Contemporary American Indian History

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 16.01.01

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Content Objectives
  4. Native American Culture, Identity, and Voice in the Works of Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie
  5. The Government Giveth, and the Government Taketh Away:  Sovereignty and United States Supreme Court Cases, Federal Laws, Acts, and Policies
  6. Joe and Junior Come of Age on the Reservation
  7. Teaching Strategies
  8. Classroom Activities
  9. Appendix A:  Implementing Common Core State and College Board Standards
  10. Appendix B:  Academic Discourse Sentence Starters
  11. Endnotes
  12. Bibliography

Dreaming from the Margins, Living in the In-Between: Identity, Culture, and the Power of Voice

Ludy Aguada

Published September 2016

Tools for this Unit:

Bibliography

Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007.

Alexie, Sherman. “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed July 12, 2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/52775

Charleyboy, Lisa, and Mary Beth Leatherdale, eds. Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. Berkeley, California: Annick Press, 2016.

Cherokee Nation V. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831).

Erdrich, Louise. The Round House. New York, NY: Harper, 2012.

Hoxie, Frederick E. "Sovereignty's Challenge to Native American (and United States) History." The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists, Spring, 2, no. 1 (2014): 137-42. Accessed July 12, 2016. doi:10.1353/jnc.2014.0002.

King, Lisa. "Rhetorical Sovereignty and Rhetorical Alliance in the Writing Classroom: Using American Indian Texts." Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, Spring, 12, no. 2, 209-33. doi:10.1215/15314200-1503568.

Harjo, Joy, and Gloria Bird. Reinventing the Enemy's Language: Contemporary Native Women's Writing of North America. New York: W.W. Norton &, 1997.

Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov (accessed July 30, 2016).

Lincoln, Kenneth. Native American Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.

Massaro, Rachel. 2016 Silicon Valley Index. PDF. Institute for Regional Studies and Joint Venture Silicon Valley, 2016.

"Sherman Alexie: How Storytelling Can Create Social Change." Interview by John Hockenberry. The Takeaway. September 23, 2015. Accessed August 4, 2016.

"Sherman Alexie on Living Outside Cultural Borders." Interview by Bill Moyers. April 12, 2013. Interview by Bill Moyers. Moyers & Company. PBS. April 12, 2013. Accessed July 14, 2016.

Wilkinson, Charles F. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. New York: Norton, 2005.

Zitzer-Comfort, Carol. "Teaching Native American Literature: Inviting Students to See the World through Indigenous Lenses." Pedagogy, Winter, 8, no. 1 (2008): 160-70.

Comments:

Elizabeth Odette Duckworth

July 21, 2019 at 1:13 am

Great teaching novel!

My students in American Lit have read The Round House for the last three years. It is a great teaching novel for American Lit because it presents both past and present realities for Native Americans. For example, Erdrich reveals some of the atrocities committed by the U.S. government. She also presents life on a reservation in a realistic fashion. This is a \\"coming of age\\" novel which deals with issues of developing sexuality, alcoholism, racism, abuse, positive family relationships, etc. There is also humor in this book which the kids enjoy, which provides a break from the intense plot details. Caution: there are many sexual situations--some students or parents may be squeamish about these, but my students agree that it is a valuable book to read and to teach.

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