To counteract the imbalance in information about Indigenous people, teachers can respectfully share resources that highlight important and deeply rooted knowledge.

Lakota Elder and educator Dorothy LeBeau said, “When we approach teaching with one worldview… we create systems of failure.” Educators seeking to create more equitable and inclusive classrooms where all learners feel represented would agree with this. Absent diverse perspectives, classrooms can become places that breed misinformation. Sadly, this is often the case when it comes to the lives and cultures of Indigenous people.    

A 2018 survey conducted by the Great Falls Tribune revealed that 40 percent of respondents were convinced that Native Americans were in fact extinct. This is a shocking revelation that shows just how underrepresented Indigenous people are, not just in school curricula, but in mainstream society as a whole. In 2020, CNN referred to the Native American voting demographic as “something else,” further contributing to Native American underrepresentation and erasure.  

Go outside! TEK was developed from people being outside nearly all the time and collaborating with the natural world. 

Misconceptions like this are essential for teachers to correct, and they don’t require adding one more thing on your already full calendar. In fact, including Native American perspectives in an informed way alongside what you already teach will improve the quality of your social studies and science lessons. There is a growing body of resources and authorship by Native Americans to aid in sharing these perspectives with integrity and respect. 

INCLUDE NATIVE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIAL STUDIES 

Native Americans and their history are more represented than ever in social studies curricula, but their history or culture often plays a supporting role to that of Europeans and focuses only on “the bones and bloody bits.” They are presented either in archaeological terms (crossing the Bering land bridge, the abandoned cliff dwellings, etc.) or in contexts that highlight conflict and conquest. This is something that schools and public educational institutions are correcting, and in doing so, improving how history is taught.

Here are some additional examples of TEK: 

• Prescribed/cultural burning
• Original Indigenous agricultural practices
• Plant medicine and traditional harvesting practices
• Traditional fishing and hunting practices