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Saturday, November 4, 2023

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST / 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST

Online via Zoom

Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change for a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a short keynote presentation by Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. The teach-in will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration cost is $15.

Teachers select two 50-minute workshop sessions that include relevant and resource-rich training experiences to support effective use of American Indian-focused classroom lessons, and resources from Teaching for Change and NMAI. Teaching for Change and NMAI museum educators will share key concepts from NMAI’s Essential Understandings Framework, children’s literature from Social Justice Books, and classroom materials from NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° education initiative.

We are pleased to welcome Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland as the keynote speaker at the 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Teach-In. Mr. Newland’s presentation will highlight the connection between boarding school research conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the efforts to support language and cultural revitalization in Indian Country today. He will also explore the concept of Indigenous peoples’ education sovereignty. What does education sovereignty look like in a modern context and how can teachers become allies with students in the classroom by imparting lessons, inspiration, and empowerment?

There will be two 50-minute rounds of workshops. Educators will choose from the following sessions.

• The People vs. Columbus, et al. Facilitated by Michael Palermo, high school teacher. Recommended for middle to high school teachers.  

• Pipeline Protests: Putting Climate Civil Disobedience Into the Curriculum. Facilitated by Suzanna Kassouf, high school teacher and Rethinking Schools contributor. Recommended for middle to high school teachers.

• Rethinking Thanksgiving: A New Thanksgiving Story for a 21st Century America. Facilitated by NMAI staff. Recommended for elementary to high school teachers. 

• Teaching Indigenous Central America. Facilitated by Jonathan Peraza Campos, middle school teacher and Teach Central America program specialist. Recommended for middle to high school teachers.

• Teaching Treaties: Fort Wayne and the Coming of the War of 1812. Facilitated by Tiferet Ani, high school teacher and curriculum writer. Recommended for middle to high school teachers.

• Teaching the Troubled Legacy of Indigenous Boarding Schools. Facilitated by Debbie Reese, educator and founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature, enrolled Nambé Owingeh. Recommended for elementary to high school teachers.

• The Trouble with History. Facilitated by NMAI staff. Recommended for elementary to high school teachers. 

These classes from the Zinn Education Project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) offer the chance to learn directly from leading historians and to meet peers from across the country. In each session, a teacher interviews the historian and breakout rooms allow participants in small groups to meet each other, discuss the content, and share teaching ideas. Below are upcoming sessions and more are in the works. Each class is held at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET for 90 minutes.

• Monday, November 13, 2023: The Fight for Black History in Schools
• Monday, January 8, 2024: The Condemnation of Blackness: Lies We’re Told About Crime
• Monday, February 5, 2024: Everyday Solidarity: Interracial Organizing Stories from The Sum of Us
• Monday, March 4, 2024: The History of Black Music — A Love Supreme

Teaching for Change

Social Justice Books

Zinn Education Project

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice