Teacher Resources

The Arrow Over the Door
Joseph Bruchac, 2002.
For grades 4-6. This is a good to use in place of Sign of the Beaver because the Native character is treated with respect and his perspcetive is given equal value. Based on a real event, this story takes place during the summer of 1777 and is told in alternating voices by two young men. Samuel Russell, a Quaker, wrestles with his faith's pacifism. Stands Straight is an Abenaki whose family was killed by colonists. As British troops move toward Saratoga, Samuel joins his uncle in a scouting party as the Abenaki try to decide which side to support. When the scouts reach the meeting house where the Quakers are worshipping, the two boys meet and each one grows as a result of the encounter. With a surprising amount of drama and even suspense, this tale of pacifism triumphant makes a good choice for historical fiction collections.

The Winter People
Joseph Bruchac, 2002.
It is the year 1759, and war is raging between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people by their side. Saxso, an Abenaki, is fourteen when the British soldiers attack his Canadian village. Many people are killed and some are taken hostage, including Saxso's own mother and two younger sisters. It's up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home. Riveting and poignant, this novel sheds new light on history, offering the fascinating untold story of the Abenaki perspective on the French and Indian War.

The Birchbark House

Louise Erdrich, 1999.

From Amazon.com Editorial Reviews:

Use this book to teacher about the impact of disease and epidemics on Native peoples.

Nineteenth-century American pioneer history is seen through the eyes of the spirited, 7-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas, or Little Frog, so named because her first step was a hop. The sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic on Spirit Island, Omakayas, then only a baby girl, was rescued by a fearless woman named Tallow and welcomed into an Ojibwa family on Lake Superior's Madeline Island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. We follow Omakayas and her adopted family through a cycle of four seasons in 1847, including the winter, when a historically documented outbreak of smallpox overtook the island.

Night Is Gone, Day Is Still Coming: Stories and Poems by American Indian Teens and Young Adults
Betsy Franco, 2003
An amazing collection of poems and prose by 57 American Indians between the ages of 11 and 22.

Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans

Arlene Hirshcfelder and Beverly R. Singer, 1992

A collection of writings and poetry from young Native Americans across the country.

The Faithful Hunter: Abenaki Stories
As told by Joseph Bruchac, 1988.
This collection includes twelve stories, seven of which are Gluscabi tales. The book includes a map of Wabanaki country as well as Bruchac’s thoughts on “telling stories.”

First Nations Families
Karin Clark, 1996.
In this simple, excellent reader, First Nations children introduce the reader to all their relatives, and what they “like” to do.

Moccasin Thunder, American Indian Stories for Today

Lori Marie Carlson, ed, 2005.

The ten contemporary short stories that make up this colleciton are raw, original and fresh. Although they are all about American Indians, they are as different from one another as they are from anything you've read before. Native writers include Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie and Jospeh Bruchac. "Readers will welcome the change from generic reverential images  or primitives stuck in the past "(Hazel Rochman for American Library Association.)

1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving
Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac with Plimoth Plantation
Another great book that focuses on the Wampanoag people of Massachusetts. It provides information on the history and events behind the myth of the “First Thanksgiving.” This book provides some good background information on culturally appropriate ways to talk about Native American history and culture. It includes beautiful color photographs.

Passamaquoddy at the Turn of the Century 1890-1920 Tribal Life and Times in Maine and New Brunswick
Donald Soctomah, 2002.

Hard Times at Passamaquoddy 1921-1950 Tribal Life and Times in Maine and New Brunswick
Donald Soctomah, 2003.
Both of these books are written by Donald Soctomah, a Passamaquoddy historian, former Passamaquoddy Representative to the State Legislature and current Passamaquoddy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. Compiled from Indian Agents Reports, newspapers, Smithsonian Field Reports and other sources, these books assemble primary source material on Passamaquoddy history by year. Neither book is indexed, however.

Indian Baskets
Sarah Peabody and William A. Turnbaugh, 1986.
This colorful book combines manufacturing techniques, raw materials, forms and decoration with information on Native cultural lifestyles. A reviewer writes: “Completely indispensable text for the weaver, curator, researcher, student, collector or just plain curious.”

Basket Tales of the Grandmothers: American Indian Baskets in Myth and Legend

Sarah Peabody and William A. Turnbaugh, 1999.

This book "listens to the stories (Native) peeople tell about their baskets." A good book for anyone interested in oral history, legends and Native American baskets and basketmakers.

Maine Digs
When one thinks of archaeology, images of tombs locked up somewhere in the desert, or temples hidden by jungle come to mind. But the pursuit of archaeology is alive and well in Maine. Due to greater awareness of our past, and with the aid of new high tech equipment, we are beginning to unlock the mystery of what life in Maine may have been like thousands of years ago. Maine PBS. 56 min. Available to Maine educators through Maine State Library’s Educational Video Services (207-287-5620).