ABSTRACT
This chapter opens with Zeik, a 2nd grade Native student, who resists the classic settler Thanksgiving narrative of hardworking pilgrims and welcoming Indians. By documenting how Zeik courageously speaks up in class to address what he considers a stereotypical portrayal of Indians, this survivance story highlights the unnecessary pressures stereotypical representations place on young children. Moreover, this story demonstrates that Native students—even young children like Zeik who is only 7—often already have knowledge and experience to critique dominant representations of Indianness and challenge the discursive authority of texts. This survivance story also points to the subtler colonial discourses that could be difficult for young children to detect, such as the ways Eurocentrism tacitly permeates the curriculum. From this survivance story, teachers can infer essential concrete and conceptual knowledge about Native representations, history, and social studies orientations they must understand to better serve students like Zeik.
