Chapter 8: Trail of Tears,Redondo, Land Rights, and Boarding Schools: Centering Indigenous Perspectives to Move Beyond Single Stories

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009) calls us to action in her viral TedTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” to move beyond single stories in our own narratives as well as in understanding the histories of our fellow citizens of the world. As social studies educators, her discussion of how differently we would view U.S. history if the story started with the arrows of the Native Americans and not with the story of the British arrival is especially relevant. Too often, the curriculum and materials that we use in our teaching of U.S. history in K-12 schools continue to perpetuate a single story. This seems to be especially true when textbooks present information about the required topic of U.S. Westward Expansion. In our work, we have answered the call to action to move beyond a single story by developing a series of placebased professional development (PD) opportunities for K-12 teachers. We work alongside Indigenous scholars and communities to integrate multicultural content into our teaching of history, practicing Bank’s (1997) model of curriculum transformation.