Native American Lives: A Collection of AFT Resources and Community

Here at the AFT, we are proud to represent thousands of individuals with strong connections to Native American nations across the United States, whether they are enrolled tribal members or they are simply serving, living in and supporting Native American communities. Our multistate affiliate, the Federation of Indian Service Employees, includes more than 5,300 public service employees with Bureau of Indian Affairs jobs spanning some 600 titles from irrigation specialist to corrections officer. Many are teachers and staff at schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education. We also support educators and families outside the BIE system as they practice their Native traditions, learn about those traditions as non-Native people, and teach children about the rich history of this country’s original inhabitants.

AFT members celebrate Indigenous culture

Let’s not reduce Native American heritage to a feather or a dot

Lisa O’Nan uses personal experience to urge educators to dive deeper into teaching about Native American culture and provides a list of resources to help.

Author Evelyn Taino posing with two adult readers, all holding copies of her book

Embracing my Taino heritage

Evelyn DeJesus writes about embracing her Taíno Indian heritage in Puerto Rico.

Graduating seniors are honored at the school district’s powwow, Rochester, Minn. Courtesy of Tucker Quetone.

Learning traditions

Tucker Quetone describes being robbed of his own Native culture and the importance of teaching it today.

Building community across the miles

A rural community school in Minnesota serves Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people.

Keeping tradition and language alive

Music teacher Lucy Real Bird, a member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation, shares her Native language, food and art with students.

Native American members defend their students and culture

An AFT reporter visited San Felipe Pueblo School in New Mexico and posted this tender description of a place where resources are shockingly scarce and, in 2019, a government shutdown threatened to close the Bureau of Indian Affairs schools.

Healing ourselves as Indigenous people: An integrated approach to well-being on the Navajo Nation

Diné health researcher Crystal Lee describes her work marrying Indigenous holistic medicine practices with Western medicine in this AFT Health Care article.

Traditional food knowledge among Native Americans: Building trust, healing trauma and restoring health

In this AFT Health Care article, experts from the Native American Agriculture Fund trace the preponderance of diabetes, cancer and heart disease among Native Americans to Euro-American attempts to cut them off from Indigenous food and health systems, and describe how Native Americans are restoring their health.

AFT resolution: Guidelines for educating students and school staff about Indigenous people's culture and history

The AFT’s 2024 resolution aims to ensure all schools are culturally and academically affirming for Indigenous students and more specifically encourages the U.S. Department of Education to develop guidelines regarding activities pertaining to Indigenous people and vows to support AFT locals in educating teachers and administrators about culturally appropriate teaching of Indigenous people’s cultures and their histories.

Read the full resolution here.

Share My Lesson

Explore a wealth of lesson plans, book selections, handouts, videos and more, centered on Native American study, from our free bank of resources by educators and for educators. Click here.