Native American Websites

By

Diane L. Creel

The study of Native American cultures is a major component of our fourth grade curriculum. Teachers are asked to lead students to the understanding of how human and physical geographic characteristics influenced the development of cultures, and how these cultures influenced the development of what we now call the United States, but are given limited resources with which to work. These websites are additional resources for teachers, students and parents which can compliment or replace lessons in the curriculum.

Index of American Indian Cultural Resources on the Internet : WWW Virtual library that contains hundreds of links to multicultural sites, lists of tribal/nation sites and publications which would be useful for professional and student research as part of our Social Studies curriculum. Date visited 9/23/04

http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAculture.html

Resources on American Indians for Children and Teachers : Contains information and links about dozens of American Indian tribes and their native languages, including vocabulary sets. Also contains "Facts For Kids" projects for students to learn more about different Native American cultures. Date visited 9/23/04

http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm

Native American Culture : This website contains 15 links to various sites for different Native American cultures. Date visited 9/23/04

http://cobalt.lang.osaka-u.ac.jp/~krkvls/culture.html

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Native American Resources for Teachers and Parents : Resources for teachers and parents to explore, from reviews of textbooks, reference books for children, to lists and reviews of books written for children from the Native American perspective. Date visited 9/23/04

http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmai/resource.htm

Kid Info Reference Resources : Native Americans : Search engines and sites for information about specific Native American tribes studied in our fourth grade curriculum. Date visited 9/23/04

http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Native_Americans.html

Teaching Native American Cultures : For educators, students, and parents. Articles such as “Thanksgiving Myths,” “Teaching Native American Cultures” and others provided information and teaching points. Web links to other pertinent sites also listed. Date visited 9/24/04

http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/1sthanks.htm

Scholastic Online Activity Teacher's Guide: Commercially prepared activity site with outstanding resources, lesson plans and activities. The site is protected by copyright laws, so is for individual teacher or classroom use only. Permission for web link must be granted by Scholastic for web link use. Date visited 9/24/04

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/native_americans/tguide/index.htm

Harcourt Learning Site for Native American Cultures: Commercially prepared activity site for students, parents and teachers. Many activities and resources for Native American tribes studied in our fourth grade curriculum. Some activities must be purchased, and others are protected by ‘password use only’ for purchasers of Harcourt products. This site is protected by copyright laws, so is for individual teacher or classroom use only. Permission for web link must be granted by Harcourt for web link use. Date visited 9/24/04

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/nacultures/nacultures.html

EDSITEMENT Native American Culture Across the US: Outstanding time-sensitive lesson plans and web links for teachers working with elementary students which teach children about Native Americans in an historical context with individual respect for the diverse American Indian cultures and tribes. Date visited 9/25/04

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=347

American Indian Tribes and Cultures: Indexed links to regional tribes and cultural sites. Student project sites and biographies of Native Americans make this a good resource for fourth grade curriculum. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.42explore2.com/native4.htm

Maps of Indian Tribes before European Contact: Maps of where tribes were located before contact with Europeans. Linked sites give information on each tribe. Good resource for teachers. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cultmap.html

Native American Resources for Kids and Teachers : Different sections provide links for teacher resources with lesson plans, for kids only, stories, songs and poems, clipart, graphics and worksheets. (Ed note: while the linked sites themselves are very good, students using this site should be made aware that the ‘cute’ graphics on the homepage are not tribal/culturally sensitive and could be viewed as offensive by some Native Americans.) Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Thanksgiving/Native.html

Comprehensive Native American History and Cultural Sites: As stated in the title, this is a comprehensive list of links to general sites, timelines of history, maps, and specific tribes. Of special interest to teachers is the list of Primary Document resources, which is a vital to our curriculum. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.teacheroz.com/Native_Americans.htm

Education World Native American Lessons: Grade specific lessons for students from grades K-12. Topics include “Native American Myths and Misconceptions,” “What’s in a Name,” recipes, math integration lessons, code talking and many more. Commercially sponsored site paid for by corporate sponsors and advertisers. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson209.shtml

Wisconsin Lesson Plans-artifacts: Limited to specific Wisconsin tribes, this site does have a good lesson introducing the use of artifacts to students. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.ecb.org/wisconsin/wash1.htm

Native American Research Resources: Research and informational sites for teachers, parents and students. Titles and topics include “Appropriate Methods for Teaching About Native Americans,” legends, heroes, leaders, religions, and tribal customs. Tribes discussed are specific to our fourth grade curriculum. Date visited 9/25/04

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/natam.html

Traditions and Languages of Tinglit, Lakota and Cherokee Lesson Plan: Originally written for primary grades, the lessons can easily be adapted for fourth grade using the resources listed. Good vocabulary for struggling fourth grade readers. Date visited 9/25/04

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=378

Yahooligans Native American sites: Search engine for students and teachers dedicated to Native American sites. Date visited 9/25/04

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/Around_the_World/Countries/United_States/Cultures_and_Traditions/Native_American/

Literature to Introduce Students to Native American Culture : Descriptions of books for students and teachers which show Native American history and culture in a positive light. Lesson ideas for teachers and parents included. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/nativeamericans.html

Native American Research Lesson Plan : Research lesson plan for middle grades. Includes topics to be discussed and project ideas. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.berksiu.k12.pa.us/webquest/Kenney/

Native American Kids Page : Students can read articles about festivals, pow wows, and special events written by children and teachers from various Native American tribes. Date visited 9/25/04

http://www.turtletrack.org/CO_KidsPage.htm