was prepared for use by secondary school librarians, resource specialists, and teachers in at least three ways: alone; as part of any unit on Native Americans; and as part of a class’s participation in the Commission’s annual state-wide poster contest. Divided into three parts, the first provides information about Native American stereotyping, offers ideas for activities to use in the classroom, outlines ways to evaluate educational materials for stereotyping, and gives a list of resources related to stereotyping. The second part presents factual information about Native American’s contributions to American culture in the areas of agriculture, ideas, and concepts, with one section devoted to listing the contributions of specific Native Americans. This part also concludes with a list of resources. The last part