Since the late 1960s, the fields of indigenous and environmental history have boomed. In the United States these large, nuanced, and often-overlapping historiographies have provided college educators with enormous scope to re-evaluate the past and contextualize contemporary political and social issues related to Native peoples and the environment.…

For many non-native people, Native Americans are one large homogenous group. A fairly simple "group" to understand. Indigenous people are commonly presented and understood through long-enduring imagery via movies, advertising, product naming, and mascots. Through these processes, indigenous peoples are labeled, named, and historically…

In this article, the authors explore the nature of film that is both "about" and now more often made "for/by" indigenous peoples and its potential as a medium for introducing and engaging students in the study of indigenous history and perspectives in secondary classrooms. As a framework for analysis, the authors examine to…

Discussions about school curriculum today are framed by this binary--the intellectual desire to explore various pedagogical approaches and the imperative to teach to the test to achieve quantitative results. For history teachers, the freedom to not teach to the test opens many possibilities: veering away from the textbook to focus on works by many…

This article discusses Chief Joseph's surrender that marked the beginning of his diplomatic stand for justice in Indian Territory, where his tribe was forcibly exiled in accordance with American Indian policy of the time. Joseph battled for the repatriation of the Nez Perce through protests and other legal means, winning the support of the growing…

Students gain a better understanding of war and economics when the variables come alive through stories, artifacts, and paintings. In this article, the author describes a short story about the fur trade which can generate lots of student questions about the fur economics, the Eastern Woodland Indians, trade artifacts, and war. The author also…

From 1900 to 1970, only eight United States historians established courses on Native American history in history departments at the college and university level. This made them rare exceptions in an academic world that placed overwhelming emphasis on mainstream Euro-American history, with extremely limited attention to race and ethnicity. Except…

The word "borderlands" has many meanings in North American historiography, but this short overview focuses on the time and place that American historians have long known as the "Spanish Borderlands." Historian Herbert Eugene Bolton, the much-studied father of what came to be known as the "Bolton School," popularized the term "Spanish Borderlands"…

Describes a number of audio and visual materials which enhance the teaching of Indian ethnohistory and increase students' understanding of American Indian culture. Highlights over 65 movies, filmstrips, slides, picture books, records, tapes, and class audiovisual projects to supplement readings and lectures. Includes teaching approaches to…

Describes relations between the early colonists in Virginia and the Powhatan Indians. Argues that, in any exploration of intercultural relationships, one must recognize the impact and importance of native initiative. Suggests that the ethnohistorical perspective requires sensitivity to the cultural integrity of natives' decisions and the effects…

Presents a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) position paper on Christopher Columbus' influence upon the Americas. Suggests that educators should help students comprehend the contemporary relevance of 1492. Examines such topics as the roles of Africa and Asia in the age of exploration and the realities of the pre-Columbian Americas.…

The active participation of women in the field of American history dates back to the earliest writings on the subject. The rich and long history of women writing, teaching and researching in the field of American History, however, is obscured by narrow disciplinary definitions of what actually counts as history and who is qualified to represent…

Describes the attempts of President Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, to establish a chair for American Indian History at a university. Discusses the responses of universities contacted after World War II. Includes information on the present state of American Indian studies and reasons for the failure of Ickes' efforts.…