Students will be introduced to the different federal holidays celebrated throughout the year. They will work collaboratively to research information and images related to the federal holidays. They will then place pictorial representations of the holidays on a timeline.

This lesson plan supports chapter 3, “Cult of the Covenant,” in An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese, as well as drawing upon key concepts from the introduction chapter. It deconstructs the philosophical foundation of the Thanksgiving narrative and interrogates the function of origin narratives.

A great resource to introduce, review, or prepare students for the Thanksgiving holiday. This is an activity students should be able to do completely independently and some follow-up/partner/whole-group activities are also suggested. Students will need an iPad to do the activity.

In this activity, students will explore the perspectives of two Native American authors about the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday and then write journal entries.