Indigenous Peoples' Day

How can Indigenous Peoples' Day inspire learning and remembrance?

We hope that these questions and resources can be used to serve the continued learning of school communities, classroom teachers, and students across a broad range of grade levels.  Our goal is that each teacher identify the question(s) and resource(s) most useful for their and/or their students' learning.

Local Tribal Communities

Inquiry Question: How are Indigenous people in my community reviving cultural practices and organizing for change?

  • Who is ancestral to the land I live on?
  • Who are the contemporary tribal leaders in my community?
  • How can members of the settler community stand in solidarity with Indigenous-led efforts to repair harm?

People, Culture, and Geography

Cultural Renewal and Land Rematriation in the East Bay

Taíno People and the Invasion of the Americas

Inquiry Question: Why are we taught the exact day Columbus “discovered” America yet do not know the name of the peoples he met?

  • What are the languages, geographies and cultural practices of Taíno people and their descendants?
  • How have Taíno descendants sustained and recovered their Indigenous identity?

Select Sources:

Doctrine of Discovery and Legal Precedent

Inquiry Question: How has the Doctrine of Discovery been used to justify European colonization and American expansion? 

  • How does this religious doctrine serve as legal precedent in American courts today? 

  • Why is challenging the notion of “discovery” more than a demand for a change in language?

  • How does the Doctrine of Discovery help us better understand the process of colonization in what is now the United States?

Select Sources:

Note: These questions and resources were informed by participation in a Cultural Competancy Course led by Kanyon Konsulting.

I am questioning how I can better include Native people's voices in the resources I develop and share with educators. And, I am thinking about how to establish relationships with local tribal communities in order to help facilitate connections with teachers who are interested in 'decolonizing' their curriculum.
Jason Muñiz, Academic Coordinator, UCBHSSP
I have spent the past few years learning and unlearning about what I believed to be true about my understanding of the past and my role in the world. I am working to find ways to support contemporary efforts to undo harm caused by American colonization and settlement.
Rachel Reinhard, Site Director, UCBHSSP
CSMP ESSER funded