More IEFA Links

 A few weeks ago, I posted an "IEFA roundup" and of course, I immediately came upon more links to share.

But first, don't forget that tomorrow we're hosting a sharing session from 4:00-5:00 p.m: "Montana's First Peoples: Essential Understandings." (1 OPI Renewal Unit will be available.) Register here.

And now onto the resources!

I discovered the first ones from MSU-B's Storytelling Series. The first week, Billings school librarians Kathi Hoyt and Ruth Ferris shared classroom resources before turning the stage (or rather zoom call) over to Phillip Whiteman Jr (N. Cheyenne). One of the links they shared was to the Native Memory Project, which collects "stories, histories, and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples, early settlers, ranchers, and others with strong historical ties to the cultural landscape of the American West, especially those that pass on knowledge which is in danger of being lost or forgotten." The Wyoming-based project features short videos, including ones by Crow elder Grant Bulltail, who we recently lost to COVID. My favorite feature is its "Memory Map," which connects the stories to particular places.  

The second week of MSU-B's Native Storytelling Series featured former Montana poet laureate Henry Real Bird (Crow), and Ruth and Kathi focused on poetry resources including, of course, OPI's Birthright: Born to Poetry - A Collection of Montana Indian Poetry and the video series featuring poets reading their poems as well as a map created by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Muscogee) of Native poets. 

Speaking of OPI's Indian Education Division, they have a surprising number of videos, which are great ways for you to bring Native speakers into your classroom. Check out, for example, the eleven-minute video, Gathering Prairie Turnips with Roger White, or the two-minute "What is Indian Sovereignty?" with Ray Cross (a really good, concise definition for upper grades of a complicated term). 

I also recently learned about a new self-paced course from Gilder Lehrman, "American Indian History: Recasting the Narrative | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History."  Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), professor of history and American studies at Yale, leads the course, for which you can receive a certificate of completion for 15 hours. The course costs $29.99 for affiliates ($39.99 for everyone else)--I could be wrong, but I believe that any teacher can sign their school up to become an affiliate at no cost.  

Finally, the American Indian Library Association has created a reading initiative called Read Native 21--a game, per Kirkus Review, "that asks readers to seek out books and other resources in a variety of categories. The kids' challenge is laid out like a bingo game, with a grid of 2 squares promising a great deal of variety for readers." It's worth reading the Kirkus article for book suggestions that meet the challenge. I printed my challenge sheet. Will you join me?