Native American Literature


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Spirituality is a concept that may be both challenging and controversial to teach to high school students. Teachers can ask students what their definition of spirituality is and then have them compare it to the different kinds of spirituality from the readings.
For example, students can be taught about different Native American tribes view spirituality. Moctezuma’s spirituality lied in his belief of the gods that he felt he was working for. The Navajos’ “Night Chant” spirituality lied in their deep belief in nature and its restorative powers. The “Yellow Woman’s” spirituality was in the stories of ancestral spirits her grandfather used to tell. Asking students to reflect on their own cultures’ beliefs would be a great way to teach them about spirituality. An element of popular culture that can be used to teach students about spirituality can be to show them different video clips of what spirituality is to people from different cultures.

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