Native Knowledge 360° Education Initiative
Transforming teaching and learning
about Native Americans
about Native Americans
In the Spotlight
Looking for support on what and how to teach about Native Americans? Check out some of the latest NK360° Helpful Handouts: Guidance on Common Questions. Helpful Handouts offer educators a brief introduction to important topics and approaches to teaching about Native American life, cultures, and communities.
Learning to Look and Object Investigation
See this guided looking activity for guidance on using objects and material culture as sources for learning. Help students explore Native-made objects and materials through inquiry.
The Impact of Words
Gain insight about terminology that is most appropriate to use when referring to Native Peoples. Use this resource to help guide respectful and informed conversations about diverse Indigenous Peoples.
Featured Teacher and Student Programs
Save the Date: Indigenous Peoples’ Curriculum Day and Virtual Teach-In!
Indigenous Land: Rights, Relationships and Responsibility
September 25, 2021 | 12:30–3 PM
Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change for a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, and idea exchange.
K–12 teachers, Teaching for Change, and NMAI education experts will share curriculum, Essential Understandings, and strategies for teaching about Indigenous peoples’ histories and experiences around land justice today. The keynote speaker will discuss the rights of the land and Indigenous knowledge. Workshops will feature classroom resources from the NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° online education portal and the Zinn Education Project’s Teach Climate Justice Campaign | Zinn Education Project.
The teach-in will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration will begin in late July.
Explore NK360° Educational Resources
Search the museum’s collection
Frequently Asked Questions about Native Americans
How many Indians lived in America before 1492?
