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You know that culturally relevant curriculum sparks interest in learning, raises self-esteem and boosts student achievement, but do your students know that:
long before contact with Europeans the Azetc, Makah, Yurok, Zuni and Eastern Woodland tribes routinely used anti-biotic plant medications to treat infections and that the Shoshone and Paiute tribes used antiseptics to treat wounds? (The European scientific community didn’t understand the necessity for sterile wound treatment until the 1800s)
the indigenous people of South America began building pyramids well before the Egyptians began constructing theirs?
at least 3/5 of all food crops grown in the world today are indigenous to the Americas and that most of these varieties of plants were deliberately developed by American Indian farmers through seed selection?
the Iroquois had created a sophisticated psychology that involved free association, talk therapy and dream analysis, hundreds of years before Sigmund Freud became the “father” of psychology?
Pre-Columbian metallurgists living in what is now Columbia and Ecuador worked with platinum, a metal with a 3218-degree melting point, something European metalworkers did not have the technology to do until the 19th century?
We believe they should know about these important achievements, and that is why we wrote the Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 years of Inventions and Innovations. This comprehensive, interesting and easy-to-use reference tells the unbiased truth about these and over 450 more American Indian intellectual accomplishments. Fully-documented, it details the contributions of 173 tribes and cultural groups from North, Meso and South America.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Goals 2000 American Indian Content Standards call educators to teach students the elements of science and technology that have benefited from the contributions of American Indians.
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all from the information contained in one single-volume resource.
The Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World, can help you and your teachers create culturally relevant units and lesson plans across the entire curriculum. Entries include the subject areas of: agriculture, architecture, astronomy, civil engineering, dentistry, economics, environmental science, foods and nutrition, medical knowledge and techniques, metallurgy, political science, science, technology, trade and transportation.
Although the project took us three and a half years to write, lead co-author, Emory Dean Keoke, an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, first began researching little-known positive aspects of his heritage in 1972. He went on to earn a B.S. in Nursing and a B.A. in Indian Studies, and believes that it is time for Indian people to take responsibility for setting the historical record straight for the sake of their children. The Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World arose from that conviction.
Kay Marie Porterfield has been a professional educator and author for over 25 years. The author of 14 books, she has taught Psychology and English at the He Sapa Branch of Oglala Lakota College in Rapid City, South Dakota and is a former reporter for Indian Country Today. During her tenure as a reporter, she won a South Dakota Press Association award.
We remain dedicated to speaking the truth and spreading the word about American Indian scientific and technological inventions and innovations, to the Indian community and to the world. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, we would be delighted to hear from you.