Indigenous Resistance

Grades9, 10, 11, 12Civics, Writing & Composition

Provided by Trust for Public Land

What it is

This lesson explores Indigenous resistance to extractive industries such as mining, logging, fossil fuels, and tourism across Turtle Island.
The lesson uses video case studies from unceded Secwépemc Territory in British Columbia, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona, and Huichin, Ohlone Territory in Oakland and Berkeley, California, to examine how climate change and resource extraction harm more-than-human relatives.
Students will research a plant, animal, or sacred place by interviewing a family member or elder and investigating online or at a library, share their findings through an essay, story, poem, presentation, or oral report, and create an art piece honoring that relative.

Preparation:

Note that the "Tiny House Warriors" video mentions sexual assault and briefly mentions drug and alcohol use. Decide if this is appropriate for your context and students.
The lesson notes that some tribes restrict storytelling about animals to certain seasons and that mask-making should follow local cultural protocols.

Prerequisites:

Interdisciplinary Connections:

Language Arts:
- Pair this lesson with excerpts from Braiding Sweetgrass or similar stories that demonstrate the Indigenous ways of knowing in contrast to Western science.

Hosted on site.tplgis.org

Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.

Standards alignment · D2.Civ.10.9-12 + 4 more

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Civ.10.9-12Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.
D2.Civ.12.9-12Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
D2.Civ.5.9-12Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
D4.7.9-12Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.