Educational No-Nos
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Educational No-Nos |
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Holding pow-wows, or any other pretend event
based on stereotypes, without any Native people there to moderate the (mis)use
of their culture, is nothing short of appropriation and even racism. Some
teachers say, "Its so harmless and so cute!" It is VERY harmful
to Native children who feel their culture is being mocked and undermines
important ceremonies of a thriving culture. Even worse, Native students
who complain to their teachers are often punished for speaking up about
how they feel.
These pictures may seem innocuous enough to those who have no understanding of Native cultures, but imagine schools hosting an event where all the children pretend to be Jewish or African-American. Imagine if you asked your students to make up Jewish or Black names for themselves, for them to dance around, and make funny Black or Jewish noises. If you have a question about whether or not an activity is suitable, ask us. If you need suitable classroom activities, go to STAR's collection of Lesson Plans and Curricula. To find out why it is inappropriate to have children make up Indian names for themselves. Go to Indian 101 on this website. To better understand the issue, visit Teaching Tolerance: Playing Indian |
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The "STAR - Students and Teachers Against
Racism" web site is the |