Adding Indigenous Voices To Your Homeschool All Year Long

When my daughter was in preschool, we began intentionally adding Indigenous American stories to our homeschool days. As a former teacher, and former public school graduate, I already knew the gaps she could potentially face in her history education. 

In our homeschool, we include Indigenous voices multiple ways, but I’d like to highlight three points. 

Stories and tales:

I am firm in the belief that starting with beautiful, living books from an early age helps children grow in compassion towards others. It’s a belief I’ve seen proven time and time again as my daughter is able to look at various groups of people with compassion and see the nuance of history a little more clearly. 

Some of our favorite picture books have been: 

Dr. Coyote: A Native American Aesop’s Fables by John Bierhorst 

Thirteen Moons of Turtles' Back by Joseph Bruchac 

Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Fry Bread: A Native American Story by Kevin Noble Mailliard 

We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp

My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith

We All Play by Julie Flett 

We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom 

In My Anaana’s Amautik by Nadia Sammurtok

Baby Rattlesnake by Te Ata and Lynn Moroney.

We try to mix contemporary titles with folktales, creation stories, and legends. It is important to read some of the beautiful stories as well as dispel the idea that indigenous people only existed long ago. By including contemporary titles, we can learn more about the joy culture of Indigenous people today. 

As my daughter has gotten older, she continues to hear beautiful picture books featuring Indigenous people that we’re reading to her brother while also moving into chapter books. Some of our favorites have been: 

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare 

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell 

Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac 

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich 

how I became a ghost by Tim Tingle 

Historical books:

A Second way we make sure we’re being mindful and inclusive of Indigenous voices is through the history we teach. Along with picture and chapter books, we include historical text that matches the period we’re learning about. When we’re able, we make sure to visit museums that center Indigenous history, especially in our area. Several books we’ve used in our home have been: 

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann

Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn

Encounter by Jane Yolen 

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris 

Journeys with Florida’s Indians by Kelley G. Weitzel 

Squanto’s Journey by Joseph Bruchac 

Sacajawea by Joseph Bruchac

Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief and Rosemary Wells

Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer

Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting

Geography:

While learning about various aspects of colonial history and geography, we’ve added in maps of the Indigenous ancestral lands. It could be easy to look at a map, see “Spanish territory” written and believe that land did not have an origin or connection with the Indigenous people. We make a point to know who was there first. 

Unfortunately, this requires a lot of digging and preplanning before reading: The Library of Congress has been a helpful resource for me. 

https://www.loc.gov/item/2002622260/

We also make sure we know the lands that we are visiting as well as the historical importance of those lands.

For Myself: 

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am passionate about redeeming my own education. I help share this passion in my Mother’s Education program. In doing that, I make a point to read widely from a variety of view points. Several books I’ve read have been: 

An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko 

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynn 

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dan Brown 

Ouray: Chief of the Utes by P. Davis Smith 

In our home, adding Indigenous history, stories, and voices is an essential part of our homeschool. It's an area that takes intentional effort, but I’m grateful for the resources available to steward this part of our home education.