Students will be able to analyze the complexities of the Geneva Accords of 1954 and the North-South migration in Vietnam by examining primary sources, engaging in group discussions, and analyzing a song.
In this engaging and culturally enriching lesson, young students are introduced to the Indigenous tribes of Northwestern California—the Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, Wiyot, and Tolowa. Through a short video featuring Maggie Peters (Yurok/Karuk), students gain insight into the cultural significance of necklace-making in these tribal communities.
This lesson examines how cultural revitalization serves as a tool for healing intergenerational trauma and reclaiming identity in Native California. Through exploring key concepts like cultural revitalization, Land Back, and environmental stewardship, students analyze real-world examples of resilience and cultural resurgence led by Indigenous communities. Activities include group discussions, the Land Back Spider Graph analysis, and a Webquest featuring case studies of Native leaders. The lesson emphasizes the importance of connecting cultural practices with wellness, combating stereotypes, and fostering a deeper understanding of Indigenous persistence and sovereignty. The teacher must understand that despite our tragic history, Native communities continue to find hope, look to the future, and lead the way in repairing our relationships to local ecosystems. The teacher must be prepared to actively engage in conversations about resistance and resilience throughout this lesson. Essential Questions: How does cultural revitalization help Native communities heal from intergenerational trauma and reclaim their identities? What role do the Land Back movement and environmental stewardship play in restoring Indigenous sovereignty and fostering resilience? Students will engage with: One Turn and Talk discussion. Small group and class discussions. A spider graph to analyze a Land Back Case Study. Writing thoughtful responses to the Webquest guiding questions.
This lesson explores the overlooked contributions of Native American veterans during World War II through first-person narratives. Students engage in activities that build historical understanding, such as discussing quotes, analyzing facts, and participating in a jigsaw reading activity. The lesson emphasizes the duality of Native American identity and service while addressing themes of resilience, motivation, and historical erasure. In order to build upon historical background knowledge, educators should first complete the lesson “US Assimilationist Policy and California’s Indigenous Peoples” with their class prior to this lesson. Essential questions: How did Native American veterans balance their cultural identity with their service to the United States during World War II? Why did Native Americans choose to serve in the U.S. military despite the injustices they faced? How can learning about these veterans’ stories challenge historical erasure and deepen our understanding of Native American contributions to history? The teacher must understand that despite our tragic history, Native communities continue to find hope, look to the future, and lead the way in repairing our relationships to local ecosystems. The teacher must be prepared to actively engage in conversations about resistance and resilience throughout this lesson.
This lesson explores the history of forced assimilation of Native Americans, with a focus on Indian Boarding Schools as a key instrument of this policy. Students will gain an understanding of how these schools were used to suppress Native cultures and identities. This foundational lesson sets the stage for the next two lessons, which will explore Native American experiences in the US military and the themes of trauma and healing within Native communities.The teacher must understand that despite our tragic history, Native communities continue to find hope, look to the future, and lead the way in repairing our relationships to local ecosystems. The teacher must be prepared to actively engage in conversations about resistance and resilience throughout this lesson. Essential Questions: How did the US government abuse its power to acquire Indigenous lands during colonization? What were some of the policies of “forced assimilation” in the US? What were Indian Boarding schools and why were they created? What was it like to attend an Indian boarding school in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Activities: Guided notes paired with the video resource. Think-Pair-Share discussions. Whole group discussion. Answering reading comprehension questions. KWL chart Writing a reflection paragraph in response to given prompts or a topic of their choosing. (Extension option: essay).
Students will be able to describe major details of the most common routes for the first wave of Vietnamese refugees by creating an interactive map.
Students will be able to describe how immigration law and immigration terminology has impacted the Vietnamese refugee community by creating a reflection.
Students will get an overview of the refugee policies that impacted refugees rights and status. Students will generate an inquiry to discuss the issues around the US Refugee Resettlement Programs and its impact on migration and settlement patterns to the United States and other parts of the world.
Students will be able to analyze differences between the major religions in Vietnam, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Caodaism, Hòa Hảo Buddhism, and Chăm Islam, by conducting research and creating a poster.
Students will be able to reflect on and summarize the experiences of the boat journey for the second wave of Vietnamese refugees by participating in a graffiti activity and producing an exit ticket.
Students will identify ways in which traditional media and textbooks may have skewed or rendered invisible the voices of Vietnamese refugees by critically analyzing sources from US media and educational textbooks, and construct an excerpt to add to the US history textbook.
The unit titled Pa’asik’tavaansas Kuniktáamvunatih ("The Women are Carrying Fire") exposes high school students to the Karuk Tribe's cultural and ecological practices, emphasizing the integral role of fire in their traditions and environmental stewardship. Students will learn that Karuk people have utilized controlled, low-intensity burns for millennia to manage landscapes, enhance biodiversity, and maintain cultural practices. These methods, deeply embedded in the Karuk language and worldview, were disrupted by over a century of federal fire suppression policies. The Karuk Women's Fire Training and Exchange (KWTREX) program is a contemporary initiative aimed at revitalizing these traditions, empowering Indigenous women and Two-Spirit individuals to lead cultural burns and reclaim their ancestral fire practices. In these lessons, students will experience the dedication and responsibility to tenure land for cultural preservation of traditions like food sovereignty and the arts like basketry. Through a film produced by the KWTREX program, students will hear firsthand accounts from Indigenous women and Two-Spirit participants, sharing their experiences of healing and empowerment through cultural fire practices. The lesson will also introduce the concept of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and its transmission through language, highlighting how the Karuk language encodes ecological wisdom related to fire management. Students will examine the differences between cultural fire and prescribed burning. By engaging with resources such as the Karuk Tribe's cultural fire storymap, students will research and reflect on the significance of cultural fire practices in adapting to climate change and restoring ecological balance. The overarching goal of this lesson is to foster an appreciation for Indigenous knowledge systems and their relevance in contemporary environmental challenges. Students will gain insight into the Karuk Tribe's efforts to revitalize cultural fire practices and the importance of language in preserving and transmitting ecological knowledge. Through these language integrated lessons, students will recognize the resilience and agency of Indigenous communities and their leadership in providing the necessary training for Karuk women in spaces traditionally occupied by men.
This lesson introduces students to environmental protection and social issues related to the removal of dams. The lesson supports student reading skills as they pertain to understanding and identifying a theme and writing skills related to forming and communicating an opinion based on evidence. Essential questions: How can we uncover and explore themes from a story? How do people impact the environment? The teacher must: Understand that watersheds can be impacted by people, which can lead to positive or negative change for the plants, animals and people who rely on resources in the environment to survive. Be prepared to actively engage students to respect the natural environment and indigenous people who are culturally connected to natural resources. Actively engage students to respectfully state their opinions and discuss topics through academic argument based on strong research.
After students learn about the Cambodian Genocide and how it was carried out, students will now learn about the strength and perseverance of the Cambodian people’s fight against continued displacement. Students will explore Cambodian displacement in Boeung Kak Lake, its connection to human rights violations, and the agency and resistance of the Cambodian people to fight displacement.
Students will consider and analyze the aftermath of the Cambodian displacement and immigration experience. Students will analyze photographs as well as poetry on the experiences of Cambodian refugees with focus on initial challenges as well as long term effects.
Describe the impact of French colonialism on Vietnamese literature and music by comparing and contrasting two well known poets and their work.
In this lesson, students will explore a Pomo story to understand the importance of oral tradition in teaching lessons about community, respect, and connection to the environment. Through reading and analysis, students will gain insight into Native perspectives on interdependence and stewardship of ecosystems.
