Primary Source Learning: Native American Perspectives

In celebration of Native American Heritage month, the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides some great suggestions for teaching students to view the experiences and contributions of Native Americans from various perspectives. Comparing sources from multiple perspectives provides students with practice in critical thinking and evaluating evidence and arguments. Links to more Native American teaching resources are listed below.

Native American Boarding Schools primary source set with teacher’s guide

Native American Primary/Secondary Source Sort

Guided Primary Source Analyses

• Confederation Government Policy Toward Native Americans
• Indian Timothy Memorial Bridge
• Virginia’s Early Relations with Native Americans

Lessons & Activities

• Capture the Scene: Creating a Scene of an American Indian Tribe
• Comparing Reports of the Battle of Little Bighorn
• Exploring the Stories Behind Native American Boarding Schools
• Indian Territory Resettlement
• Native American Boarding Schools and Human Rights
• Reservation Controversies
• Teaching Now: Separating Myths from History
• The Wampanoag, the Plimoth Colonists & the First Thanksgiving

Teaching with the Library

• All posts related to Native American History
• Posts featuring activity ideas
  • Edward S. Curtis and The North American Indian
  • Exploring Native American Constitutions and Treaties Using Primary Sources
  • Images of Native Americans: Exploring Changing Visual Representations
  • Native Americans in the First World War and the Fight for Citizenship
  • Native American Newspapers: Studying the History through the Eyes of the Community
  • Teaching Civic Ideals Using Primary Sources: Cherokee Removal and Federalism

Collection Connections

• American Indians of the Pacific Northwest search for photos using University of Washington collection
• Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian

History of the American West, 1860-1920 lesson & activity ideas (search for photos using Denver Public Library’s Western History Photo Collection)

• Native American Cultures
• The Navajo and Apache Wars
• The Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Wars

The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820 lesson & activity ideas

• Native Peoples
• Indian Removal

Teaching American Indian History with Primary Sources

Primary Source Spotlight: Native American History & Heritage