Presents symbols and images central to Native American culture and urges readers to use the legacy of Native American history to interpret the future

An alphabet book of traditional Native American symbols.

How do you help young children learn more about Native Americans than the cultural stereotypes found in children's books and in the media? Lessons from Turtle Island is the first complete guide to exploring Native American issues with children. The authors—one Native, one white, both educators—show ways to incorporate authentic learning experiences about Native Americans into your curriculum. This book is organized around five cross-cultural themes—Children, Home, Families, Community, and the Environment. The authors present activities, from children's books they recommend, to develop skills in reading and writing, science, math, make-believe, art, and more. The book provides helpful guidelines and resource lists for selecting appropriate toys, children's books, music, and art, and also includes a family heritage project. "[A] marvelous tool that should be in every American school."—Joseph Bruchac, author of Heart of a Chief and The Winter People Guy W. Jones, Hunkpapa Lakota, is a full-blood member of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. He is a co-founder of the Miami Valley Council for Native Americans in Dayton, Ohio. Sally Moomaw teaches at the University of Cincinnati. She is the co-author of the More Than . . . curriculum series published by Redleaf Press.

Covering more than 300 alphabet books with topic, content area, grade level, text structure, and instructional value indexing, this extensive resource guide includes bibliographic information and brief summaries of each selection as well as a chapter devoted to the unique uses of alphabet books within ELL classrooms. Alphabet books are perfect for establishing introductory lessons and serve as a starting point for project ideas. Alphabet Books: The K–12 Educators' Power Tool is ideal for school and public librarians as well as teachers who need to meet specific learning standards. The indexing by topic, grade level, and content area helps in finding just the right book for the aligned instructional objective. Some 300-plus alphabet books are additionally categorized according to the complexity of the text structure. Featured books for three grade level categories (Pre K–2, 3–6, and 7–12) are accompanied by instructional strategies to use with these books. Images of the finished student projects for every described strategy are included to clarify the instructional values. A chapter that focuses on the use of alphabet books in the English language learners' classroom offers strategies for the specific needs of this student group.

A mythological version of the history of North America. Based on hundreds of interviews with Native Americans and using a forceful, poetic language suggestive of another time, this exciting novelistic approach to history brings Native American mythology to life at the same time. As N. Scott Momaday, the Pulitzer prize winning Kiowa poet has said, 'Tunkashila is a book to be read slowly and with deep respect... it is like the wind one hears on the plains, steady, running, full of music.' Tunkashila captures the curiosity of youth and reveals the urgent moral tales of a lost civilization.

Those unfamiliar with the prehistory of North America have a general perception of the cultures of the continent that includes Native Americans living in tipis, wearing feathered headdresses and buckskin clothing, and following migratory bison herds on the Great Plains. Although these practices were part of some Native American societies, they do not adequately represent the diversity of cultural practices by the overwhelming majority of Native American peoples. Media misrepresentations shaped by television and movies along with a focus on select regions and periods in the history of the United States have produced an extremely distorted view of the indigenous inhabitants of the continent and their cultures. The indigenous populations of North America created impressive societies, engaged in trade, and had varied economic, social, and religious cultures. Over the past century, archaeological and ethnological research throughout all regions of North America has revealed much about the indigenous peoples of the continent. This book examines the long and complex history of human occupation in North America, covering its distinct culture as well as areas of the Arctic, California, Eastern Woodlands, Great Basin, Great Plains, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southwest, and Subarctic. Complete with maps, a chronology that spans the history from 11,000 B.C. to A.D. 1850, an introductory essay, more than 700 dictionary entries, and a comprehensive bibliography, this reference is a valuable tool for scholars and students. An appendix of museums that have North American collections and a listing of archaeological sites that allow tours by the public also make this an accessible guide to the interested lay reader and high school student.

A current reference work that reflects the changing times and attitudes of, and towards the indigenous peoples of all the regions of the Americas. --from publisher description.