Indigenous People — News — D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

Teach Central America Carnival of Learning

We were invited back to the strong-knit community at Bruce-Monroe at Parkview for their annual teach-in-style celebration of Central American history and culture.

Guilty or Innocent? Hardy Middle School Students Put Columbus on Trial

If you had to put Christopher Columbus on trial for murder, would he be considered guilty? Students in Caneisha Mills’ 8th-grade U.S. History class at Hardy Middle School in Washington, D.C. grappled with this question when they were assigned the task of deciding who would be considered guilty for the deaths of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the 1490s. Read more >>

Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerOctober 11, 2019Cierra Kaler-Jones, SY19, ZEP Lesson, Indigenous People, Middle School

A Day of Transformation and Growth: Indigenous Peoples' Day Curriculum Teach-In 2019

For attendees at the 2019 Indigenous People’s Curriculum Day and Teach-in, it was a day centered in learning and development to be able to better teach students about Indigenous People’s history and life today. Read more >>

Indigenous Peoples' Curriculum Day and Teach-In

Every seat was full for the Indigenous People's Curriculum Day and Teach-In on September 8, 2018 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Read more >>

People's HistoryAllison AcostaSeptember 11, 2018SY18, Indigenous People, Professional Development, DC, Smithsonian, MD, VA, ZEP Lesson, NMAI

Tip of the Spear: Maroon Communities in South America

Producers, Dr. Kmt Shockley and Kofi LeNiles, provided an engaging and interactive African centered history workshop for ninth grade students at Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. At the core of their workshop was the history and culture of a maroon community called Palenque, San Basilio (Palenque). Palenque is located in Colombia, South America and is the focus of their upcoming documentary entitled "For Humanity: Culture, Community and Maroonage."

Indigenous Peoples' Day Curriculum Night

More than thirty teachers gathered on October 2, 2017 for an Indigenous People’s Curriculum Night at Busboys and Poets. Hosted by D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, the event began with a “people bingo” activity that provided educators from various schools and organizations an opportunity to meet and get to know one another. Through a combination of brief presentations and structured discussions, educators shared curriculum ideas and strategies for teaching about Columbus and Indigenous People’s history and life today. Read more >>

People's HistoryMykella PalmerOctober 3, 2017SY17, Indigenous People, Professional Development

Stories from a D.C. History Classroom

For two months in the spring of 2016, Teaching for Change staff member Julian Hipkins III taught a class in D.C. history at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. The strategies and resources he used for teaching from a bottom-up perspective, described below, could be of use for other teachers of D.C. history. In addition to drawing on archives, key people, and historic sites, his core text was City of Magnificent Intentions by Keith Melder. Read more >>