Help me give my students a class set of Cherie Dimaline's novel, "The Marrow Thieves".
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. VanVickle's classroom raised $679
This project is fully funded
My Students
Our students are truly special. Whether they just moved to Oregon from a country across the globe or have lived in SE Portland all their lives, they are eager to dive in, explore perspectives outside their own, and ask the tough questions.
These teens are truly a joy – they'll email you on your birthday over winter break!
Our students deserve an updated curriculum that honors their unique point of view on the world.
My Project
The U.S. education system does a great disservice to Indigenous people. As a society we have effectively committed a massive act of cultural erasure, simplifying the past and present of an entire people into footnotes within the stories of “great” (and typically white) men. For a large percentage of our students, Native people exist in one or both of the following places: A) Reservations, or B) the distant past. Little do our students know that several of their living, breathing classmates belong to local tribes, but for a slew of reasons choose not to wear this fact on their sleeves. And for those students, the absence of their cultural heritage represented in school is the norm; to hear the name of their tribe mentioned, or to spend a class period highlighting a Native artist, for example, would be a unique day indeed.
Cherie Dimaline's Young Adult novel, "The Marrow Thieves," is an excellent way to introduce high school students to the past, present, and future of the Indigenous experience.
Telling the story of Frenchie, a teen searching for a sense of home and community in a world ravaged by climate change, Dimaline shines a light on the injustices of residential schools and assimilation and emphasizes the value of preserving cultural traditions.
Alongside reading the novel, students will explore the challenging history of treaties between the U.S./Canadian government and tribal nations. They will also learn about tribes in their home state of Oregon, encouraging them to reconsider the nature of land ownership and one's connection to the soil on which they live. Only by engaging with the past can we chart a path forward, and this unit will be an accessible tool to accomplish just that.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. VanVickle and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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