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Overview

Voice of Witness is an oral history nonprofit that advances human rights by amplifying the stories of people impacted by — and fighting against — injustice. One goal of the organization is to move past “the single story” of history and create opportunities for teachers and students to grapple with a more nuanced and empathy-based understanding of the critical historical and contemporary issues.

This lesson plan comes from Voice of Witness’s curricular unit for “How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America,” a collection of oral histories that shine a light on the ongoing fight to protect Native land, rights and life.

The lesson plan invites students to develop an understanding of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) through the lens of two oral history narratives.

Time needed: One 50-minute class period, plus preparatory reading for class

Subject areas: English, history, social studies, civics

Grade levels: 9-12

Objectives

• Students will be able to make connections between the rights laid out in UNDRIP and details from personal narratives from "How We Go Home."
• Students will be able to explain how UNDRIP could help Indigenous peoples and communities respond to the challenges created by colonization and colonialism.

Essential question(s)

1. How might the articles in UNDRIP help the United States and Canada achieve reconciliation with Indigenous peoples?
2. What are the similarities and differences between human rights and Indigenous rights?

Materials

• Pre-lesson reading assignment:
  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (full version) -OR-
  • Know Your Rights: UNDRIP for Indigenous Adolescents pp.12-21 (abridged version)
  • 3-2-1 Graphic Organizer
• Narrative excerpts from “How We Go Home”
  • Blaine Wilson (as featured in LitHub)
  • Jasilyn Charger (as featured in Buzzfeed)

Before the lesson — UNDRIP reading

If possible, assign students the entire text of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples before this class. If students need a shorter piece of text, assign them just the introductory text from pages 1-7 of the declaration.

For language learners, consider focusing on just a portion of the introduction or using this abridged version of the text: Know Your Rights: UNDRIP for Indigenous Adolescents. UNDRIP also exists in a few other languages on the United Nations. website.

Optional: Students may fill out 3-2-1 Graphic Organizer as they read to guide understanding.

Warm-up activity (10 minutes)

Step 1: Tell students they will be playing a game. Do not give them a name for the game or any rules. Simply ask them to gather in a circle (standing or sitting).

Step 2: Give a student a small object and ask them to begin the game by passing the object to the next person in the circle.

Step 3: Throughout the game, you will be creating arbitrary rules that students will break. As the object passes around the circle, announce to the group that a passer has broken a rule. Do this a few times during the process. These rules should be completely arbitrary and specific. For example:

• “You passed it with your left hand.”
• “You passed it without saying ‘Pow!’”
• “Your legs were crossed when you passed it.”
• “You passed it to someone wearing a green shirt.”

After you announce a broken rule, continue the game and allow the person to pass the object on. Continue the game until the object reaches the original student.

Step 4: End the game and bring the class together for a discussion using the following prompts. Questions 2 and 3 are deliberately biased and intended to bring students toward an understanding of fairness:

1. What were the rules of the game?
2. What mistakes were made? Do you accept your mistakes?
3. Who is to blame for the errors: the students or the teacher?
4. Was this game fair?
5. How can it be changed to make it fair?

Main activity (40 minutes)

Step 1: Use the following prompt to initiate discussion: What is the connection between UNDRIP and the game we played today?

Step 2: Arrange students in small groups and ask them to select people to perform the following tasks:

• Reader(s)
• Scribe(s)

Step 3: Assign each group either Blaine or Jasilyn’s narrative from “How We Go Home.” Ask the groups to identify 2-3 of the following the UNDRIP article(s) that apply to the themes, issues or events from their excerpt. Alternatively, you can choose one narrator and split their full story into sections for each group to tackle.

As the Reader(s) are reading the text, Scribe(s) should jot down unfamiliar words or terms. Reader(s) should take the time to look up the definition of these words so Scribe(s) can note their meaning, using the official language or drawings.

• Article #2 (discrimination based on origin or identity)
• Article #4 (right to self-determination)
• Article #14 (education)
• Article #19 (free, prior and informed consent)
• Article #24 (traditional medicines and health practices)
• Article #26 (recognition and protection of traditional territories)
• Article #33 (identity and membership)
• Article #37 (treaties and agreements)

Step 4: Ask each small group to share their conclusions with the class. Use the following prompts to initiate reflection, discussion and consolidation:

• The UN Declaration on Human Rights was adopted in 1948. UNDRIP was adopted in 2007 by 144 countries. UNDRIP is not a legally binding instrument under international law and four nations including the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia did not endorse UNDRIP until 2021. Why do you think the world needed another declaration specifically for Indigenous peoples? Use evidence from Blaine or Jasilyn’s narrative to support your answer.
• Why is it important to protect Indigenous rights? How does protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples relate to your lives and your communities? Use evidence from Blaine or Jasilyn’s narrative to support your answer.

Step 5: To complete the activity, have students write one or two paragraphs using one of the following prompts. This can also be completed as homework:

1. How would you feel if land or resources that you and your family rely on were taken from you without permission or recognition? How would you react? (Non-violent responses)
2. Indigenous peoples were here prior to colonization. Does this give them more rights to the land? Explain your reasoning.
3. How would self-determination help Indigenous peoples overcome the challenges created by colonization and ongoing colonialism? Are there examples of this in the narratives you read?
4. Does it surprise you to know that the UN Declaration is not a law (non-binding) but only principles that encourage accountability and transparency? Do you think governments, especially in the United States and Canada, should create laws that reflect the UNDRIP text? Why or why not?

Standards

C3 Framework (College, Career and Civic Life)

D2.Geo.5.6-8. Analyze the combinations of cultural and environmental characteristics that make places both similar to and different from other places.

D2.Geo.5.9-12. Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions

Common Core

Grades 9-10:

RI.9-10.1, 6; W.9-10.4, 10; RH.9-10.2, 6, 9, 10; WHST.9-10.4, 9, 10.

Grades 11-12:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2

About the authors

Voice of Witness (VOW) is a nonprofit that advances human rights by amplifying the voices of people impacted by — and fighting against — injustice through oral history, education and advocacy.

The Voice of Witness Book Series depicts human rights issues through the edited oral histories of people who are deeply impacted and whose lived experiences are at the heart of finding solutions to address injustice.

The Voice of Witness education program brings unheard stories and oral history to classrooms across the U.S., centering marginalized voices and connecting students with training and tools for storytelling.

"How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous America" shares contemporary first-person stories in the long and ongoing fight to protect Native land, rights and life. It was compiled and edited by Sara Sinclair, an oral historian, writer and educator who teaches in the Oral History Masters Program at Columbia University.

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