I’ve been assigned to work with Dr. Deborah Michaels on the Native History Project at Grinnell College through the Vivero Digital Humanities Fellowship as a continuation of prior work as a research assistant on the Native History Project in the Summer of 2024.
Native American History is American History: while this idea may seem obvious, it calls for a radical shift away from the Eurocentric stories that dominate history classes in public schools. What and why we teach American History in K-12 schools has long been a lightning rod for U.S. culture wars. Yet even social studies teachers who want to include Native American History in their curriculum often did not learn much about Native American History in their own K-12 schooling and teacher education programs and, therefore, lack the necessary content knowledge. The Native History Project addresses this dilemma. Since 2011, Professor Deborah Michaels has partnered with Indigenous educators from the Meskwaki Nation, especially Leah Slick-Driscoll, and Grinnell College students to create lesson plans that empower K-12 educators to effectively teach key aspects of Native American History. The project’s curriculum includes detailed lesson plans and supporting materials such as presentation slides, handouts, and teacher guides in formats that will be familiar to most K-12 teachers.