For 500 years, dream catchers have been cultural symbols of intrigue worldwide. The most common folkloric design is a 12-point dream catcher. According to Native American legend, the first dream catcher was woven by a "spider woman" to catch the bad dreams of a chief's sick child. Once the bad dreams were caught, the chief's child was…

The Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings and Standards (OSEUS), a vision of many individuals, tribes, and organizations for several decades, were realized through legislation in 2007. In 2021, the South Dakota Department of Education, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, Office of Indian Education, and Region 11 Comprehensive Center…

As Indigenous scholars committed to Indigenous education in Oklahoma, we use a decolonizing approach to consider how the 39 Indigenous Nations in Oklahoma assert educational sovereignty to sustain Indigenous high school students' linguistic and cultural identities. Seeking to promote education models that sustain and revitalize Indigenous…

This five-part playbook was created to provide practical, proven methods to improve the reading outcomes of all learners in Alaska. It defines and provides clear, step-by-step evidence-based strategies for five elements of reading instruction: (1) phonological awareness; (2) phonics; (3) fluency; (4) vocabulary; and (5) comprehension. When…

Under the headline "A Wonderful Invention," "The Cincinnati Daily Star" reported on the front page of its evening edition on Tuesday, November 6, 1877, news of Thomas Edison's phonograph--a device that could both record and play back sound. Although Edison himself would offer a list of 10 possible uses for the invention,…

This article presents a lesson in which least common multiples helps students not only develop a perspective on an ancient culture but also draw on the cultural background of classmates. The Maya calendar received a lot of attention in the years leading up to December 21, 2012, because of the mythological end of "creation." Co-author…

Cultures need to accurately record dates and times for various societal purposes, ranging from knowing when to plant crops to planning travel. In ancient times, the sun and moon were used as measurement devices because of the scientific understanding of the physical world at that time. Ancient timekeepers monitored celestial events and either used…

Education has until recently promoted social mobility, broad economic growth, and democracy. However, modern universities direct policy and resources toward criteria that exacerbate income inequality and reduce social mobility. Online education can make education more socially, geographically, temporally, and financially accessible, impacting the…

The authors encourage teachers to make use of existing, standard social studies curriculum to uncover and to make visible the normative assumptions that underlie American cultural beliefs about gender and sexuality. The article provides an overview of how some cultures within the various Native American nations conceptualize gender and sexuality…

As a reflection on pedagogy, this essay seeks to provide strategic tools for teaching Native American literature and culture to non-native students. My teaching philosophy is informed by the indigenous-centered, decolonial methodologies as defined by Devon Mihesuah who calls for "indigenizing" the academy by challenging the status quo…

The sound of the Native American flute seems to convey care, sadness, loneliness, longing, heartfelt emotion, a sense of the natural world, wisdom, the human spirit, and a sense of culture. It is a sound that competes for attention, dramatically punctuating messages about First Nation peoples on television and in movies. A relatively small group…

This article discusses rock art which was the very first "art." Rock art, such as the images created on the stone surfaces of the caves of Lascaux and Altimira, is the true origin of the canvas, paintbrush, and painting media. For there, within caverns deep in the earth, the first artists mixed animal fat, urine, and saliva with powdered minerals…

The author states that she finds it challenging to create new and innovative lessons for her college-level design students. Most of her students are first-year art students, and some never took art in high school. Here, she describes a lesson as one solution she developed that made the students look at themselves, and integrate their personalities…

This article describes the Native American History in a Box curriculum which is designed to introduce elementary and middle-level students to Native American cultures. The curriculum consists of a five day unit addressing the following concepts pertaining to Native American Nations: settlements, tools, sustenance, pottery, and contact with…

Teaching about diversity and respect for others is a challenging task for today's educators--especially at the middle school level. This article describes successful attempts to do so at the sixth-grade level. These real-life experiences enhanced classroom learning and reached out to the community. The author hopes that other educators will…