How to Tell Kids the Truth About Native Americans: DEI Parent Guidebooks

By Trish Allison

The purpose of this guidebook (and all of our guidebooks) is to enrich your child's education with DEI morals (empathy, kindness, and respect for everyone). Specifically here, and using our typically succinct writing style, our goal is to help you guide your child toward respect for Native Americans as an integral part of U.S. history.

 

You'll find step-by-step guidance and practical ideas for:

 

- Discovering what your child already knows about Native Americans
- Explaining stereotypes
- Discussing DEI morals (without losing their attention)

- Cultivating respect for Native Americans at home
- Answering common questions

 

Please note: Instead of general advice like 'be a good role model' or 'talk about feelings,' our guidebooks provide specific, age-appropriate examples and step-by-step instructions for integrating diversity and inclusion values into daily life at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DEI for Parents
• Release date: Apr 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9781393018599

Trish Allison

Raising two children in a non-traditional family gives Trish a unique perspective on the importance of teaching kids that everyone deserves kindness and respect.  She combined her experience as a parent, her career as a technical writer, countless hours of child psychology research, a degree in English from U.C. Berkeley, and a long-ignored passion to write something meaningful -- into a collection of DEI parenting guidebooks.  The goal of the guidebooks is not to brainwash children into a 'socialist' way of thinking, but to simply, honestly, and at an appropriate age-level, discuss and respond to children's curiosity about contemporary cultural issues.

Book preview

Introduction

Too often, in our opinion, social studies school curricula focus on historical facts and events rather than the human element.

So instead of confusing your child with mixed messages about the discovery of America or what actually happened at Plymouth Rock and beyond, we intentionally wrote this guidebook to emphasize Native Americans as humans. Their rich history provides the perfect context for teaching kids how to respect all indigenous people.

Equally important, children learn best when they feel like they own the information. By subtly providing an accurate understanding of the enormous value of Native Americans, we can help children own the information, and formulate their own conclusions about the role of indigenous people.

To that end, this guidebook provides step-by-step instructions for learning what your child already knows about Native Americans, explaining stereotypes, discussing morals (without losing their attention), adjusting household routines, and answering the most common (and often unexpected!) questions kids ask about Native Americans.

We hope that by the end of this guidebook, we’ll have shown you how to subtly guide your child toward the DEI morals (empathy, kindness, and respect for everyone) needed to respect Native Americans as an integral part of U.S. history.

About This Guidebook

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Chapter 1

Learn What Your Child Already Knows

First things first. It's important to find out what your child already knows about Native Americans before you start guiding them.

Because the rest of the instructions in this guidebook steer your child toward empathy and respect for Native Americans, you need to connect with their level of understanding before you start guiding them.

For example, maybe they’re already aware that Native Americans were in America before European settlers arrived. If so, your guidance can start by emphasizing the importance of Native Americans as an integral part of