Marrow Thieves

The ebook curriculum includes information for teachers about how they might prepare to teach some of the topics and history about indigenous peoples that are brought up in this novel. Topics included are below:

• Violence Against Indigenous American Peoples

• General Violence

• Knowledge of Indigenous American History

• Climate crisis

• Need for knowledge on water justice and impact on Indigenous communities

Essential Questions and Understandings:

1. In what ways do we interact with the natural world? What are our responsibilities to the earth?

   • Students will understand the symbiotic relationship between themselves and the natural world. Through Frenchie’s story and individual research, they will recognize the responsibility that humans have to take care of the earth. They will see the way Frenchie and his community utilize the natural world for survival, not exploitation. The research projects will provide students with knowledge of environmental justice issues in their local communities and the human impact on the natural environment.

2. When and why do we tell stories about ourselves, each other, and our world? What can stories do for us?

   • By analyzing the three different forms of storytelling that take place in the novel (Story, Miig and Wab’s “coming-to” stories, and Minerva’s song), students will understand that stories are told to make sense of our experiences, to preserve culture, and to provide hope in situations of oppression or hardship.

3. What does it mean to come of age? How does coming of age relate to identity, family, and culture?

   • Students will understand the difference between the “coming-of-age” stories and the “coming-to” stories mentioned throughout the text. By charting Frenchie’s growth over the course of the novel, they will recognize his story as one culturally specific model of coming-of-age.

Final Essay Question:

In this novel, as characters come of age, they tell “coming-to” stories. Using the techniques, motifs, and genre of the “coming-to” story, students will write a two-to-three-page narrative from the point of view of a minor character. The focus will be on how he/she came to be a member of Miig’s family. Students should include the elements of narrative writing in particular, well-developed characters, conflict and resolution, and sensory detail.

Water Justice Project:

Students will be split into small groups to research and explore a place-based environmental water justice issue. Each group will produce a podcast, video, or alternative multimedia presentation on their topic. Following this they will write a letter to a local politician that explains the importance of addressing their water justice topic. The sources and topics for this project are based in Rhode Island, but could be used as a model for other place-based environmental research projects.

In this section, supplemental texts that can provide background knowledge and contemporary connections can assist the teacher. Also, we provide supplemental texts that help extend issues in the novel to the world around us.

Context:

• Terminology for Indigeonous peoples

  • A short article that provides correct terminology when referring to Indigenous peoples.

• Who is Native American, and Who Decides That? - Podcast

  • A 17 minute podcast between the host Michel Martin and Professor of Ojibwe history and language about how Native American identity is determined.

• Residential School History Sources

  • LOC Native American Boarding Schools Collection

  • Carlisle Indian School primary sources worksheet

  • Survivors of Canadian Residential Schools - video

  • Three resources to provide background on residential schools in the US and Canada, including two primary source options and a short 6 minute video.

• We are Still Here - video

  • This eight minute documentary video takes a closer look at the lives of Indigenous Americans today. It follows a few Indigenous people from Minnesota and asks them about challenges they have faced, how historical trauma has shaped their lives, and more.

• Protecting Languages, Preserving Cultures

  • This short video and article from the UN highlights the importance of preserving Indigenous languages.

Contemporary Connections:

• Pollution Map - interactive tool

  • Interactive maps that allows students to explore the impacts of cancer causing industrial air pollution in the US

• Names and locations of the top 100 people killing the planet

  • This website provides the names of the people causing the most damage to the earth and what they do.

• Mural for Protecting Water

  • A mural painted by two Indigenous artists representing women, water, and life.

• Greta Thunberg “blah, blah, blah” speech - video

  • A short 2 minute clip of Greta Thunberg making one of her powerful speeches about the need for immediate action on the climate crisis.

• “Sure you can ask me a personal question” by Diane Burns

  • A short poem depicting the challenges of being part of a misunderstood, neglected, and abused culture as an Indigenous American.

This unit includes pre-reading activities to engage students. During reading activities, prepare students to understand figurative language and literary lessons. Discussion questions and unit vocabulary provide scaffolds for close reading. Interactive culminating group activities such as Socratic seminars, drama workshops and real world research projects.