Native Americans in social studies curriculum: An Alabama case study

This study describes how some members of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama, a state recognized community, reacts to the ways in which Native peoples are represented in the social studies curriculum of DeKalb County, Alabama. Tribal members, ages 30--80 were interviewed about their educational experiences, as well as about their perspectives on the current curriculum. Social studies curricula of this school district, as well as elsewhere in the Alabama public school system, portrays Native peoples in a negative manner, and through the interviews and an extensive analysis of the curriculum, specific examples of these negative portrayals are pinpointed. This study specifically looks at the content, language and illustrations of seven state adopted textbooks, resulting in some specific recommendations on how teachers, as well as administrators, could improve the curriculum