America’s First Revolt

340 Year Later — Learning About the Pueblo Revolt

This August, we started homeschooling for the first time (two kids, who currently identify as boys, age 9 and almost 11). We decided to home school for two reasons: we saw a reduction in stress and anxiety for our children and my partner and I both found ourselves frustrated by some standard curricula practices. (p.s. we run our own business and felt we could balance our own work and their schooling needs).

One area of curricular frustration is Native American history. When my sons learned about the Chumash (in California), field trips included non-Chumash (and non-Native American individuals) telling students how the Chumash “used to live” (as if there were no Chumash living today) and reinforcing the lie that most of the Chumash in the area died because Europeans brought “different diseases” to the area, telling children that small pox blankets were “accidentally” given to Native Americans. In truth, the distribution of small pox blankets was just one aspect of a fine-tuned plan to take land from Native Americans by decimating their communities.

Through homeschooling, we can be actively involved in what our children learned about our nation’s history. It is important to find ways to teach children the ugly truths of the United States’ origins regarding the many indigenous nations that flourished in…