"And So We Walked" Educational Resources

Posted 15 March 2018

​Native American Children's Literature Recommended Reading List

"We feel it is important to provide an opportunity for people to learn more about Native experiences from a culturally and historically accurate perspective,” said First Nations President & CEO Michael E. Roberts (Tlingit). "We have a responsibility to educate others by sharing authentic resources about Native histories, cultures and peoples.  To that end, we are offering a list that we refer to as  #NativeReads.  All of the books are written by Native authors and have been vetted by a Native expert." Download the reading list for grades levels PreK-12 here.

And So We Walked Glossary

Tsalaqwa Wevti (zhuh•LAH•kuh•WAY•uh•tee; ᏣᎳᎩ ᎤᏪᏘ), the Old Homeplace

Yoneg (yo•NEH•guh; ᎤᏁᎬ), white person

WaDo (wah•DOH; ᏩᏙ), thank you

Ageyutsa (ah•gay•HYUECH; ᎠᎨᏳᏣ), girl

Kituwah (kih•TOO•wuh; ᎩᏚᏩ), home town of Cherokee People; the Cherokee People

Ulisi ageyutsa (ah•gah•LEE•see•ah•gay•HYUECH; ᎤᎵᏏᎠᎨᏳᏣ), granddaughter

Nanyehi (NAHN•juh•hee), Cherokee name of Nancy Wood, Beloved Woman

Qualla (KWAH•luh) Boundary, a land trust of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, purchased by the tribe in the 1870s and placed under federal protection. Not technically a reservation. Enrolled members can buy, own and sell land.

Tahlequah (tah•lah•KWAH; ᏔᎴᏆ), located in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, and established in 1839 following the Indian Removal, Tahlequah is the capitol city of two Cherokee nations — the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation. [also: tali eliquu (duh•LEE•kwaw; ᏔᎵ ᎡᎵᏊ), literally, “two is enough”]

Elyse (ay•LEE•see; ᎤᎵᏏ), grandmother

Gatiyo (gah•TEE•yo; ᎦᏘᏲ), Stomp Dance

Hiwassee (hai•WAH•see), refers to a river that flows northward from Georgia into North Carolina; it is an American-English name that may be derived from the Cherokee word Ayuhawsi, which means meadow or savanna.

Tekahskeh (tuh•KUH•skuh), a Cherokee leader (English name: Hair Conrad); the son of Onai, a Cherokee woman, and Hamilton Conrad, a white man.

Educational Creative Exercises

Below are creative exercises used in the Native owned and visioned company called Mentor Artist Playwrights Project (MAPP). MAPP workshops are created to engage the participants in a process that asks them to explore and share their own aspirations and identities. MAPP has worked with Tribes and urban Native children for over a decade.

Explore The Resource Guide

About The Mentor Artists Playwrights Project - MAPP

Empowering marginalized youth and their communities through theatre, storytelling and dialogue. 

Mentor Artists: MAPP is an arts-education provider that partners with schools, tribal councils, community development organizations, human rights and social justice advocates, and colleges and universities, to provide unique creative workshops, arts programming, and live presentations to communities throughout the world.

The MAPP Young Native Playwrights Initiative

The goal of the MAPP Young Native Playwrights Initiative (YNPI) is to provide arts based literacy training and a forum for the unique voices of indigenous youth and their communities.

Some of our earliest MAPP–YNPI mentored playwriting programs were in partnership with NAYA (Native American Youth Association) in Portland, OR. Please find the detailed creative exercises in our Resource Guide PDF to use in your classroom.