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Thematic Teaching
indigenous cultures: related resources
About the Author | Activity Ideas | Related Resources
Find Below: PBS Web Sites, Other Recommended Links, Recommended Books
pbs online
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Take a 10,000 year journey through history, across every continent of our world.
Global Tribe
Explore the universal struggles of the planet: from healing racial wounds to saving the environment to improving the lives of the poorest cultures.
Circle of Stories
Use photography, artwork and music to honor and explore Native American storytelling.
Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Planet
Examine the effect environmental problems are having on indigenous cultures around the world.
P.O.V.: American Aloha
Explore how Native Hawaiians have struggled to maintain their cultural traditions during two centuries of tremendous social transformation.
Journey into Amazonia
Learn about the flora and fauna that is so crucial to the survival of indigenous Amazon tribes.
Nature: Survival Skills
Learn about the challenges Inuit people face as they attempt to teach their children about the old ways of surviving in an ever-changing world.
recommended web sites
Aboriginal Cultures & Traditions: Storytelling
http://cado.ayn.ca/
Storytelling is a vital part of the cultural identity of most people. This site has a collection of stories from Aboriginal peoples of Canada which teach lessons, give warnings, entertain, and relate history. The stories are from the First Nations, Mtis and Inuit peoples of Canada. Some are about the creation of the earth, healing, spirituality, family, and some relate the loss of their culture in the modern world. The stories are in MP3 format and the transcript accompanies the audio.
Subject: Reading & Language Arts
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Links
Cultural Survival
http://www.cs.org/
Search by regions in Africa, Asia, Mesoamerica, the Middle East, Oceania, or other parts of the world to find articles and other documents related to indigenous people and how they are affected by modernization. Major issues addressed are conflict and migration, culture, health, self determination, and natural resources.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
Survival International
http://survival-international.org/index.php
This organization's mission is to "help peoples defend their lives, protect their lands, and determine their own futures." The section titled Tribal World lets you explore tribes in the Americas, Africa, and Asia/Australia for a total of 80 tribes in 34 countries. Each continent links to facts about a culture, such as the Bushmen in Botswana, with a map indicating their location, the problems they currently face, photos, and video clips (requiring Real Player).
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
Arctic Circle
http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/
The Arctic Circle site represents indigenous cultures in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Access of the modern world to mineral resources and strategic military locations has created problems for people living in the Arctic Circle. Environmental damage includes the Exxon Valdez, uranium mining, and oil exploration. Social problems involve land claim issues, self-determination, cultural identity and colonization. There are maps, articles on a variety of topics, and a Virtual Classroom with case studies for older students.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
recommended books
Mystery of the Nile: The Epic Story of the First Descent of the World's Deadliest River
By Richard Bangs and Pasquale Scaturro
Published February 2005
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies
No one had ever traveled the length of the Blue Nile and Nile before. Some had tried. Many had died. In 2004, Pasquale Scaturro and Gordon Brown led the first successful expedition. In 114 days, they endured heat, sandstorms, and disease to cover 3000 miles of rapids, waterfalls, crocs, hippos, and bandits.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
A Global History of Indigenous Peoples: From Prehistory to Age of Globalization
By Ken S. Coates
Published January 2005
Grades: 9-12; Professional Development
Subjects: Social Studies
Coates has written a global history of indigenous people. He covers the first migrations that spread mankind across the planet, looks at how tribal people distinguished themselves from other societies, and evaluates the impact of colonialism. The effects of European and non-European expansion are considered.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
First Peoples: Indigenous Cultures and Their Futures
By Jeffrey Sissons
Published March 2005
Grades: Professional Development
Subjects: Social Studies
Indigenous people the world over are currently recovering what they lost during periods of colonization argues the author. Sissons examines indigenous cultures from North America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Brazil and covers the 19th and 20th centuries. He then looks at urban and rural communities and their need to establish ties.
More Recommended Social Studies Books