Stereotypes Perpetrated Around The Holidays

                                   

October 12, 1492 marks Columbus's arrival to the America's and annually, every second Monday of the month of October, we Americans celebrate this day. However, as all beginnings are to be celebrated, the celebration of America's humble beginnings comes with much controversy as it's beginning resulted in the genocide of the original inhabitants of the land; the American Indians. 

 When it comes to this time during the school year, students are inundated with false information about Columbus Day and especially about Native American Indians during the Thanksgiving holiday. Growing up, I had no idea that there was anything controversial about Columbus Day, until I reached the fifth grade. I don't remember spending much time on the subject of Columbus Day and my school teachers were very good at relaying real facts despite controversy. I'm actually horrified to know that some teachers out there deliberately continue to perpetrate stereotypes despite the truth that they know. Thankfully, in this day and age, most teachers will teach the truth despite the sad reality and after doing some research I found many lesson plans (for grades K-8th) that teach both myths and facts: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/columbus-day-grades-ke-5.htm. What we American’s call Columbus’s discovery the American Indians call an invasion and what we celebrate as Thanksgiving day, many American Indians celebrate it as a National Day of Mourning and it is important these facts are laid bare.

 “The Untold Story” by Tina Thomas is a great story and one that I was not exposed to growing up in the American school system, even though my Elementary school was extremely progressive. It’s an interesting story and even more captivating as it tells the story the from the Native’s perspective. There are many lesson plans associated with this story. Children can clip the sentences and make their own picture books or they can be imaginative and recreate the story or the ending while discussing and sharing their ideas and decisions. Another way to dispel stereotypes is to have students do research on the original inhabitants of their community. Also, taking time to do some further research on modern day American Indians would do well in breaking stereotypes as well.

  In terms of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I did grow up with the squeaky clean version of the story and did not realize till middle school as well, the real facts of about the story. Details are left out of the historical facts about the holiday so as to not ruin the happy holiday. For instance, it is not disclosed that Plymouth was built on the ruins of Pawtuxet and that Squanto, the welcoming Indian who spoke English, only learned to speak English after being captured as a slave. These small little details are not too much for Elementary school children to digest. Thing can be put into simple terms for younger children to understand and in a manner that is appropriate. It is simply first about not being too embarrassed to tell to tell the truth and agreeing to do so (presenting real truth and facts) and then finding a way to relay the information in an appropriate manner so that racial biases no longer continue to perpetrated in our Education system.