People of the First Light

December 2, 2016 9:53 AM

Please suggest brief age-appropriate resources that I can share with my ten year old (5th grade) son to educate him about the diverse experience of First Nations peoples in North America.

In conversation yesterday it came to light that my son believed that the Trail of Tears basically rounded up all First Nations peoples across North America (including those in the northeast, where we live) and taken them to a single reservation. He was surprised to learn that there are native people still living in our community today.

We have a great museum here semi-locally (the Abbe Museum, which I encourage you to support) ) which I will plan to visit after the new year to help him learn more about the Wabanaki people who are local to us, but can you suggest age-appropriate books and (possibly better) short streaming video that I can share with him to help him understand a) the huge diversity of the First Nations in North America; b) some basic information about the where and they why of conflict with European settlers that is truthful but not super graphic; and c) information about the lives of First Nations people in the US today.

Bonus DAPL question: Other than the Teen Vogue video, do you know of a short video that I can show him that gives the super-duper basics of the DAPL protests.

Caveat: My son is ADHD/ASD, and has a lot of resistance to situations where he perceives that I'm trying to hold school outside of school. That being said, if I'm watching a video he will often watch with me of his own accord, and he'll let me read to/with him. He's also very, very sensitive to situations where people are in peril, so graphic descriptions of battle will shut him down immediately.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

posted by anastasiav to Education (13 answers total)

The National Museum of the American Indian has a YouTube page you may want to look through.
posted by Mouse Army at 10:02 AM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

I know you're looking for the U.S. specifically, but you might want to check out the National Film Board of Canada's online collection (it's worth checking out for other reasons as well), and they have educational/childrens/young adult stuff.

Not sure if any of their streaming video is region-restricted in the U.S., though?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:38 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Boston Children's Museum put together a really nice exhibit about the indigenous nations in New England. They have included some video resources as part of the exhibit.
posted by goggie at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich is an appropriate novel for his age. No graphic war scenes, but there are some deaths from smallpox, so you might want to read it first to see if it might be too harsh for him.
posted by FencingGal at 10:53 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Depending on his maturity level, he is almost old enough for Sherman Alexie's The Positively True Adventures of a Part-Time Indian.
posted by praemunire at 11:30 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

There is a First Nations channel that airs where I live called FNX. I don't know if it's available where you are but it might be worth checking out their website. Maybe you can watch online.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:39 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Dear America/My Name is America books, maybe? They're fake diaries, "written" by kids around his age (girls for Dear America, boys for My Name is America) about their experiences during historical events/periods, with a few of the books about Native kids. It looks like there's even a Trail of Tears specific one (The Journal of Jesse Smoke)
posted by damayanti at 12:19 PM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

I love The Absolutely True Adventures of a Part-Time Indian, but a lot of important, beloved characters die for reasons related to alcoholism, including the main character's sister, who dies in a fire. I just wanted to make sure you are aware of that, since you said that your son is sensitive.
posted by FencingGal at 1:06 PM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

This National Museum of the American Indian webpage has some good recommendations and links.
posted by gudrun at 6:30 PM on December 2, 2016

I'm a 7th grade teacher, though I taught 6th grade and high school too. I'd discourage you from Diary of a Part Time Indian - I think most kids aren't ready for that book until high school.

However, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech has some characters who are part American Indian (that's the designation the characters choose to call themselves) and there are several other historical events alluded to within the narrative. It's a bit confusing at first (there are literally four timelines in the book, and they are mostly simultaneously unraveled), but is a great book for middle schoolers, especially ones who are starting to understand that part of life is trying to put yourself into someone else's place.

There's also Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume.

There are other books on this list, but I can't personally recommend any more of them.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:34 PM on December 2, 2016

If you need a visual, you can check out these maps: Native America

They're pricey and meant for schools etc, but if you don't want to buy you can click on them and really zoom in. It fascinated my son to see so many names and to check out the remaining tribes in the area where we live. We then went to the web pages of those local tribes. Lots of info there.
posted by It'sANewDawn at 8:51 PM on December 2, 2016

1491 has a young adult edition, to lay some groundwork and talk about pre-Columbian civilizations. It also discusses the impacts of Europeans' arrival (Cortez's campaign, disease, etc.). It's really nice YA narrative nonfiction.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:04 AM on December 3, 2016

Mod note: One deleted. Please do not drop in to give advice about an imagined situation that has nothing to do with the question asked. In Ask Metafilter, please stick to the questions people are asking rather than the (entirely different) question you would like to answer.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:09 AM on December 3, 2016