Educational Microsite
Here you will find items that allow for further discussion and learning in the classroom around the many titles within our VisionMaker Educational Catalog. You will also find forum discussions that deal with the topics that our educational titles cover as well as issues that teachers, students and parents face in Indian Country. Finally, you will be able to find and connect in our members section with educators, students and their parents.
Spotlight: Interactive Timeline
Featured Educational Resources
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My Louisiana Love
My Louisiana Love traces a young woman’s quest to find a place in her Native American community as it suffers from decades of environmental degradation. Monique Verdin returns to Southeast Louisiana to reunite with her Houma Indian family. But soon she discovers that her people’s traditional way of life is threatened by a cycle of man-made environmental crises. Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil leak are just the latest disasters in this century-old cycle that is forcing Monique’s clan to adapt in new ways. Monique must overcome the loss of her house, her father, and her partner – and redefine the meaning of home.
Handout, Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralEthnic Studies, Journalism, Media, Native American Studies, Science & Technology, Social Studies -
Racing the Rez
In the rugged canyon lands of Northern Arizona, Navajo and Hopi cross-country runners from two rival high schools put it all on the line for Tribal pride, triumph over adversity and state championship glory. Win or lose, what they learn in the course of their seasons will have a dramatic effect on the rest of their lives.
Handout, Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralEthnic Studies, Health & Fitness, Native American Studies, Social Studies -
Sousa on the Rez
When you hear the phrase “Native American music” you may not think of tubas, trumpets, and Sousa marches. Yet, this rich musical tradition has been a part of Native American culture for over one hundred years.
Handout, Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralEthnic Studies, Native American Studies, Social Studies -
Standing Bear's Footsteps
In 1877, the Ponca people were exiled from their Nebraska homeland to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. To honor his dying son's last wish to be buried in his homeland, Chief Standing Bear set off on a grueling, six-hundred-mile journey home.
Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralEthnic Studies, Native American Studies, Social Studies -
GRAB
GRAB is an intimate portrait of the little-documented Grab Day in the villages of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe, who annually throw water and food items from the rooftop of a home to people standing below them. A community-wide prayer of abundance, thanks and renewal, Grab Day exists at the intersection of traditional Native and contemporary Western cultures. Billy Luther's film, which is narrated by Parker Posey, follows three families as they prepare for the annual event, chronicling their lives for the year leading up to this day.
Video, Handout, Lesson Plan, Viewer Discussion GuideGrades 9-12, Higher Ed, GeneralEthnic Studies, Native American Studies, Social Studies -
Smokin' Fish
Cory Mann (Tlingit) is a quirky businessman hustling to make a dollar in Juneau, Alaska. He gets hungry for smoked salmon and decides to spend a summer smoking fish at a family's traditional fish camp. The unusual story of his life and the untold history of his people interweave with the process of preparing traditional food as he struggles to pay his bills and keep his business afloat.
Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralAlaska Native Studies, Ethnic Studies, Native American Studies, Social Studies -
Up Heartbreak Hill
The hopes and heartbreaks of senior year of high school comprise a defining part of teenage life and lore in America. Graduation marks the end of childhood, partings from family, friends and community, and the start of a future that is both exciting and scary. But for Thomas Hardy, an academic, as well as athletic star, growing up on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico has heightened these tensions in ways particular to Native American history and contemporary Reservation life.
Viewer Discussion GuideGeneralEthnic Studies, Health & Fitness, Native American Studies -
Will Rogers & American Politics
Narrated by national award-winning journalist Bill Kurtis, "Will Rogers and American Politics" explores the life and political persuasion of Oklahoma's favorite son through the eyes of great Americans such as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Mickey Rooney, Cherokee Chief Chad Smith, comedian Lewis Black and many others. Will's words and musings influence the American political landscape through some of our nation's most difficult times in the 1920's and 1930's and they still have a powerful effect on our political system today, but through it all, he remained a simple Oklahoma cowboy with belief in hard work, common sense and a deep connection with the American people.
Video, Lesson PlanK-6, Grades 7-9, Grades 9-12, GeneralNative American Studies, Social Studies
