Top 5 Native American Contributions to Share with Students

Is there a Native American Heritage Month?

Native American Heritage Month is recognized and celebrated in the United States from November 1 to November 30.

During this month, many teachers share information and accomplishments from Native American tribes and cultures. ThinkFives provides these discussion items that can be shared with students and become topics for student research and projects.

• Native Americans today face some extraordinary challenges. By nearly every social, cultural, economic, and physical measure, Native American communities and families are uniquely and negatively impacted by patterns of struggle. 
• While it is important to be positive and hopeful about the future of life for Native Americans in this country, it is first important to have a genuine understanding of what Indigenous people face, collectively and individually.

• Kayaks – The Inuit in the Arctic developed the concept of a small, narrow boat, with a sealed cockpit to protect the paddler from sinking. The classic vessels were fashioned entirely from natural materials, with wood or whalebone frames covered by stitched sealskin or other animal hides.
• Snow Goggles – The Inuit also invented goggles fashioned from wood, bone, antler, or leather to protect their eyes from over-exposure to sunlight reflected from expanses of snow. The snow goggles were the predecessors to today’s sunglasses.
• Baby Bottles – The Iroquois took dried and greased bear gut and added a nipple fashioned from a bird’s quill to create bottles that could be used to feed infants, (Iroquois historian Arthur C. Parker)

• Newspaper – The first newspaper in a Native American language began publishing in 1828. Sequoyah, a member of the Cherokee Nation, spent 12 years developing a writing system so that his people could learn to read and write in their language, completing his 86-character syllabary in 1821.
• Tribal Recognition – There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States. These federally recognized tribes have government-to-government relationships with the United States, like other sovereign nations. But many tribes do not have federal recognition, which means they are ineligible for government programs and support.
• Democracy – The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is one of the oldest living democracies in the world. Also called the Iroquois Confederacy by the French, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was formed by five tribal nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca.
• Forced Relocation –  Native Americans were forcibly displaced by the Indian Relocation Act in 1830. The act was spurred by the desire of white settlers to grow cotton in the South on the valuable lands of the Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and other tribes. The act was used to force Native Americans out of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Thousands died during these forced migrations.

   

• Meats and Fish – Most tribes also hunted and caught fish. Tribes in the far north survived almost entirely by hunting.
• Other Crops – In addition to food crops, many native tribes also grew medicinal plants, cotton, and tobacco. Believe it or not, it is estimated that as much as three-fourths of the world’s foods today are foods that were originally cultivated by Native Americans.

Powhatan

Also known by his proper name of Wahunsenacawh, Powhatan is perhaps best remembered as the father of Pocahontas.  He was also a massively powerful chief at the time, his authority extending over 30 tribes and some 15,000 Algonquian-speaking people of the coastal Virginia area.

Tecumseh

The son of a Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, became one of the most revered leaders of his time through his unyielding resistance to American intrusion. The full scope of his powers was on display in the early 1800s when he teamed with his brother Tenskwatawa to found the Prophetstown settlement in Indiana Territory and rallied considerable support for a pan-Indian alliance.

Sitting Bull

While Sitting Bull fought alongside Red Cloud in the 1860s, he diverged from the former over his refusal to commit his Hunkpapa Lakotas to the terms of a treaty. As a result, he became a central figure in the Great Sioux War of 1876, his vision of a military triumph presaging the historic defeat of General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Crazy Horse

Often mentioned in the same breath as Red Cloud and Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse featured prominently at the Fetterman Massacre and led the charge at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. But the Oglala Lakota warrior stands on his own as a figure of mythical proportions, from his legendary fighting prowess to his refusal to be photographed during his lifetime.

Geronimo

A shaman of the Chiricahua Apaches, Geronimo spent much of his life fighting off the Mexicans, Americans, and competing tribes who sought control of modern-day Arizona and New Mexico. He was largely successful in those endeavors, his reputation bolstered by alleged mystical abilities to slow time and stop flying bullets.

What Native American stories do you share with your class?