Looking for some resources for your classroom? Check out some of our suggestions below.
Resources Provided by MotCP
A Brief Overview of Cherokee History
Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialist Program
School Tours of MotCP & School Visits – please contact [email protected]
Coming Soon: Lessons Around the Fire, an online resource for educators
Additional Educational Resources That We Trust
The Native Knowledge 360° Education Initiative is an online platform provided by the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). This resource provides many tools for learning and teaching about Native American history. NMAI offers workshops, teacher programs, and many educational resources. We do note that many of these resources do not apply to EBCI history or culture, directly.
As Long As the Grass Shall Grow is a resource provided by Buncombe County. This StoryMap explains part of the history of Cherokee land cessions and the formation of Buncombe County. It provides multiple maps and other primary sources from the North Carolina State Archives for classroom consideration.
Osiyo TV is a video resource produced by the Cherokee Nation. Their videos highlight different Cherokee artists, teach about the Cherokee language, and teach about Cherokee history. Osiyo TV describes itself as an “edutainment show [which] features the people, places, history, language and culture of the Cherokee Nation.” Although not centered around the EBCI, this is a video resource for learning about Cherokee culture and history.
Kathi Littlejohn (EBCI) is a Cherokee storyteller and EBCI historian. There are many places to find recordings by Kathi Littlejohn (including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube) where she shares important Cherokee stories and places. A lot of her work includes history about Western North Carolina and the lasting impact and contributions of Cherokee people in these places.
Igali ᎢᎦᎵ We’re all Friends is a YouTube channel that provides family-friendly puppet videos that teach about the Cherokee language. These videos are a great way to introduce the Cherokee language to young children with English subtitles to strengthen language and reading skills. These videos are filmed in Western North Carolina, which is a bonus!
Resources for Teaching About Thanksgiving
This instructional resource from the National Museum of the American Indian is designed for grades 3 through 5 in relation to ELA, History, and Social Studies classes.
Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving
This handout produced by the National Museum of the American Indian provides Indigenous perspectives on Thanksgiving for grades Pre-K through 12 to tell a more complete narrative about Thanksgiving.
This short video was produced by the National Museum of the American Indian based off one of their previous exhibits, “Americans.” This video depicts how Native American images, names, and stories reveal the deep connection between Americans and Native Americans.
This is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman
This book describes a more accurate history of the infamous “First Thanksgiving” and helps us to rethink the meaning of Thanksgiving. We recommend this as reading for educators or anyone who works with Indigenous children. It might make you reconsider the importance of this “holiday.”
Indigenous Peoples' Day Resources
Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates and honors Native Americans and commemorates our histories and cultures on the second Monday in October. These resources can help educators teach to the importance of this holiday and support their Indigenous students.
This online platform offers a wide range of resources to help educators teach the real history of Christopher Columbus, colonization, and their impact on Indigenous peoples. It includes lesson plans, readings, films, and more to support classroom learning.
How to Celebrate and Honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day
This article by Paul Flores IV, an elementary school teacher with Apache tribal heritage, guides educators about how to teach about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and provides several learning activities.
All the Real Indians Died Off and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes)
We suggest this book for educators who wish to teach about or better understand Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Scholars and activists Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker tackle 21 myths about Native American history and culture that have misinformed generations. The authors disrupt long held and enduring myths about Christopher Columbus and other colonized stories.
For Educators Looking to Learn More
Here is a list of some books that we recommend for educators who want to learn more about teaching about Native American history and culture. These are just a few suggestions. You can find our full recommended book list on our Reading Suggestions page, linked below.
The Cherokee Perspective by Laurence French (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and Jim Hornbuckle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History by Ned Blackhawk (Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone)
Long Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee by Lloyd Arneach (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab by Steve Inskeep
Bringing Native American pop culture into the classroom is a great way to make lessons more engaging and meaningful. Showcasing Indigenous artists and art forms enriches student learning and supports Native communities. It showcases how Indigenous peoples and cultures are alive and thriving today.
Acclaimed Indigenous TV Shows
Dark Winds (2023- )
Follows Leaphorn and Chee, two Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest that are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.
Reservation Dogs (2021-2023)
Follows the exploits of 4 Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma who steal, rob, and save money to be able to get to the exotic and faraway land of California.
Echo (2023-2024)
Maya Lopez’s ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown; she must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community.
Little Bird (2023)
In 1968, five-year-old Bezhig Little Bird was forcibly removed from Long Pine Reserve, adopted into a Jewish family in Montreal, and renamed Esther Rosenblum. Eighteen years later, she embarks on a journey to unravel her history in this mini-series. Watch for free on PBS.
Native America (2018- )
Explore the world created by America’s First Peoples. Reach back 15,000 years to reveal massive cities aligned to the stars, unique systems of science and spirituality, and 100 million people connected by social networks spanning two continents. You can watch this series on PBS.
North of North (2025- )
A young Inuk woman in a tiny Arctic village strives to forge her own path, defying societal expectations and gossip in her tightknit community.
Some of Our Favorite Indigenous Musical Artists
We appreciate these Indigenous artists, but we also caution educators to listen to all materials themselves before sharing it with their classrooms. Some of these recommendations will not be appropriate for all age levels. Some of these artists might not be appropriate for classroom listening.
Indigenous Podcasts
We appreciate these Indigenous artists, reporters, and producers, but we also caution educators to listen to all materials themselves before sharing it with their classrooms.
- This Land, hosted by Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation)
- All My Relations, hosted by Matika Wilbur (Tulalip and Swinomish) and Adrienne Kenne (Cherokee Nation)
- Native America Calling, hosted by Shawn Spruce (Laguna Pueblo)
- We Are Resilient: A MMIW True Crime Podcast, hosted by Osh (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and Sheyahshe (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
- Kuper Island, hosted by Duncan McCue (Anishinaabe, member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation)
- Indigenous Earth Community Podcast
We appreciate movies, but we also caution educators to view all materials themselves before sharing it with their classrooms. Some of these recommendations will not be appropriate for all age levels. Some of these movies might not be appropriate for classroom viewing, but you can watch them and support these Indigenous artists, actors, and producers.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Based on David Grann’s broadly lauded best-selling book, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.
Indian Horse (2017)
A Canadian First Nations boy survives in a residential school in the 1970s. This movie is a drama film adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by author Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe).
Fancy Dance (2023)
Since her sister’s disappearance, Jax has cared for her niece, Roki, by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow.
Rez Ball (2024)
The Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico, must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive.
Contact Us
Reach out to us about curriculum or education-related questions at [email protected].
You can download all these resources and more in our Educators Resource Packet, available in Power Point and PDF.
