One issue that seems to continually crop up in the news today is racism. Let’s face it. Racism has been alive and well since the very beginning of time. Although we may believe that our children hold no racist views, this may not always be the case. In reality, we all shy away from anything (or anyone) that we view is different from ourselves. So how do we bring the issue to the forefront? How do we begin the conversation with our children?
This article is the first in a series of articles designed to provide you with a variety of resources to help you tackle the hard issue of racism with your older children. These resources will include a variety of detailed lesson plans as well as a multitude of educational links. Hopefully, they will be a valuable addition to your lesson plans.
Racism: Educational Resources (Part 1 – I Am Indopino)
This downloadable lesson plan uses the original story “I Am Indopino” by Gene Tagaban. He is a noted storyteller and story artist whose heritage is Tlingit, Cherokee, and Filipino. The story brings together Tagaban’s personal story and the history of discrimination against American Indians in Alaska.
Tagaban weaves together historical and personal stories to explore larger themes and questions. He also explores the complexity of personal identity in light of his own multi-ethnic background while extending the question “Who am I?” to all of us.
He also illuminates the stereotypes that still surround indigenous people, in particular American Indians.
Tagaban also demonstrates how our histories (whether historical events, folk tales, or heroes) help shape who we are and how we understand ourselves.
This unit contains:
- Downloadable printable lesson plan (Download the I Am Indopino lesson plan)
- Teacher guide
- Student activities
- Printed text of story
- Other Resources
Audio stories to accompany the unit:
- Excerpt #1 -- Track One -- 10:36 minutes
- Excerpt #2 -- Track Two -- 8:55 minutes
- Excerpt #3 -- Track Three -- 9:31 minutes
Need help to download the MP3 Story Excerpts? Click here for directions.
After your study, take a field trip to a museum with a Native American exhibit. In Denver, one great exhibit can be found at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. There you'll be able to visit the North American Indian Cultures exhibit hall, explore authentic reconstructed dwellings, including an Eskimo snow house, a Northwest Coast clan house, a Navajo hogan, and a Cheyenne tipi. Along the way, you can examine beautifully crafted weavings, basketry, beadwork, and pottery, listen to stories and watch related videos.
Additional articles in this series:
- Racism: Educational Resources (Part 2 – Dreaming of Cuba: Stories that Bind)
- Racism: Educational Resources (Part 3 – Feathers in the Wind: A Jewish-American's Story)
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