Talking Feather is an  English As A Second Language (ESL)  website with information about  the American Indians located in the U.S.  There is a weekly Blog that tracts current news involving American Indians.  There are current writings from Indian students, who share their thoughts and ideas.

For  teachers there are Free  lesson plans for 11 of the major tribes, covering language skills, with questions for discussion and  research. Students can add their essays, poems and comments about the material. The  issues covered are education, politics, literature, business, music and art.  It is a little known fact that  many American Indians in this country learn English as their second language, and in many situations their struggles are similar to those of students from developing countries who attend schools here in the United States to learn English.  View our  site map which supplies an overview of  all of the areas and of the information provided in each.

A Talking Feather

Various Talking Sticks

Significance of  ”The Talking Feather” / Talking Stick

There are legends about how the “Talking Feather”  (sometimes also referred to as Talking Stick) came to be, and many tribes take credit for these stories, so there are several versions.  Traditionally, the American Indians used the Talking Feather or Talking Stick as a method to insure organization during important council meetings among the tribes. The materials used for both Feather and Stick were important. The “Sacred Feather” was usually from an Eagle representing truth, freedom, wisdom, and keen insight. Some tribes believed in using the Feather from an Owl which represented protection, wisdom, and strong insight into truth. The Sacred Stick was made from the bark of trees such as the Oak (strength) the Elm (wisdom) and others. There were also embellishments and adornments made from the skins or hides from animals such as Elk (physical ability), Deer (gentleness), Buffalo (abundance) and the Rabbit (ears for listening) and several other animals the various tribes felt were sacred. Color played an important role in the creations. The Talking Feather method is still used in many American schools, especially with very young children. Although the object the speaker holds may not always be a Feather, or a Stick, it is something equally symbolic to the children. It is effective as a tool to teach children the benefits of listening to others. As teachers we are constantly listening to our students. It was by listening to my students the idea of this site was created.

THE LESSON PLANS

The Lesson Plan section of this site contains reading material of the histories and cultures of American Indian tribes. The reading selections are  accompanied by  exercises to generate group and class discussions,  reading comprehension, writing skills,  and research projects.  In addition, each  lesson plan includes a myth from each tribe.  There is also a Source Material section, that contains select reading material from books written by Native Americans.   According to the background of the tribe, some of the histories are very short, while others may be longer, so this information  will vary.

At the end of each lesson,  there are source  references  for those wanting more in depth information about the history of a particular tribe. There are  also additional  links to books about each tribe that can be found at Amazon.  There is the  Charles A. Eastman Biographical Essays section for the biographies of American Indian Chiefs  and Heroes in the United States.  This section has the Project-Gutenberg American-Indian stories collected in essay form by Charles Eastman who was of Native ancestry himself.

Teachers may choose to either  use the material (with the exception of the  original essays, poems or art work created by students from Indian schools) as a basis for developing their own exercises, or to use the completed  lesson plans (please see the Terms of Use. )

THE SOURCE MATERIAL

Please note that we make every effort to ensure that any quoted text or images that we post is either public domain, or falls within the guidlines of fair use.  If you feel that we have inappropriately posted material which you own, please contact us.  We will be happy to add any missing attribution and/or link, or to remove the item if that is what you desire.

THE BLOG

The Blog section of this site  provides information about both contemporary and historical issues involving Native People.  There are suggestions for  exercises in reading comprehension, group discussion, and/or for writing activities for the articles. Everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts on these issues, or to suggest additional activities involving the reading material.

My sources will include Native American newspapers, magazines, books, original work from Native American students, teachers, parents, and all other  American Indian people who are interested. .

The goal of this site is to supply ESL teachers and other interested readers with information about the Indigenous Americans, from Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

This site will be steadily updated, so  your comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

HOW THIS SITE CAME ABOUT

The original idea behind this site  began during an ESL (English as a Second Language) class that I was teaching many years ago, as a student teacher. I casually asked my students what they knew about the Original Native people who lived here in the U.S.

I remember that I intentionally did not use the term Native American because it would have confused my students who were from other countries, and who thought the term Native American referred to everyone who lived in the United States.

I sadly discovered that my ESL students had no idea who the North American Indians were and what their contributions have been, and continue to be, in the development of North America. One student replied “they  [Indians] used to live here a long time ago, but now they are all dead.”

For my master thesis, at Boston University, I had the  opportunity to develop a project choosing any content area that I wanted. Being of American Indian descent, I  I decided to develop a series of reading exercises centering on American Indian myths. worked hard on the project, and I received an excellent  grade (A+) with a note from my professor who recognized it as “a labor of love”.  I still smile when I remember his note.

Even after graduation, I knew that  if I intended  to continue teaching ESL, I would have to do more to help L2 learners understand the importance of American Indians in this country.  It had to be much more than the turkey holiday, and the encounter with the Pilgrims. Having American Indian ancestry was also a strong  motivating factor in this endeavor.

Developing a book seemed the way to go back then. I soon discovered that although there was material about Native Americans available, it was usually overwhelming and in many cases fragmented. It was also more time consuming to organize than I originally thought. In addition, after using some of the reading material and exercises with my own students, I quickly realized  that the book contained  too much material for a semester of ESL teaching.

Now, years later, and after much adding and subtracting material, I’ve decided to start this site for teachers, students, and those interested in learning about American Indians especially those who are “alive and well”.

*Talking Feather photo from Owl’s Original Crafts

*Various Talking Sticks photo adapted from SunReed Instruments

TERMS OF USE

Permission is granted for use of the material from this site in the classroom, provided the copyright information and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. All other rights reserved. This permission does not extend  to the essays, poems or art-work from individuals who post on this site.

For any questions, please use the email contact below.