November/December 2023

Legal Matters: Resources for Teaching Native American Experience and History

By Maryam Brotine

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, Public Act 103-422 requires that every public school social studies course about American history or government include a unit of instruction on the events of the Native American experience and Native American history within the Illinois and the Midwest “since time immemorial” – which is no small feat! Specifically, the unit must include:

1. The contributions of Native Americans in government and the arts, humanities, and sciences;
2. The contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of their own nations and of the United States;
3. A description of the large urban Native American populations in Illinois, including the history and experiences of contemporary Native Americans living in Illinois;
4. The genocide of and discrimination against Native Americans;
5. Tribal sovereignty;
6. Treaties made between tribal nations and the United States; and
7. The circumstances around forced Native American relocation.

There is some flexibility built into the law. First, school boards are given discretion to determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction. Second, the unit of instruction may be integrated as part of the units of instruction already required for U.S. History or for Holocaust and Genocide Study.

How are schools to develop such a robust Native American curriculum?
Though neighboring states like Wisconsin and Minnesota have similar curricular requirements, we can only ask to borrow so much, because Illinois curricula needs to be specific to the Native American experience in Illinois. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is charged with developing instructional materials related to Nos. 4 and 5, above, in consultation with members of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative, a network of 16 organizations and programs dedicated to meeting the needs and improving the conditions for Native Americans in the greater Chicagoland area. But ISBE has until January 1, 2025 to develop its instructional materials and make it available on ISBE’s website. In the meantime, where can schools find other resources for teaching the Native American experience and history? While there is no ready-made curriculum ripe for picking, there are plentiful resources right at your fingertips and possibly even in your backyard. Here is a sampling.

Education-Specific Resources

• Native Knowledge 360º Education Initiative, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Provides educators and students with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures. Features educational materials, virtual student programs, and teacher training that incorporate Native narratives, more comprehensive histories, and accurate information to enlighten and inform teaching and learning about Native America.
• 15 Resource for Teaching Native American History and Culture (November 1, 2022), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
• Native American Education in Schools: Panel Discussion (September 27, 2023), Chicago Public Library
• Illinois Early Learning Project, Resource page on teaching and learning about Native Americans
• Native American Art Teacher Resources, Hood Museum of Art
• National Native American Heritage Month – For Teachers, National Endowment for the Humanities

Illinois Historical Sites

• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Services, Webpage discussing native tribes of Southern Illinois
• Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, Webpage highlighting and linking to nine Native American sites in Illinois, from Apple River Fort in the northwest to the Kincaid Mounds in the southeast.
• Rockford Park District, Webpage discussing Native American heritage sites within the Rockford Park District.

Illinois Museums

• • •  
• Field Museum (Chicago), Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories A new permanent exhibit at the Field Museum, Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories was created with the guidance of an advisory council of 11 Native American scholars and museum professionals, and in partnership with 130 collaborators representing over 105 Tribes. Hear from Native American and Indigenous people telling their own stories through words, music, dance, and art.
• Illinois State Museum (Springfield)
• Mitchell Museum of the American Indian (Evanston), Founded in 1977, one of a handful of museums across the country focusing exclusively on the histories, cultures, traditions, and arts of Indigenous people from the United States and Canada
• Champaign Co. History Museum (Champaign)
• Hauberg Museum (Rock Island)
• Trickster Cultural Center (Schaumburg)

Articles

• How will a new Illinois law help with teaching the history of Native Americans in the state? (August 10, 2023) News Bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Why aren’t there any federal Indian reservations in Illinois? (December 10, 2021), WBEZ
• American Indians in Chicago struggle to preserve identity, culture and history (August 13, 2012), Chicago Tribune
•  
• Native American Studies at Illinois Higher Educational Institutions
• Illinois State University, Native American Studies
• Northern Illinois University Digital Library
• University of Illinois, Native Oral History
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, American Indian Studies Program
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Native American Studies

Books and Book Lists

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese
• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee (Young Readers Adaptation) by David Treuer and adapted by Sheila Keenan
• One Book, One Chicago, Chicago Public Library, Scroll down to the We Recommend section for Chicago Public Library curated lists of Native American heritage book recommendations for kids, teens, and more.

Maryam Brotine is Assistant General Counsel at the Illinois Association of School Boards. Links to the resources mentioned in this column can be accessed via iasb.com/journal.