Overview
Understanding the Complexities of Native Identity
Author:
Hilary Manion (Modoc/Klamath/Chippewa), Educator
Maggie Peters (Yurok/Karuk), NASMC Learning Specialists Humboldt County Office of Education
Collaborators:
Deanna McClung (Modoc/Klamath/Chippewa)
Tiana Williams-Claussen (Yurok), Wildlife Department Manager
Sequoia Elder (Cherokee/Choctaw), Poet/Artist
Video support provided by Joanna Galicha, Graphics & Communications Specialist at Humboldt County Office of Education
Grade(s): 6-8
Suggested Amount of Time: 1-2 55 minute sessions
Curriculum Themes
- History
- Cultural Strengths
- Law/Government
- Relationship to Place
- Cross Curricular Integration
Learning Goals
Understand how colonization and assimilation policies disrupted Native cultural practices and identity.
Recognize that Native identity exists on a spectrum—from deeply traditional to highly assimilated—and that all forms are valid.
Identify the role of blood quantum laws and why they are considered colonial and exclusionary.
Analyze a poem about Native identity to interpret personal and collective meaning.
Reflect on your own identity through the creation of a personal identity map.
Challenge stereotypes by exploring how Native people express their culture in diverse and personal ways.
Build empathy and a deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives through critical discussion and creative expression.
Lesson Overview
This lesson invites middle school students, who developmentally are focused on self discovery and identity, to reflect on stereotypes and simplistic ideas about who Native people are. Using powerful video content from Redbud Resource Group, the lesson helps students explore how Native identity is shaped by history, culture, family, and government policy. Students will examine how colonization, forced assimilation, and the invention of systems like blood quantum have made it harder for some Native people to access their traditions or even be recognized by their own communities. Guided by thoughtfully designed slides, students hear from tribal enrolled and not enrolled Native people testify to their personal identities, engage in youth poetry analysis, and reflect on personal identity mapping activity. Students develop empathy and critical thinking as they reflect on questions like: Who gets to define identity? What happens when your culture has been erased or outlawed? And how do we challenge the harmful belief that identity can be measured by appearance or percentages? Designed to be engaging and accessible, this lesson empowers students to think deeply about identity—both their own and others’—and provides an inclusive, accurate way to teach about contemporary Native experiences.
Teacher Background
Teaching about Native identity is a powerful opportunity and a profound responsibility. Educators have the powerful opportunity to model how to engage in complex and emotional conversations with compassion, humility, and care. Educators have the profound responsibility to connect students to the voices and perspectives of the First peoples of California and how the colonization of the state continues to negatively impact Native peoples.
Native American identity is shaped by a wide range of historical and contemporary factors, such as forced displacement, family separation, boarding schools, blood quantum requirements and tribal enrollment policies based on historical colonial polices. These forces have left many Native individuals feeling like they must constantly prove their identity, or that they “aren’t really” Native due to disconnection from their community, family, or traditions. Others may carry deep cultural knowledge and still feel inadequate in the face of their own internalized oppression.
In California, where an especially wide diversity of tribes is represented and many Native people have Tribal affiliations outside the state, these issues can be even more layered. This lesson helps students explore the many influences that shape Native identity today including resilience, cultural pride, and the powerful ties that endure despite colonization. Drawing on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies, the lesson invites students to reflect on their own identities, building empathy and respect for others whose experiences may be different. Discussing identity through an SEL lens fosters self-awareness, promotes understanding of diverse perspectives, and helps students develop the tools to form healthy relationships and navigate difficult conversations with thoughtfulness and care.
Approaching this lesson with sensitivity, acknowledging the emotional weight it may carry for some students, especially those with Native heritage or other historically oppressed communities is critical. Avoid asking students to speak on behalf of any group and instead encourage active listening, respectful curiosity, and space for reflection. Reinforce the idea that identity is personal, evolving, and never for someone else to define as frequently as possible.
Here are some additional resources to consider for continued learning:
Interactive Slides
About the Interactive Slides
A key component of this curriculum includes interactive slides and a lesson script/facilitation support. These materials are designed to support ease of implementation and help guide lesson delivery.
The interactive slides are animated to gradually reveal content and may include links to videos and audio playback buttons for Tribal language integration, songs, or slide facilitation.
In addition to the downloadable lesson and student handouts, this lesson comprised of 1-2 55 minute sessions, includes interactive slides and lesson script/ facilitation support.
Slides: Understanding the Complexities of Native Identity
Lesson Script/ Facilitation Support
*To ensure full accessibility, we recommend making a copy of the instructional material(s).
Instructions:
To use the slides effectively:
- Project the slides in "Slideshow Mode" to activate animations. Written content will appear with each click.
- Set speaker volume before beginning the lesson to ensure all students can hear audio content.
- Play audio by clicking the audio playback icons one at a time. There may be a brief pause while the audio loads.
- Hovering over an audio playback icon will reveal a playback bar that allows you to play, pause, adjust speed, or fast-forward the audio.
- Note: You do not need to use the playback bar unless you wish to adjust playback. Simply clicking the icon will play the audio.