ARCHIVED NDNAEU LESSON

American Indian Boarding Schools

High school (9–12) · ELA · NDNAEU 5

This lesson is preserved from Teachings of Our Elders. Its original standards and instructional content are historical; review alignment, source availability, cultural protocols, and suitability for your learners before use.

[link unavailable; checked 2026-10-15] Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™

American Indian Boarding Schools

NDNAEU 5 “Tribal Policies, Treaties and Sovereignty”

Compelling Question	What was it like to grow up in an American Indian Boarding School?
Standards and Practices	R1.2  Determine and analyze a theme and/or central idea of texts: W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Staging the Question	Are the United States’ American Indian assimilation policies acts of racism?

Supporting Question 1	Supporting Question 2	Supporting Question 3
What is meant by ‘genocide’?	What are acts of racism?	Are you ethnocentric?
Formative Performance Task	Formative Performance Task	Formative Performance Task
Use the source to form your own explanation of what ‘genocide’ means.	Use the source to create a list of examples of acts of racism.	Use the source to determine whether you are ethnocentric.
Featured Sources	Featured Sources	Featured Sources
https://refusefascism.org/2018/01/29/what-is-genocide-according-to-the-un-and-international-law/	http://www.aclrc.com/forms-of-racism	https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ethnocentrism [link unverified; checked 2026-10-15]

SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Supported Claim (written/spoken) or Demonstration of Process (project-based)	Read the source, http://www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing/planyourvisit/pdf/AIBSCurrGuide.pdf Imagine you were a child growing up in the American Indian Boarding School system, write an essay to describe your feelings (fears, anger, betrayal, loneliness, etc.).  Then explain how you would survive this ordeal.
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Extension	Examine the culture of your school to determine whether assimilation practices are still in effect.  Write an essay to explain your findings and the reasons behind them.
Taking Informed Action / Real World Application	Develop steps you can take in your life, that you will teach to your children, to create a more equitable society in America.

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