Happy Indigenous Peoples Month!

Around these parts, we don’t celebrate Columbus, who was nothing more than a lost evil soul.  Nor do we celebrate Thanksgiving, which is the consequential eradication of the Indigenous people who inhabited Estados Unidos prior to Columbus’ arrival. Celebrating Columbus Day or Thanksgiving is celebrating the conquering of, colonization, and the enslavement of Native and Indigenous peoples. There is no getting around the truth, though most people choose to celebrate the holidays and covering up the horrendous acts that occurred.  We don’t do that here. At OLC, we refuse to sacrifice the self-image and honor of one group of people in order to preserve the pretty lies of another.  Instead, we choose to honor the first peoples of this land and beauty that they’ve left behind for us to remember them by.  Thus, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Month also called Native American Heritage Month.

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Hold on to what is good,
Even if it’s a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe,
Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do,
Even if it’s a long way from here.

Hold on to your life,
Even if it’s easier to let go.

Hold on to my hand,
Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.

Pueblo Prayer

There were many Native and Indigenous groups inhabiting the Americas including:

• Algonquians
• Arawaks
• Aztecs
• Blackfoot
• Cherokee
• Chiapas
• Comanche
• Eskimo
• Incas
• Inuit
• Iroquois
• Mayans
• Modoc
• Quechua
• Seminole
• Shoshone
• Shuar
• Sioux
• and more!

Indigenous culture continues to be a part of pop culture through food, music, and television.  Though it can seem to be innocent fun, it’s important to not appropriate these cultures without giving just due.

In honor of the beauty of Native American and Indigenous cultures, here are some of our favorite books:

 

All Our Relatives: Traditional Native American Thoughts about Nature by Paul Goble

 

Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale by Gerald McDermott

 

Aztec, Inca & Maya: Discover the World of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas their Beliefs, Rituals, and Civilization by DK Books

 

Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S. D. Nelson

 

D Is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet by Michael and Debbie Shoulders

 

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard

 

Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McClain

 

How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton

 

Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

 

Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott

 

Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del Arcoiris by Linda Elovitz Marshall

 

The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac

 

The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales (Folktales of the World) by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac Ph.D

 

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

 

The Polar Bear Son by Lydia Dabcovich

 

The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin

 

The Star People: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson

 

The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose

 

Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons by Joseph Bruchac

 

Of course these just a few of our favorites.  To share them all would result in an endless list.  From these books, you can:

• • Create unit studies
  • Create arts and crafts
  • Create a play
  • Design games
  • Have a table discussion
  • Have kids to rewrite their favorites stories or add an additional chapter.
  • and more

Let us know if you’ve read any of these.  We’d love to hear from you! In addition to the wonderful books above, you can also find great stories with the Epic app and the Kobo app.

While reading this book, make sure to use take notes so that you can recall the details of what has occurred in the story.  Our free book reporting pages are perfect for this!  More info about the download is below.

This freebie includes:

• • • Over 10 pages of content
    • Book report notebooking pages
    • Pages for notes
    • Resources list

Ideal for K-8th grade.

Click here to download yours.

Tips for making reading fun:

• Create a relaxing atmosphere (This could be as simple as a warm seat at the kitchen table with herbal tea or hot chocolate. Or it could be a corner in a room with a bean bag chair or other lounging furniture).
• Have discussions about the reading
• Allow children to act our or recreate scenes from what they have read
• Have the children to take notes as they read
• Use fun pens or pencils

Hasta Pronto!

Please feel free to share your comments or suggestions! I would love to hear from you. If you enjoy reading my blog, make sure to sign up so that you can always be alerted for new posts, tips, and recipes. You can also find me at Wombology (A Safe Place for Women to Heal) and Being Mama Dot (Chronicles of a Homeschool Mom).

If you are a homeschool mom needing some new ideas and encouragement or if you are completely new to homeschooling and you are looking for ways to get started, click here to apply for a Strategy and Brainstorming Session with ME!  Let’s work together to get you to where you want to be!